We heard the 6 a.m. Mass at the Good Shepherd Parish in Fairview to thank God for the gift of life and the blessings she has received for the last forty five years of her earthly existence.
After the Mass, we had a nice breakfast at our favorite Starbucks branch beside FEU Hospital. On birthday leave today, Odette opted to give her mother a visit in Project 8 where I dropped her off before going to work.
In the evening, our whole family went to celebrate at SM Fairview. I chose for us to dine at Tong Yang Shabu-Shabu and BBQ Restaurant because it was a place inside the mall that we haven’t eaten yet and secondly because of its overall gastronomic appeal.
It was way back in 2002 that my family along with my parents last ate at Tong Yang and it was in their well-regarded Quezon Avenue branch. It was a memorable moment as we celebrated my being selected as among one of my office’s outstanding employees of the year. At that time, Odette was on the family way, she was carrying our third son, Joshua.
Not as voracious an eater like me and the two older boys, Junior and Sonny Boy, my wife decided to buy food from a nearby food outlet for her and the two younger children, Joshua and Faith. Agreeably, Tong Yang’s buffet deal is quite good but only if you are really a hearty eater.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Tong Yang Restaurant
I’m not sure if all Tong Yang branches have the same buffet prices and offerings, but in SM Fairview New Annex where the branch we went to is located, they offer P299 lunch and P399 dinner buffet deals from Mondays to Fridays. During Saturdays, Sundays and holidays both lunch and dinner meals go up to P499. For an additional 65 pesos, you can compliment your “all you can eat” meal with an “all you can drink” deal. Drinks include various soda products, juices, beer, brewed coffee and tea.
Cooking delectable buffet food at the Tong Yang Restaurant All avid travelers like me know that half the enjoyment of traveling is in the journey itself. By analogy, cooking one’s food at the restaurant’s table pot and hot plate whose outcome is pretty much based on your preferred taste and cooking manner, is nearly half the gastronomic experience in Tong Yang. The remaining half is savoring the food you just prepared, getting up and going for more food and doing it all over again!
Various flavors and spices are available. I chose the spicy soup base for my invented shabu-shabu. Everything else lay grilled, basking in the melted chunks of butter in our table hot plate. Definitely, my Tong Yang food is not for the fainthearted.
Faith looks over the various buffet items
That’s not too say that diet conscious eaters have no place in Tong Yang. Its food selection is considerably extensive covering most food groups including your salt and fresh water fishes and nutritional leafy greens. The store does claim to have more than a hundred (100) buffet items. On the other hand, judging from what I saw myself, to reach that number, they may have counted everything including the onions, the garlic, the various sauces and then some!
Bonding moments at Tong Yang
Personally, I love the Japanese food section at Tong Yang - SM Fairview. The place is not that big but they were able to squeeze in that section beside the glass wall where passersby can have a glimpse of the food items inside. A bit of advice --- if you’re looking for shrimps and don’t find any among the food trays, ask the staff to bring you some. I don’t know if this is some sort of a restaurant policy but some food may only be obtained by request.
My favorite area - the popular Japanese food section
The number of people eating at the restaurant night was fairly big considering it was a Tuesday night. But it’s always practical to arrive a little earlier than most patrons to get the first crack at the food items available.
Overall rating for Tong Yang - SM Fairview: Four (4) out of five (5) stars
Postscript:
My wife’s 45th birthday couldn’t have ended any better.
Cute and creamy ice cream cake from Dairy Queen
Before going home from SM Fairview, I bought Odette a good sized ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Earlier we already bought a roll cake for her to bring home but a special birthday called for a special cake. We didn’t have dry ice or any coolant but thankfully it did not melt on the way back home. We were even able to sing a birthday song to Odette before digging in to this frozen delight.
She and everyone else in my family simply loved the cake! If you want a taste of heaven, do try them out.
With family friend and neighbor Dennis and nanny Maymay
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