Vikings Luxury Buffet - SM City North EDSA

I love to eat - yes. I am a food critic - no. As much as possible I'm trying to keep things as simple as it can be. I don't want to complicate things. That said, my palate is also simple. If I didn't like a certain taste then I don't and I will not even find out why. Sometimes I crave for sweet stuff, sometimes salty or sometimes crunchy. Depending on my mood actually. So let's keep it that way - no complications.

Two Saturdays ago, my mom celebrated her 58th birthday and my brother irked me to try Vikings in its new branch in SM City North EDSA. I am in no mood for buffet that day but he insisted. So we tried calling them for a dinner reservation but declined the request saying that reservation should be made 2 weeks prior (check here for discounted tours, transportation and activities in Metro Manila). 

At 4 p.m. we were all set to go to the mall to try our luck in queuing for the "walk-in" guests. And yes we made it to the roster of walk-in guests. At 5:30 p.m. they started calling out the numbers and we were ushered to our table. The servers constantly asked us if there's someone who's celebrating its birthday. Apparently, there's a discount if there's someone who's celebrating his/her birthday on that day (they check it through government issued IDs). That's 1,088 pesos slashed off the bill. Wow!

We didn't waste time and checked out the buffet spread (that literally circled the whole space). There were loads of food stations which they continuously replenish. You would never run out of anything you want (except for the fruit shakes - they only served watermelon shake that night). And then my site went from personal to food blog.

we are so ready!

breads - I didn't get to taste those

appetizers - just a portion of the whole section

dimsum yum!

Chinese stuff

hot pots

fresh seafood ready to hit the grill

carnivores hooray!

free flowing drinks
sodas, juices, beers, shakes, coffee, tea and more

a part of the dessert section - white and milk chocolate fondue

even your brekkie comfort food

the shrimp/chip shooter was not that good
the grapes had seeds
the cheese spreads were yummy

my all-time fave nachos!
the chili con carne topping was superb!

you have the liberty to make your own pasta and they will deliver it on your table
the arabatta sauce on the spaghetti was not good (I let my brother finish it for me)

the onion soup was overpowering
nothing remarkable on this plate

the nido soup was ok
the bite-sized hakaw was yummy

the broccoli soup was yummy
the beef kebab was tender and flavorful
the chicken satay was curry infested
the spicy chicken pizza wasn't spicy but ok

the Japanese plate
the black rice roll was new to me
everything was ok

grilled pink salmon, tuna belly and squidnot yummy according to my mom (no marinade daw)

Medium US Beef Top Blade in Truffle sauce - just ok

my favorite for the night (And I'm not even a steak person)
Merlin Striploin in Red Wine sauce - super tender and tasty

dessert plate - just ok according to my brother (me no have a sweet tooth)

the taho is taho less the distinct syrup from the peddlers

there's unlimited beer y'all

I didn't get to take photos of the other fave of my mom which was the baked oysters. It was superb according to her. The brother loved all of the steaks - he wants his steak medium rare to medium. But both of them loved the frozen yogurt. They had loads of it. Special mention would be the Blueberry Lemonade - I had too much of it.

nth serving of froyo

frozen yogurt with peaches
big brother: carla kamukha ko ba si john lloyd?
carla: huh?! please! wag tayo nagbibiro habang kumakain

happy na birthday pa!

my mom and the neighbor table kid cassie (they just met there)

Overall, I find their buffet spread so vast that it is impossible for you to taste each and every dish. Maybe next time I would get to taste all of the items I missed but for now our Vikings shindig was such a nice experience. Their food came next after the amazing entertainment factor we had in the restaurant. See, they asked us many times if we were celebrating someone's birthday. And aside from the discount we had, my mom was treated to a mini show c/o the restaurant's very entertaining staff. They strategically went into the earmarked tables and they will call out the attention of the crowd and introduce the birthday girl/boy to its celebrity look-alike. Like someone was introduced as "KC Concepcion" and "Kim Chiu". They went into our table and did a birthday thingy for my mom. We were all dancing and singing with them. It was really fun!

John and Pat on the tambourine

plus for entertainment factor by Pat

After the thing for my mom, John and Pat (two of the performers/staff) shouted that it was also the birthday of "Ms.Juris of M.Y.M.P.", I was looking for that person and much to my surprise they put this Viking hat on me and started performing their song and dance number. It was so hilarious. Watch this video...

The dining experience in Vikings was great. Had it not been my mom's birthday it wouldn't be as much fun I guess. The staff were so great that they gave my mom a birthday cake. It was indeed a very fun night for the 58th of my mom. 

carla: you're old na mom!
mom: kahit na, wala naman sa itsura...
carla: oh eh ikaw na!

** updated January 15, 2016 **

It was my birthday this week and we had a chance to visit Vikings Luxury Buffet SM City North EDSA for a fun-filled lunch treat. They still have the Birthday Promo where you can eat in for free if it's your birthday as long as you have at least one full-paying adult with you (senior citizen discount is not honored). It was just me and my mom and we paid P688 + service charge (P722.40 in total) for a weekday lunch buffet for two.

cutesy utensils for the kids

There were new additions to the buffet spread and again, I got lost and dazed. There's Japanese, Korean, Chinese and other international favorites. I filled my plate with nachos, prawn tempura and more.

of course... nachos

super fresh sashimi and sushi rolls

sukiyaki on my table

lechon belly rice

prawns!

And it was a huge birthday bash! Instead of the usual Happy Birthday performance from some of the staff, all of them (including the chefs) presented a dance number that lasted for about a minute. They filled the walkways and showed their moves while others were giving cakes to the birthday celebrants. It was cute and fun. It was my first time to celebrate my birthday with a hundred or so others with the same birthday :)

dance performance from ALL of the staff especially for the birthday celebrants!

Vikings Luxury Buffet Restaurant
SM City North EDSA
The Block, 4th Level
Contact Numbers: (+63) 2.376.3888 | (+63) 2.376.4888 | (+63) 2.376.5888