New World Hotel's Cafe 1228 is highly recommended if you a looking for a buffet restaurant with an extensive array of food but without the cramped space typical in other similar restaurants. In fact, Cafe 1228's cozy interior is one of its positive points and is conducive for intimate gatherings with friends and loved ones.

Mett-ups with friends have been a rarity these days because of our busy schedules. As such, we always make it a point to make our occasional meet-ups a little celebratory. And what better way to do it than to have a good lunch buffet, which had brought us to Cafe 1228, New World Hotel's signature restaurant.

The place isn't too big, with only just a few tables to accommodate mostly those who have booked a reservation. This was good because it meant the place wouldn't get too crowded. The interiors were modern and spacious despite its small floor area.

After we had settled down at our table, we immediately got down to business and surveyed the whole place. 

The restaurant is divided into the usual stations: salad, meat carving, fresh seafood, Filipino, continental, Japanese, pasta, and Italian food, bread and cheese, and desserts.

In terms of food, Cafe 1228 has a good selection of fresh seafood, salads, and meats. For those who love Filipino food, you will love this place because it has a wide selection of Pinoy dishes on display.

Diners may begin their meal with a starter from the fresh salad station, bread, and pâté, or soup of the day.

We skipped the starters and went to the fresh seafood station. We loaded our plate with fresh oysters, scallops, and prawns which we brought to the grillery. We requested the chef to bake the oysters with cheese and cook the prawns in butter and garlic. 

Being meat-lovers, we wouldn't let the meal pass without venturing to the carvery. The station featured a leg of lamb. We asked for several slices and we had them cooked medium-well. 

After a few minutes, a meat-lover's feast arrived with a good dollop of gravy. I got some buttered asparagus but it would have been nicer with a good helping of baked potatoes. 

The leg of lamb was very tender and juicy It was also seasoned well with salt and some spices. Personally, though, I prefer roast beef or steak over lamb because of the former's milder flavor. 

When dining in buffets, I also make it a point to visit the restaurant's cheese station. It was a whole table with a good spread of dried fruits and nuts, jams, marmalade, bread, and butter, crackers, cold cuts, Gruyere, Camembert, and cheddar. 

I got generous chunks of the cheeses and put dollops of jams and marmalade on top. It was a really good combination; the rich and savory cheeses tempered by the sweet and slightly acidic fruit jams.

For those who love Italian food, venture into the pasta station where you may have the chef prepare and cook the dish of your choice. I did not try any pasta dish because I lie low on carbohydrates when eating in buffets to avoid getting too full fast.

For Japanese food lovers, there is a station where one may choose from a wide array of freshly-prepared sashimi, bowls of sukiyaki, crisp shrimp and vegetable tempura, and pork belly skewers. We tried several pieces of sashimi but we did not get too much because Japanese rice is a bit heavy.

After the mains, dessert came next. The dessert station featured a good selection of native cakes, pastries, ice cream, and frozen yogurt. I got several long sticks of churros, with chocolate dip and scoops of vanilla ice cream. 

I found this a really satisfying combination; the vanilla ice cream cutting the richness of the chocolate and lending a creamy flavor to the fried churros. When I was done with the churros, I came back for my ever-favorite Leche Flan. That was it, I was full and couldn't take another bite. 

We were stuffed after three hours of indulgent eating. Good thing BDO Elite Credit Cards had a promo with Cafe 1228, thus, we paid only half the regular price. Definitely a steal for such a good meal in a beautiful restaurant. 

Cafe 1228 is located at New World Makati Hotel Esperanza Street, corner Makati Ave, Makati, 1228 Metro Manila. For inquiries and reservations, call telephone number (02) 8811 6888.

Cafe 1228's all-you-can-eat lunch menu is priced at PHP2,400 on Thursdays and Fridays and PHP2,988 on Saturdays and Sundays. 

Cafe 1228's dinner buffet price is at PHP2,600 on Thursdays and PHP2,988 on Fridays and Saturdays (excluding holidays - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day).

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