Vikings SM Marikina: A Feast from the.. River?

We've actually eaten at this branch of Vikings a couple of times already, and it's mostly because it's semi-convenient to get to, it's cheaper than the one in MOA, and you eat for free as long as it's within 3 days of your birthday (or on your wedding anniversary, for married folks out there)!

This place always has a very decent set of food, and for me, it has beaten out my favourite buffet, Saisaki, as the best value for money you can get at a not-super-ridiculously-priced restaurant.

The Buffet:

Of course, you always start with sushi! Vikings has a really good selection of sushi, and I'd say it is around the same or has better quality than Saisaki. On the other hand, Saisaki does seldomly have Uni (sea urchin) though and Vikings simply does not!

Look at all the food I don't eat! There is just so many options in Vikings, that you need to be picky about what you indulge yourself with. I don't waste my time and space on salad and hot pot stuff.

I love the drinks at Vikings. They're mostly just soda and iced teas, but Coke just goes so well with greasy, heavy food! As part of my dessert, I also usually go for the Milo Shake. :)

What we had:

The world is not enough for the amount of sushi I want to eat for the rest of my life. Lovely stuff.

Definitely not my fresh-looking shrimp. The effort to eat these is not worth it for me. I plead lazy.

Now, that's more like it! Easy to eat AND delicious! Fair word of warning though: inspect the oysters well because we noticed that some of them smelled like old aquarium. I actually liked the weird, intoxicating smell, but it was apparently dangerous since a bunch of us had stomach problems the next day and this was the prime suspect!

My non-sushi food: a messed up plate of meats and casserole of something.

Steak, Hummus, and Caviar. Some fancy food on a very non-fancy plate. The beef and lamb, while a bit tough, is quite good. Order it as it should be to have it a tiny bit softer: Medium Rare! (or Rare!)

I really, really enjoy unlimited yogurt and the occasional crepe from buffets, which is also why I like eating at Vikings. I cap my meal off with a minimum of 1 bowl of yogurt every time.

Verdict: Very Good

The Saisaki Scale: Passing - Definitely above the line on the Saisaki scale. It is significantly more expensive, but more than significantly more delicious and enjoyable. It has the variety and quality of a hotel buffet, without the actual hotel. If it wasn't so detrimental to my diet, I'd want to eat here even more frequently!

Will Vikings beat out Saisaki as the default birthday venue? Only time (and budget) will tell!

Love Vikings? Hate it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!



The Buffet Benchmark: The Saisaki Scale

VIKINGS
2/F, SM City Marikina,
Marcos Highway, Marikina City
Operating Hours:
11:00 am - 2:30 pm
5:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Facebook: Vikings (SM Marikina): A Feast from the Sea
Website: http://vikings.ph/


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