Happiest Buffet in the Land! : Lobster Festival at Diamond Hotel

It's summer in Manila and if I can make one wish that the travel genie can grant then it would be to transport me back to the Philippines where I can have a week-long vacation at the beach where I can swim to my heart's content and to eat all the seafood that I want.

Anyway, during our brief visit back home, Paul and I were not able to visit the beach as we barely had enough weekends available.Still we made sure to fill our tummies with the best catch of the sea as we had a fun dinner with friends at the Diamond Hotel. It was perfect timing that they recently launched their Friday Lobster Buffet and upon receiving an invite to check it out, I immediately said yes! After all, as my friend Leslie would put it, how can you say NO to lobster? 

Dinner was at Corniche and I always look forward to dining here. I love the spread and my favorite sections are the cheese and cold cuts, the salad, the Japanese station and lastly, the dessert. Thus, we always make it a point to sit near any of these areas for easier reach. During nights with the Lobster Buffet, you still get the same fare with the inclusion of more lobster-filled dishes. 

I always like starting my meals with some cold cut and salads. I tried the Lobster-Pineapple Salad, the Octopus Salad with Lobster and Garlic Oil as well as a number of other seafood salads such as the Shrimps in Vinaigrette which I used as topping to my fresh salad and the Crab Salad with Mango. 

Paul also had the Lobster Miso Soup which was so delicious! This was not our first time to have this as it was also the same kind of soup served to us at Yurakuen a year ago. I tell you, this is the yummiest miso soup in the land! 

After having my plate of salad, cold cuts and cheeses, I checked out the Japanese station. I love how they have presented the salmon sashimi, it was still placed inside a cut-up salmon showing how fresh it was. I tried a couple of hand-rolled makis which were delicious, as always. 

I was already feeling a bit full at this point so I know I have to go slow. I haven't even tried a single lobster yet! I began walking around the area to speed up digestion and at the same time check out what my dining companions are getting. I spotted Leslie's plate and asked her what she recommend I should get. She told me to check out the Lobster Thermidor as while it may not look as appetizing, it truly won her over with the taste. Coming from Leslie, I knew I had to give it a try. 

Off I went to the main buffet station and searched for the Lobster Thermidor. Beside it, I also tried the Scrambled Egg with Spicy Lobster which was indeed too hot and was not something that suits me well. Going back to the Lobster Thermidor, Leslie was right. It was rich and yummy! I love anything filled with cheese and butter and this one just hits the bullseye for me. I had three Lobster Thermidors and lick my fork happily. 

The boys (Paul and Abet) wanted something different and had a couple of lobsters grilled or baked to their specification and delivered straight to our table. We had a mix of lobster flavors from Cheese and Garlic, more of the Lobster Thermidor and Lobster Four Cheese. I still love the Lobster Thermidor followed by the one with Cheese and Garlic. The Four Cheese Lobster was just too rich and a tad too salty for me. 

I was also able to try the Lobster Tandoori which was surprisingly very good. I think I'm starting to fall in love with Indian food and am learning to appreciate more dishes other than the usual papadum, samosas and lassi. This is something new and I really enjoyed the unique dimension that it gave to the usual grilled lobster. 

They also had the Lobster Paella which I think was the only thing that I didn't enjoy. It was too dry and I could hardly taste the lobster. I missed the Lobster Fried Rice that Leslie was raving about though. Shucks! :( Please do me a favor and have an extra scoop of Lobster Fried Rice for me. :) Thank you!!

The Lobster Buffet (Php. 2,385) is only done every Friday and your meal comes with free flowing red or white wine. However, for us though, we ended our meal with a cup of hot tea and lots of Chocolate Creme Brulee which was oh-so-gooood! I truly enjoyed the Lobster Buffet that I was day-dreaming about it days after. If only I can fly home every Friday just to have this, I definitely would! Till then, lobsters! ♥ 

Diamond Hotel is located along Roxas Boulevard cor. Dr. J. Quintos street, Manila. Call them at 528-3000.