The Fish and Co buffet

Value for money- one certainly gets that from the Fish and Co buffet, Mondays to Fridays, lunch and dinner time at Shangrila only, for P550. Entrees include fresh fruits, juices, a choice between tom yum soup and miso soup stuffed with all kinds of fresh sea foods (tender squid, yummy; fresh shrimp, fish), chicken pastel, pork ribs, pot roast, pasta, fresh oysters (or you may have them baked with cheese), garlic tahong, broccoli au gratin, seafood paella, freshly fried fish and chips (on Mondays and Tuesdays only). Drinks have to be ordered and paid for.

So where's the catch? Pity the waiters assigned to the buffet on the ground floor. Why? The only one assigned when we ate last night was one tiny wisp of a girl who had to take our orders for drinks (my husband had refillable so she had to come back several times for the refill), go up to file our order for the fish and fries, go upstairs to get more oysters, etc. Later, another female server joined her, also very thin so that one pities them. At least two tables were sympathetic and we constantly asked or consoled them, to show we understood their predicament as they apologized for delays. They forgot to give us fries but we couldn't find it in our hearts to complain. They were trying their best.

When we were there, there were initially 3 tables that were occupied, then a fourth. In the smoking area outside the mall there was another table that was occupied. Imagine if all the tables were filled! I dread the thought for the poor ladies. I asked if they were permanently stationed there and they said their assignments were rotated. I suggested they tell their manager to assign the heavy weights downstairs so they would lose weight.

By the way there were desserts too. Panacotta served in different sizes; like in one-shot glasses, tiny wine glasses (ok, you get the drift, i can't tell one alcohol cup from another) etc. Cups of greenish gelatin with fresh fruit slices on top offered an alternative. My husband tried both and panna cotta with mango was better he said, compared to the gelatin. Re the soups: he tried both tom yum and miso. Initially, he said the miso was better until he took a bite of the ginger. He promptly pronounced the tom yum soup to be much better.

If I see the manager of Fish and CO, i'll certainly tell him to increase the manpower during buffet times downstairs. I could almost imagine the servers there collapse from sheer exhaustion.