Spiral - Fine Buffet Food at Sofitel Manila

Buffets were my nightmares. Seriously. My first experiences of them were back in the late 80's, in the form of American all-you-can-eat chains and the Vegas strip. Thoughts of these fluorescent-bathed establishments deliver to my mind plates of dark-edged lettuce, grease-laden meatballs and all-you-can-eat spaghetti with dubious meat sauce. Little did I know back then that these were merely temporary outposts for the 250-pound men and women on the express road to 500 pounds.

But even Vegas has upped the ante of dining, upgrading its hotels to dizzyingly ostentatious luxury and, consequently its amenities to match, including its buffets and more formal sit-down restaurants. When I went back to Manila for good, one of the first places my family took me to was the strikingly modern Sofitel Manila, which houses the Spiral buffet restaurant (and a small casino). After several more visits, my nightmares, I could honestly say, are gone. Even after having eaten at the new-Vegas buffets, I was unprepared for the superlative food I chowed on here.

Spiral (named after the pageant-worthy lighted spiral staircase that takes you from the lobby to the restaurant below) is a huge place, part of which faces the hotel's pool, which in turn gives way to a view of Manila Bay. About a third of the sprawling space is taken up by the international kitchen and serving stations. Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Continental cuisines vie for your attention. The litany of gastronomic delights is mind-numbing: prime rib, dim sum, foie gras, tempura, exotic cheeses, sushi, lobster, mussels, roast duck and pork--I'm running out of breath and salivating even as I write this. And the desserts would make a diabetic hyperglycemic just looking at them: fountains of white and milk chocolate, creme brulees, ice cream, seasonal fruits and endlessly varied mini-cakes. What makes the choice sometimes difficult is the above average to superior quality of the food and preparations. And that's saying a lot for a buffet. That the kitchen staff could keep such a high standard across the board is beyond me, but I'm not complaining.

But the best time to go is certainly Sunday brunch, wherein the restaurant offers unlimited Champagne and other sparkling wines nonstop for about two hours. The wines on tap are a cosmopolitan mix of (among others) French, Italian, Spanish and Australian. The wines change slightly from month to month, so you may even find a red sparkler or a grand cru champagne if you're lucky. Sunday brunch is the event that gives me the biggest dilemma: fill up on the excellent food? or on Champagne? or try to achieve a balance of the two in my stomach? It's not "Sophie's Choice," but at these times of gut-wrenching decisions, my brain seems like it's about to pop like a briskly shaken Veuve Clicquot. But again, I'm not complaining. If you do go to the regular dinner, the restaurant has a decent wine list.

Sorry, fellow lone diners. There's a bar area where you can sit, but I must caution that this really isn't a place for you. It's a celebratory kind of place, a space for the gathering of kin. It only makes sense: you need someone there to whom you can tell of fresh new discoveries around a secret buffet corner and someone to tell you perhaps of a strategy to avoid carbs. When you're limping from satiation, but want to piece together that one last dish, it helps to know a friend or family member will be there to egg you on, then help you to the car later.