Finally my wife and I were able to go to Ripples in L. Fisher Hotel. I have heard about this restaurant for a long, long time as a place that serves international food from all over the world. Lucky enough, this past weekend the restaurant offered a dinner buffet + Christmas show special from 6-10 P.M. for 750 pesos for two. We couldn't let this opportunity slip by, so we decided to buy the tickets early and head over there as soon as possible.
I must say, I was quite surprised. When it comes to food, I'm a bit picky--not in the sense that I won't eat a lot of different types of food, but that I'm picky to say something is delicious when it tastes mediocre and doesn't make me go, "Mmm". Was there any "Mmm" making foods? Let's check out the menu:
Sio pao, sio mai, chicken in black bean sauce, pork with paprika, palabok, penakbet, spicy crabs, fried crabs, spaghetti, carbonara, pizza, various maki and sushi, watermelon, pineapple, papaya, mixed fruit, vegetable salad with various choices of toppings, roasted vegetables, corn, lamb, roast beef, steak, ribs, vegetable lumpia, crepes, various breads and cheeses, apple strudel, marshmallows, and some other desserts and parfaits.
So here's my rating of what I had a taste of:
Sio pao: 5 of 5 (the sauce is fantastic, I believe it is a plum sauce)
Sio mai: 5 of 5 (easily the best sio mai I have eaten and the sauce was also fantastic)
Chicken in black bean sauce: 3 of 5 (good but not fantastic)
Pork with paprika: 3 of 5 (good but not fantastic)
Penakbet: 4 of 5 (pretty good as far as penakbet goes)
Spicy crabs: 4 of 5 (fantastic sauce, I just wish the flavor of the crab was shown a little more)
Carbonara: 1 of 5 (tasted like olives and nothing else. I couldn't even taste the cheese)
Pizza: 3 of 5 (good but nothing special. Just a very thin crust pizza with little toppings)
Maki and sushi: 2 of 5 (good at first but as I ate more than a few, the taste started to seem a little off, at least it wasn't overly filled with rice)
Watermelon: 1 of 5 (Why do Filipinos like overripe watermelon? It's disgusting. Every place you go, they sell overripe watermelon.)
Vegetable salad: 5 of 5 (very delicious with many choices, including feta cheese and turnips....a rare sight in the Philippines as far as salads go)
Roasted vegetables: 2 of 5 (nothing wrong with the taste, they just didn't taste roasted at all)
Lamb: 4 of 5 (served with mint jelly and fresh peta bread, which you don't see often in the Philippines. good taste, just not fantastic)
Roast beef: 2 of 5 (good but I usually LOVE roast beef. It was soft but seemed to be rather plain...I'd still eat it again)
Steak: 2 of 5 (nothing special)
Ribs: 3 of 5 (good but the serving size is small. It falls off the bone, exactly like it should)
Lumpia: 3 of 5 (nothing special other than the sauce)
Wheat roll filled with raisins: 4 of 5 (you don't find whole wheat too often in the Philippines)
Feta cheese: 5 of 5 (it's feta...come on!)
Apple strudel: 5 of 5 (it tastes like homemade strudel)
Peach-mango parfait: 4 of 5 (tastes good)
Service: 3 of 5 (The waiter cleaned when he was told and even brought us food. However, he was too overworked. It seemed like he was the only waiter in our area of about 20 tables. It also looked like there were more managers there than waiters! They just stood there and griped at the waiters when they didn't clean fast enough, and the waiters were constantly working.)
Environment: 3 of 5 (Luxurious but loud. This is more the customers fault. The tables however are also overcrowding, but the place was packed so they added extras. The music was fantastic, when I could actually hear it.)
Quality: 4 of 5 (pretty good food for a buffet!)
Price: 5 of 5 (2 of 5 if regular price)
Display: 3 of 5 (Not terrible, just nothing special by any means)
Since Vikings opened in Bacolod, comparisons are going to be made between the two. You can view this post to read about the comparisons.
