Slim Pickings
Last night's Chocolate Buffet at the Manila Peninsula was, in a word, underwhelming. The last time I went, back in 2004, my friends and I had so much fun, we tucked in truffles and macarons between paper towels and brought them home for our families to sample. (This time, we came Lock'n'Lock prepared!) After years of abstinence, Reitch, TJ, and I, plus Burt, Liz, and Paul (who had a Fun Run the next day), were really looking forward to feasting on all the chocolate we could possibly take. However, upon getting there, the buffet was not as good as I remembered. This time there were only 2 small buffet tables, no chocolate fondue fountain, no crepes freshly made by a crepe-maker, no macarons, and very little variety between dishes. I mean, you could get chocolate tortes, cakes, mousses, tarts and brownies just about anywhere else, so what's to set this one apart? The most imaginative thing there was the nigiri sushi made with a chocolate bed, sticky sweet rice, topped with a slice of mango or kiwi. The most exciting thing for me were the truffles... but nobody comes to a chocolate buffet just for the truffles. There was nothing exceptional, nothing that kept us coming back for seconds and thirds, nothing that made us want to stuff our faces and proclaim to the world that everyone, yes everyone, ought to partake in this decadent madness! The chocolate sculptures were pretty nice though, and the lobby was pleasant and conducive to conversation, with its dim lights and music from a string quartet on the balcony. It was a nice evening out with friends, there's that.
Random l'etranger moments:
When Liz and I went back to the buffet table to try out things we hadn't sampled yet, two chef's assistants (interns?) were refilling the table with chocolate shots and mousses. When they were done, I asked them, "Is there going to be any more of the nigiri?" One of the young men answered that they weren't going to be refilling the table with them as there weren't any left. "Oh, how sad, I wasn't able to taste them. My friend said they were pretty good. How about the dark chocolate cherry tarts?" "Yes ma'm, we'll be putting out more of those later!" Hai. I turned back to the tables to see what else I had missed, and a few moments later the young man was right there in front of me again, holding out a plate of the nigiri choco-sushi and chocolate cherry tarts! "Oh! Hi there." "These were the last 2 pieces of the sushi." "Wow, thank you!!" I thought that was awfully sweet of him.
During another one of our raids back, Liz and I were at a loss as to what to get next. "What do you want to take home?" "This!" Liz gestured to the chocolate fish sculpture. So I mockingly picked up the fish and gently put it back. Just as I did, a short, foreign guy behind me said, "There! Now you've ruined it!" Shock. Horror. When Liz and I turned to face him, he said, "Hi. I'm the architect who designed that sculpture. Everything on this table is edible. Now it's not because you touched it!" Ack! "Oh my god I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spoil your sculpture, we just- it's just that- well look, one of your chocolate block plates has already been pilfered actually! And look over there, somebody stole the actual chocolate stand!" "Nah, nah, I'm not really the architect, I was just joshin'. But everything really is edible huh?" "Oh yeah, yeah, even the signs, it's amazing...." GEE THANKS FOR THE SCARE.
Random l'etranger moments:
When Liz and I went back to the buffet table to try out things we hadn't sampled yet, two chef's assistants (interns?) were refilling the table with chocolate shots and mousses. When they were done, I asked them, "Is there going to be any more of the nigiri?" One of the young men answered that they weren't going to be refilling the table with them as there weren't any left. "Oh, how sad, I wasn't able to taste them. My friend said they were pretty good. How about the dark chocolate cherry tarts?" "Yes ma'm, we'll be putting out more of those later!" Hai. I turned back to the tables to see what else I had missed, and a few moments later the young man was right there in front of me again, holding out a plate of the nigiri choco-sushi and chocolate cherry tarts! "Oh! Hi there." "These were the last 2 pieces of the sushi." "Wow, thank you!!" I thought that was awfully sweet of him.
During another one of our raids back, Liz and I were at a loss as to what to get next. "What do you want to take home?" "This!" Liz gestured to the chocolate fish sculpture. So I mockingly picked up the fish and gently put it back. Just as I did, a short, foreign guy behind me said, "There! Now you've ruined it!" Shock. Horror. When Liz and I turned to face him, he said, "Hi. I'm the architect who designed that sculpture. Everything on this table is edible. Now it's not because you touched it!" Ack! "Oh my god I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spoil your sculpture, we just- it's just that- well look, one of your chocolate block plates has already been pilfered actually! And look over there, somebody stole the actual chocolate stand!" "Nah, nah, I'm not really the architect, I was just joshin'. But everything really is edible huh?" "Oh yeah, yeah, even the signs, it's amazing...." GEE THANKS FOR THE SCARE.