Serial Tripper

Let it be crystal clear: I’m a sucker for buffet dinners. It’s no secret that I eat a lot, and when food is bottomless, I just go apeshit on the buffet line and devour everything that looks tasty until I feel like I’m seconds to dying. For that primary reason, I love Tong Yang Smokeless Grill & Shabu-Shabu along Jupiter Street in Makati City.

Because of One Car Accident

Earlier in the morning, I was driving to work and along my usual route from Marikina to Ortigas Avenue via C5, there swerved a red taxicab which I hit on its rear end. Of course, as far as traffic regulations go, I was the one at fault whether the car in front of me made a stupid move (like cutting in front of me) or not; off to the police station we drove to file a report and settle things with the taxi driver.

I lost about two hours and a few hundred bucks, and I had to discuss matters with the car’s insurance company. It set the mood for the rest of the day and I was so pissed off at almost everything that has anything to do with the accident, including my car’s brake system, a moronic taxi driver, and how my front bumper easily folded up upon impact, among other things.

To make the long story short, I felt like looking for a restaurant that can calm me down and help me chill out, and not a lot of places can do that better than Tong Yang Smokeless Grill & Shabu-Shabu. (What happened next? Of course I drove my wrecked car to Jupiter Street in Makati for their mouth-watering eat-all-you-can fare!)

The restaurant’s pretty straightforward: grab whatever you want, plop it down your plate, take it back to your table, then cook it; food items at the center of the restaurant, appetizers and desserts at opposite ends of the room, and tables for guests round out the sides. They bathe their customers in warm, yellow light and they complement it with yellow, orange, red, and gray hues for the interior colors.

Sushi selection wasn’t bombastic, but it tasted good enough for me to finish fifteen-some different pieces of makizushi. The barbecue selection’s good, but I made a mental note early on to skip seafood with bones as they hamper my momentum while eating. Overall, everything was above average to great, and I had a fun time dropping food into my soup and toying with the flavors.

What happened next? Of course I drove my wrecked car to Jupiter Street in Makati for their mouth-watering eat-all-you-can fare!

The ice cream bar was not fantastic-looking at all, but you have to taste their mocha ice cream which is the best of their lot. There’s also a section at the dessert bar specifically dedicated to customers wanting to mix their own version of halo-halo (I wanted that for dessert, but I think I’ve had too much soup in my belly).

I couldn’t understand why the place wasn’t packed when we visited. This place deserves customers for the value they offer: cost per head maxes out at six hundred bucks, I think, for dinner and even cheaper during lunch. If you haven’t yet, this place near the major malls in Makati City should be explored at least once.

Tong Yang Smokeless Grill & Shabu-Shabu
34 Jupiter Street cor. Planet Street
Makati City, Philippines