We all like getting free food, right? Freebies are most especially appreciated by everyone so going for an all-expense paid food trip in a buffet place like The Alley is a good experience any day of the year. However just because the meals are paid for by someone else (like a relative or friend) doesn't mean the food will always be exceptional right? Let's go ahead and find out what makes The Alley worth every buffet penny.
(Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
♦ Short Info on The Alley by Vikings ♦
Vikings Group Philippines is the food group managed by Pacific Apex Food Ventures Inc., which owns and manages a lot of buffet food restaurants in the Philippines. Their biggest competitor off the top of my head is Kamay Kainan which doesn't have an official website or Facebook page at all but is quite popular too with several branches all over the metro.
In April 2011, the first Vikings buffet restaurant opened at SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. I also found an online review/interview where the restaurant marketing person shared a trivia on why they used "Vikings" as the restaurant name. Apparently the term Vikings is from the Japanese not being able to say the word buffet and that this food serving practice originated in Sweden. 3 years later they open other branches which means their very first restaurant is a big success.
Vikings Luxury Buffet has garnered three awards from the Philippine Retailers Association and it looks like this food company expanded to come up with new restaurants in various places in the country. One of those is The Alley which opened in late 2017 (probably around December based on their YouTube video upload).
This airconditioned food park buffet concept eatery or eat all you can place can be found at the 2nd floor of UP Town Center's Phase 2 area in Katipunan, Quezon City. Their hashtag is #FoodHallYouCan and they have a Facebook page, YouTube and Instagram account. This makes it very easy to interact with their accounts and tag them on social media.
Check out their 2017 Audio Visual Presentation to know a bit more about the company behind this restaurant:
(Video credit: Vikings Group Philippines via YouTube)
♦ The Review ♦
Here I will share with you what my dining experience was like and what I think about The Alley. It's not really a place where you ask waitresses and waiters to bring you food but they are friendly and accommodating enough and always smiling.
Let me tell you more about what's inside and what anyone can look forward to.
• Points for Improvement:
Less than an hour after we got there, our waitress came around to ask if anyone's celebrating their birthday or is a senior citizen etc. Perhaps that is their way to prepare for the birthday performance they have for everyone.
Out of the blue, a loud and fun "parade" went around the area to greet any birthday celebrant and give free cake but I didn't find it that enjoyable because they did not focus on any of the individuals. The employees went around the area like it's everyone's birthday party. After the Happy Birthday song they all danced around in a line to the tune of Macarena, a popular 90s dance song, instead of using any of the current popular ones.
For the "late comers" celebrating their birthday there, I saw they provided photo op sessions complete with a cardboard frame and colorful head accessories. This is when they focused more on the individual celebrant together with the people they were with. I think that's better than performing all over the place while people are eating.
• The Best Part of Eating in The Alley:
My cousin made the reservation the other day for yesterday's dinner so we didn't need to wait in line to get in. We were 12 in the group but there were four of us who got there first. It was around 6 in the evening when we arrived. The buffet opens at 5:30 pm but we were all able to stay until almost 10pm, which is when they close.
The funny thing was, even as early as we were, several lines could already be seen in some of the food stalls. Haha. Anyway let me break down the experience for you.
1. The ambiance is good and inviting enough.
At the entrance you won't notice anything special about the enclosed space, it's only when you're inside that you will see the bits and pieces of what really makes up The Alley. First up is the faux tree near the entrance giving it an outdoorsy and food park vibe.
(Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
Food parks are a group of various outdoor restaurants/food stalls clustered side-by-side all around a place where you can order from any of them and eat in the middle at the provided seats and tables. This is where The Alley takes the market in because it's the only food hang out that offers eat-all-you-can meals among the rest of the food parks in the country. On top of that they are inside a mall so it's not going to get hot at all while you enjoy your food!
The interior of the place looks industrial and urbanly unique at the same time. From the hall decorations right down to the restroom lighting, it definitely doesn't have any classic or luxurious vibe. It has a more artistic and modern style because hey, The Alley is supposedly geared towards the millennials or the yuppies of this generation because of it's proximity to three prestigious universities.
Restroom lighting fixtures (Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
Since it was the 30th of the month, a lot of people were there. It's not super spacious in this case as there are areas where those seated can be bothered by passing people but the place is big enough to seat more or less 400 people.
Here's a quick preview of the place:
(Video credit: Vikings Group Philippines via YouTube)
2. The Alley offers great food variety.
Anything free to eat is usually delicious and something to be thankful for. An eat-all-you-can free treat by anyone is especially heavenly if you are in The Alley. With the 15 international food stalls inside you'll have all kinds of food to enjoy at your fingertips. There's Japanese, Chinese, Italian, American and Filipino food all in one place!
You can find a fish ball stand and dirty ice cream from the sorbetero pushcart near some of the stalls. A waiter carrying a balot basket even shouted out "baluuut!" several times, going around the place. Wow that makes it all the more fun right?
Because I was craving for Korean I went for Japanese food first. Haha. Weird but hey they have Korean-inspired food too. Look at all the salad ingredients you can put inside the lettuce leaves for that Korean meal.
(Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
As shown above, you can see a variety of food to choose from. Some of what I saw were shredded chicken meat, tuna and even a number of whole tahong (mussels) to go with the lettuce! Whoa! Plus they have several fruits and vegetables to choose from so you can make the perfect Ssam or salad.
(Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
There's plenty of makimono and some sushis to choose from too. As for the shrimp tempura, it's not something you can grab and go because you'd have to wait for the tempura order before you can get it. Too bad I forgot to eat any of it even if I was the one who got our order. Blame it on all the other food I ate. Whew.
Never got the chance to eat any pasta or burgers but I did have salads and snacks like pichi pichi/gelatinous cassava and singkamas (or green mango) slice with bagoong/fermented fish on a stick! Yummm.
Taho being served (Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
The Iast thing I consumed was taho (from an authentic taho vendor container and served warm!) but there's also some other desserts available like liquid nitrogen ice cream, cakes, pastries and candies.
(Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
I'm not a big fan of sweets so it's good the mini cakes aren't too sweet at all. Didn't eat any candies although I do love gummy bears. I didn't try the egg waffle pop or ice cream too. Oh I didn't get to try a lot of food.
(Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
As for the drinks well they have a variety of infused drinks like Cucumber water! The best of all is the guyabano (sour sop) drink because it's one of my favorites. The infused drinks actually taste more like juice! Mmmm. Take a look at the drinks picture below!
(Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
Coffee is also available at the drinks bar where the bartender/s can even do latte art for you! Nice right? There's three hot tea flavors to choose from plus the cocktail of the day and beers! Mmmhmmm.
Their special drink of the day was some kind of rum and mango based mix with a hint of pepper and mint in it. Forgot to take note of what it was and wasn't able to take a photo of the chalkboard sign. I don't think it had much alcohol though because I've gone through two glasses and didn't feel any kind of buzz at all! Not one bit! Oh well...
♦ The Verdict ♦
It was my first time to eat at The Alley like my companions did but overall we enjoyed the dining experience. Everyone was able to eat their preferred food. Even vegetarians/pescetarians will find enough good food to eat.
It's best to go there if you have a big and healthy appetite because you will definitely be able to eat a variety of food and drinks. Be assured that your belly will be full when you leave the place but I find that my tongue wasn't all that happy with the food except for the desserts and snacks. It was a whole lot happier with the various drinks at the bar though. (^_^)
I only had three plate servings and that was it. Even if my eyes wanted to eat more my stomach couldn't handle it. I didn't realize it was a wrong move to stock my plate up with all those what I will call "mini rice meals" (maki/sushi). Hahaha. Next time I go to a buffet, I will only get a few of those to make room for other food I can enjoy.
(Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
I'm definitely not a buffet fan nor am I a big eater but I was still able to enjoy enough of the foods and ambiance to give it a high rating. By the way, the mall also provides 1 hour of free WiFi so you can definitely take all the pictures you want for your immediate social media posts.
For the food/drinks variety and ambiance, I give The Alley a rating of 8 out of 10.
For my other food or health related blogs, click below:
- Cucumber Water: Is it Really Good For You?
- ArtGirl's Homemade Siomai Experiment!
- Siomai: A Favorite Snack of Filipinos
- Atchara vs Kimchi: Which One Wins?
- Why People Look For More Spiciness in Every Meal
- The Importance of Sea Cucumbers
- 4 Things That Make Alcoholic Drinking Interesting
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Written for Bitlanders by ArtGirl. All rights reserved
© Art x Stephanie Rue
