Philippine’s Restaurant VIKINGS is now at SM City Santa Rosa

Vikings has made its way to the south and can now be found in SM City Santa Rosa. For those who live in the southern part of Metro Manila or just outside it, here’s what you can look forward to at the newest branch. 

It’s been a while since I’ve gone to a buffet. I know there are a lot of choices in and around Metro Manila, and there’s probably one at every mall now. Buffets are a great place not only to celebrate special occasions with friends and family, but also to try different dishes and cuisines. 

The first thing I would like to note about this branch is that booking a table ahead of time would be beneficial. As of now, the bookings are sold out sometimes days or weeks in advance. It’s best to plan ahead and book a table so you don’t have to wait as long as you would if you were to walk in. If you do plan just to walk in, be prepared for a long queue and waiting time. They do have a waiting area just outside, or you can walk around the mall; however, securing a table is not guaranteed. It is also best to arrive early, even if you’ve reserved in advance, to register right before they open. They’ll give you a wristband and a number that will be called out when it’s time to be seated. This ensures that everything is organized and there’s not a mass of people all just walking in at the same time or crowding the reception area. I commend the staff for being able to keep their cool, especially when there are about a hundred people or more waiting to get in. They stuck to the system and made announcements when necessary, which helped with crowd control and such. 

When you walk in, you’ll quickly notice that the space is much larger than it seems from the outside. There are halls on both sides to house more tables and space for guests. The interior is modern and clean, and the overhead lighting and details add to the upscale ambience and feel of the place. Some buffet places are just one big room with large overhead lighting and rows of tables. This one, however, feels more relaxed and less chaotic. The overall setup is inviting, and there's still ample space to walk to and from your table to where the food is. Sometimes, especially during the lunch hour, people are eager, and everyone is up and around, grabbing plates and other items, with some bumping and slight pushing needed to navigate through the spaces. At this new Vikings, I didn’t once have to push my way back to my table. Although there were sections that were clearly more popular than the other, such as the meat station, you could still walk through the lines and groups of people waiting to get to where you needed to be.  

Now, let us get down to what everyone really wants to know: the food! There were many cuisines to choose from. Whatever your heart desires, they probably have. From pizza, pasta, an array of dimsum, lechon, roast beef, and so much more. My personal favorite was the Japanese section, where you could find crispy tempura, various sushi rolls, and, of course, tuna and salmon sashimi that were sliced right in front of you by a chef. That is one thing I really liked about this setup: you can see some of the chefs at work. In some buffet places, you only see someone come to refill the dishes while the chefs are in the kitchen at the back cooking. Here, you get to see them make things fresh right in front of you. When the tempura dish inevitably became empty, you didn’t have to wait long for it to be refilled since they were right there working away already. I also appreciated that they always put the corresponding sauce or condiment right next to the food that it belongs to. The sushi area had the soy, wasabi, lemon, and wooden chopsticks ready to go. The dimsum station had soy and chili oil also right next to it, which was convenient. 

If you are not a fan of exploring other cuisines, don’t fret, there were a lot of Filipino and familiar favorites as well. There was fried rice, pinakbet, kare kare, dinuguan, pansit, and more. You can also create your own salad or a charcuterie plate with a variety of cheeses and cold cuts to choose from. You could also customize your soups and noodles by choosing the type of noodles, vegetables, and other ingredients that will go into them. 

Whether you enjoy a more meat-based meal or seafood, there’s something for everyone. And it wasn’t just one or two choices of each, but quite a few. There was a seafood corner with shrimp and clams, but you could also find various fish dishes and other seafood dishes in other parts of the setup. There were more meat dishes than the ones shown at the meat station in the far back. It’s probably best to take a full walk around and look at all the choices before grabbing a plate. Then you can strategize how you would like to go about the buffet. Personally, I suggest starting light and working your way towards the heavier meal options to make the most out of it, but there are no set rules at a buffet, which is part of the fun. You can go backwards and forwards between salty, savory, sweet, hot, cold, and whatever else you fancy. 

Another impressive area was the dessert stations. There were so many choices, and surprisingly, everything I got was tasty. We know by now that just because it looks good, it doesn’t always mean that it will taste good. Looks can be deceiving, however, in the case of Vikings, you don’t have to worry about that. There was a chilled section with little spoons and dishes of various colorful desserts. There was also a section featuring different cakes and pastries, and, of course, we cannot forget the number one crowd favorite: the chocolate fountain. It doesn’t matter if you are 5, 35, or 55; a chocolate fountain flowing smoothly will always be impressive and enticing at the end of a meal. 

If you find yourself wanting to go somewhere a little more special or upscale in terms of buffets, then look no further than Vikings. The Santa Rosa area is easily accessible via SLEX and is only around 20 minutes away from the Alabang area without traffic.