Vikings emerges in the competitive buffet shores
By Vanessa B. HidalgoPhilippine Daily Inquirer
EACH day, an ice sculpture is carved up.
In ancient times, Vikings or Norse explorers roamed the wide areas of Europe, Asia and North Atlantic to trade and raid the lands they behold.
They used their famous long ships to travel to as far east as Constantinople (Turkey today) and to the southern tip of Al-Andalus.
AN elegant setting awaits diners.
This was the concept adopted by Vikings Buffet Restaurant when they planned to launch an innovative dining place.
The restaurant offers a hotel ambience buffet style of dining at an affordable price.
Like the Vikings in ancient times, the restaurant has scoured the world of its best cuisine and made it available for each Filipino’s delight.
It opened its doors last April 2011 along Seaside Boulevard in SM Mall of Asia Complex. And since then, people from all walks of life started to pour in to experience their dining offerings.
Vikings Restaurant has an answer to each craving their customer has.
MANAGEMENT enforces a “no leftover” policy at Vikings Buffet.
Upon entering the restaurant, the skewers of different sausages will greet you. The seafood area is equally mouth-watering especially when the lobsters are on the counter.
A salad bar is present for those who would want to start their meals with something healthy. Bowls of caviar are also a mainstay at the salad bar. A dimsum corner is also available.
You can also make your own pizza and request for a personalized pasta.
“We want to make each customer’s visit memorable. This is why we do our best to serve them with the freshest food,” says Chico Santos, Marketing Officer of Vikings Restaurant.
Among the crowd’s favorite is the sushi bar that offers a wide variety of Japanese sushis and makis. They have also created their own version of sushi and called it Nanies’ dream.
“But there is a certain time limit for our sushis and makis. Every 15 minutes, we serve a new tray to replace the old ones in order to ensure freshness,” Santos adds.
THE steak is one of the most sought-after meals in the ‘eat-all-you-can’ restaurant.
She says freshness and quality is on top of their list to guarantee that each diner will also bring home a pleasant experience.
She recounts that there was a time when a child poked the chocolate fondue at the dessert area and they had to pull out the entire fondue.
They also enforce the “no leftover” policy by reminding the customers that for 100 grams of leftovers, they will be charged an additional P100.
Although they are located within the “eat all you can” district of Mall of Asia, Vikings prefers to think of their own branch as their competition.
The resto will be opening a new branch in SM Marikina this October and another branch in SM North is also in the works.
She also notes that their crew is truly an asset of the restaurant.
THE ever-present dimsum is served up.
“We have trained them to be always helpful and cheerful to the people they serve. Vikings also ensures that they handle the food well since we have an open kitchen and people see how and what they do with the food,” she notes.
Another key issue for the service sector is security. Santos gladly reports that there have been no cases of theft in Vikings. But they do remind their diners to be mindful of their things all the time.
“We have installed CCTV cameras so as to guarantee the safety of our diners,” she reveals.
Three function rooms await reservations for interested clients. The biggest which is called The Garden can seat up to 120 people. The usage of the big screen, LCD projectors, mics and sound system is free of charge. They offer three private dining rooms that can seat up to 40 people.
Santos notes that working for a restaurant has taught her that the Filipinos’ truly love to dine and wine.
This was proven true when the southwest monsoon soaked the Metro and yet they still received calls for reservation.
“I was both amazed and amused but I guess eating their comfort foods will somehow ease the difficult situation,” she adds.
At the end of the day, she discloses that the seafood and steak are the most sought-after. Among their prime cuts are Angus beef (available during weekends), Australian lamb chops and Batangas tenderloin.
Vikings offers unlimited San Miguel draft beer for lunch and dinner. During the weekends, unlimited Tiger beer is also available until supply lasts.
Asked what is the biggest challenge that the service sector is facing, Santos answers that the social media nowadays offers a quick way to check and balance their service.
Through this, they are able to immediately respond to their customers’ queries and comments.
“Social media keeps us on our toes. You can’t please everyone but as much as possible we want to make it a point to make their visits memorable,” Santos adds.
Yet the best satisfaction that staff and crew of Vikings receive is when they see their diners rubbing their tummies in satisfaction.
“We have made it our mission to ruin their diets,” she says.
Weekday lunch start at 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for P688. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m to 10:30 p.m. for P888. During weekends, lunch and dinner is at P1,088 plus 5 percent service charge. Check out their Birthday promo, the celebrant gets to eat for free and the promo is extended till Nov. 30. For reservations, please call 8433888/8464888.
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Tags: food , Restaurant , Vikings Buffet Restaurant
