Medley Buffet by Okada Manila

Ambiance

Okada’s Medley Buffet really feels like a high-end restaurant from the get-go. It’s bright, modern, and there are enough spaces between stations for an easy flow.

It caters mostly to casino guests and business people. It doesn’t feel as crowded as other buffet restaurants and from what I gather the same can be said on weekends, so that’s a plus.

Group shot at Okada Medley Buffet — With other Zomato foodies.

Food

Medley Buffet features different stations starting from salads to mains and desserts.

We started with their fresh seafood section which includes shrimps, crabs, scallops, and mussels. You can ask for these to be grilled or cooked in garlic butter, Singaporean chili, or salted egg.

We had a plate cooked in buttered garlic sauce. I actually debated between that and salted egg, but I think it’s the safest. I love the freshness of the seafood and the shrimps were big. However, it wasn’t as tasty, I feel like it needed more salt or other seasoning.

Okada Medley Buffet - seafood station — Seafood station.

Okada Medley Buffet - seafood — Large pieces of shrimp.

Okada Medley Buffet - cooked seafood — Seafood in garlic butter sauce.

On the other side of the fresh seafood, you can find different types of sushi and sashimi. This is one of the best sections in the Medley Buffet. In my opinion, it’s worth going here just for these Japanese bites.

I was very impressed with the freshness and quality of the sushi and sashimi. I love the salmon & tuna sushi in particular, it’s one of the best I’ve had in the Philippines.

They also have these little plates with tuna tataki or kilawin, which are also worth getting.

Okada Medley Buffet - sashimi boat — Sashimi boat.

For the mains, one of the first things I’ve tried is the roast beef in mushroom sauce and rosemary sauce, which was really good. I also tried the lechon roll (which was tucked on the back of the main stations), which was juicy and crispy — although it tasted rather ordinary compared to that in Vikings or Sambo Kojin.

Okada Medley Buffet - roast beef — Prime roast beef.

There’s a roasting section where you can have roasted chicken, as well as slices of soy chicken, lechon macau, or pork asado. I read in reviews that Medley Buffet also offers peking duck, although there was none during our visit.

Okada Medley Buffet - roast chicken — Roast chicken.

If you’re looking for a pairing to these ulam, one of the must-try’s is the paella. The arborio rice was cooked well and there was a generous serving of seafood.

For the pasta, I had mac n’ cheese. Yes, I know it’s a heavy option to have in a buffet, but come on, it’s cheesy! This is the only ready-made pasta in the pasta section. For other kinds of pasta dishes, you need to request it specifically to the cook.

There’s also a small section where you can enjoy different flavors of fresh oven-bricked pizza. I skipped this one as I already had too much carbs.

Another area that I like is the Indian/Malay station. There are different kinds of bread (chapati, roti) and accompanying dishes such as chiken masala, briyani, and other curries. I had roti which tasted the same as the one I used to regularly eat for breakfast in Malaysia. I paired it with corn capsium and it was good. I always enjoy Indian/Malay flavors because of the complex flavors and spices used.

For the Chinese station, I stopped to try a piece or two of dimsum. I particularly like the panda buns, which are not only cute but also yummy. The panda buns contain a sweet filling and salted egg in the middle. There’s no hakaw though.

I made a quick visit to the cheese and meat cuts section. Medley Buffet has a good selection of cheeses, which is good if you’re a legit cheese lover. I took small cuts of blue cheese and other cheeses but I realized it wasn’t for me — the smell was too strong and pungent.

Okada Medley Buffet - cheeses — Various types of cheese.

Anyway, here are selected photos of other stations.

Okada Medley Buffet - Japanese deep fry — Japanese deep fry/tempura section.

Okada Medley Buffet - noodle station — Noodle station.

Okada Medley Buffet - bread station — Bread station.

Let’s go to the dessert. There’s so many to choose from! There are sections for ice cream, make-your-own halo halo, cakes and custards, sweets like chocolate shards and lollipops, and crepes. There’s also a section for Filipino desserts such as sticky rice and maja cakes. Medley Buffet has the widest dessert selection I’ve seen in a buffet so far, and the quality is also better than most.

I had buko pandan and mango sago. I also had matcha cake and a small glass of pumpkin custard which interestingly tasted like pumpkin soup.

By the way, if you’re conscious about your sugar intake, Medley Buffet also has non-sugar desserts. Fresh fruits are also available.

Okada Medley Buffet - cakes — Chocolate cakes.

Okada Medley Buffet - dessert station — Dessert station – with chocolate shards and more.

Drinks are also included in the door price. You can choose among coffees and teas, milk tea, juices, and even alcoholic drinks such as wine.

I had milk tea with pearls. The milk tea tasted surprisingly good, comparable to other premium milk tea shops in Manila. However, the pearls were too soft as if overcooked. Anyway, getting this was a mistake because I was already full from the food selection and after finishing a whole glass of milk tea I found it difficult to get up. Treat this as a warning for matakaw people like me.

Okada Medley Buffet - milk tea — Milk tea with pearls.

I took several minutes to breathe and then ordered a small kettle of green tea to cap off the dinner.

Final thoughts

One of the first things you’re probably wondering about is how Okada’s Medley Buffet compares to other high-end buffets in Manila. I won’t be able to give an answer because I haven’t been to Spiral or Circles yet, although I’ve read reviewers that says Medley Buffet fares better than Spiral.

Whether it’s worth the price… I think the variety, quality of food, and ambiance/exclusivity is a valid justification for the rate. As for myself, I normally don’t shell out P2700 for a dinner buffet and I’d be equally happy with less-expensive (yet still satisfying) buffet options such as Vikings or Sambo Kojin.

That saying, here are the things I like about Medley Buffet:

Wide selection of food
Fresh seafood, especially sashimi and tuna
Largest dessert section I’ve seen
Inclusion of drinks such as wine, beer, and cocktails

Not to mention the great service. The staff at Medley Buffet was polite, courteous, and quick to deliver your requests.

On the downside, I feel like some of their dishes taste-wise can be improved. See my comments above about the seafood.

There was a lot of interesting new tastes and perhaps I made the mistake of going for my regulars in buffets but there wasn’t really enough to wow me. Anyway, that’s just my experience. Medley Buffet gets a lot of raves from online reviews, so I urge you to try it for yourself.