Bfast - Everything is so good, so go for the buffet!

Last night's dinner was at Bfast at Ayala Triangle. We were fortunate enough to arrive early (they were still setting up the buffet) so it just gave us time to decide what to eat.

But there were so many good things like the angus tocino, the seafood paella, the selection of sausages, the omelets and the pasta and so many others that I think the buffet (for only 288) would be the best option.

When we got to the buffet, one thing I noticed was the plastic plates. It's actually quite a departure from the fine china we find in hotel buffets or in other restaurants. Looking around, we saw this sign explaining the plastic plates. The restaurant believes in being "green" so they use materials that are safe but also made from 100% recycled material. I actually found it so nice to eat in a place that espouses the same beliefs.

I haven't even tasted the food and Bfast is already ranking high in my books. Now, I guess it is time to let the food do the talking.

We started the night's dinner with soup and salad. The salad they had at the buffet was the vegetarian dream  which is made up of salad greens, kesong puti, tomatoes, nuts, fruits, garden vegetables, garlic mushrooms, potato crisp with a guava dressing. 

The soup was like a cross between tinola and arroz caldo. It has rice and bits of chicken like an arroz caldo but it also has a distinct malunggay and slight gingery flavor like tinola. It's also good that the soup was served piping hot.












Now the salad was a perfect mix of veggies, nuts and fruits. To me, the salad greens, preserved fruits, cashew nuts and kesong puti was good enough by itself. I actually thought I could finish the salad even without the guava glaze. The guava glaze is just the perfect cherry on top. It's subtly sweet but the guava flavor is still quite distinct even if it is a teeny bit pungent.
Now the selections for the entrees were a lot giving you really good value for your money. The first set of entrees (see picture on left) that I tried include the turmeric rice (yellow), special beef stew (going clockwise), chili garlic fish fillet, bagoong rice, sisig and angus tocino. At the center of the plate are two sausages as part of the of the sausages selection.

I actually found each dish very very good. The flavors in the rice were actually very subtle. I didn't taste the turmeric or the bagoong in the bagoong rice but it is still ok for me because it just allowed me to focus on the flavors of the viand that I am tasting. The sausages were very good, not greasy and have a distinct peppery flavors. The sisig is very creamy. It is quite different from the sisig that I learned to eat while I was in the ateneo (the meaty, crispy sisig of ken afford). I think the sisig of Bfast is the close to the spirit of the original true blue sisig. The angus tocino has the good balance of sweetness and saltiness. The angus meat was very soft and melts in the mouth.

Now, I don't really eat beef because to me, it has such a distinct and strong smell. Sometimes, I can even tell if the ground meat has beef in it because I detect the smell. So I was really apprehensive about the beef stew but I still gave it a shot.

It's a good thing I did because to me, it was one of the best dishes in that buffet selection.The meat is perfectly soft and tender, the flavors are so spot on. It's such a delight to eat with the bagoong rice or even the turmeric rice.

Finally, the chili garlic fish fillet is such a delight to eat. I have been looking for a well-balanced spicy dish; one that would not burn your tongue and ruin your taste buds but still have the blast of spice and heat. Bfast's dish would belong in my list of best spicy dishes ever. I like how the fish is perfectly cooked remaining firm but not rubbery. I like how the first bite brings in heat and spice but cools down as you continue to savor the dish.

My second set of dishes from the buffet include the (going clockwise) bangus lumpia, karnevorous omelet, bagoong rice, turmeric rice, daing na bangus and a different sausage from the sausage selections. I think there's nothing spectacular about the daing na bangus (just perfectly cooked, not dry or burnt) but the bangus lumpia is so gooood even without accompanying dips like ketchup or sweet chili sauces. The omelet is not runny. The components are still crunchy and good. The other selection of sausage is just as good as the first one I tried, flavorful and not greasy.

The pasta dishes were just as good as the entrees. The tuyonesca was the classic putanesca with a twist with spicy tuyo. The dish has just the right amount of spiciness. The seafood pesto was so good with the mussels and clams being properly cooked.

We capped off the meal with two really good desserts: Belgian chocolate ensaymada and suman panacota. The ensaymada was a bit dry but the Belgian chocolate makes up for all the shortcomings of the bread. Who cares if its a bit dry. It's still such a good sweet dish.

The suman panacota is also good. The mangoes are refreshing complements to the creamy panacota.

The buffet selection kept changing while we were eating and one of the really nice waiters even called my attention to the addition of the seafood paella to the buffet. I actually said pass but when I saw the dish while getting dessert, I couldn't help myself. As expected, it's actually really good. There's the creamy rice and the requisite crunch from the crusty rice at the bottom of the paella is also there giving excellent texture to the dish.

So all in all, the dinner at Bfast is such a pleasant experience. It doesn't have to be breakfast to have a really good meal there. Visit Bfast anytime of the day and treat yourself to a wonderfully good meal. You'd expect nothing less from a restaurant with Chef Laudico's name on it.