My Birthday Celebration & the Foods Vikings and More!
Let me get this straight, I just turned 35 years old last Sunday, February 19. So, Happy Birthday to me! And since I never tried dining at the Vikings before, I told Grace prior to my natal day that I wanted to have a birthday dinner date with her there. I knew it is very expensive, but I really wanted to try new things out for experience and to make memories.
I do not know if there are other Vikings restaurant in Cebu, but for this post, I will share my experience in Vikings SM City Cebu. So, without further ado...
Everytime we go to SM City Cebu, specifically in the North Wing, I always get to see this big logo of the Vikings. I would always wonder what kind of dining experience would I have if I get a chance to try it. They said it is very similar to the dining experience you would get in Buffet 101, which I tried maybe eight years ago. That was very long ago, so I was still very curious. All I knew about the Vikings is that they are expensive and they serve variety of foods. I wanted to really taste their food and feel the Vikings vibe.
My wife told me days before to call Vikings for a reservation because she said that my birthday falls on a Sunday so it is expected that there would be lots of people who would wish to dine in. So, I called and did a reservation. I was very happy that we did get a reservation because we were accomodated first before those who were only walk-ins. I believe they limit the number of people inside the restaurant.
As said, it is very costly to experience Vikings. So, Grace and I made use of the Birthday Promo wherein the birthday celebrant can eat for free on his/her birthday provided that he/she is accompanied by one full-paying adult. I was able to take this photo above because the queue was quite long.
We were given a sequence number after confirming that we had reserved a table for two. We waited for a minute or two before we were permitted to go inside. A crew guided us to our table then she asked if one of us was celebrating our birthday. We told her that it was my birthday, so she asked for any government issued ID for verification. After that, she joyfully told us that we could start getting food in the buffet.
Grace and I were not very hungry yet so Grace suggested that I could roam around first to take pictures/videos because she knew that I would be sharing this dining experience here in Hive and on my social media accounts...
The Place
Vikings SM City Cebu is a huge place! It surely can cater or accomodate a lot of people. There are plenty of tables good for big groups. The place looks so expensive and elegant in all angles, so you really would think that you are not only paying for the buffet but also for the ambiance and comfortability when you are inside.
After I took pictures of the place, I went to every food station to take pictures of the unlimited food choices from main courses, desserts, appetizers, beverages, and a lot more. Here were the food that they served that day!
The Food
The first station that I went to was the pasta and pizza station. I was salivating when I got to see the variety of pizza, different kinds of breads, and the cheesy and saucy pasta. I was ready to take one slice of the pizza but I thought that it would ruin my food tour. So, I resisted so hard.
There were also another station intended for sweetened breads, cookies, cakes, and doughnuts. If you knew me personally you would know that these are my weaknesses.
However, I was also having doubts if I would get any of these that day because I already had sweets prior to that day. I am limiting my sugar intake because I do not want to be suffering from any illness because of my great liking to sweets. I said to myself that I am not paying here to be sick in the long run (charot)! Yes, I am starting to worry about my health now that I am 35. Hopefully, it is not too late.
There was also a station for fruits such as papaya, watermelon, and melons which was place on top of big ice chunks to keep it cool and fresh. But, I did not get any of these fruits because they are not my favorites and Grace also told me to get the ones that we cannot afford or have not tried in other restaurants.
Then, I went to check the beverages. There were cucumber drink, four seasons, cold milo, strawberry lemonade, guyabano juice, home-blend iced tea, pineapple and papaya juice, and plain water. I was eyeing for the cucumber and four season juice. They also serve beer and wine, but I think these two are not included in the promo packages.
The next station should have been the salad section, but a lot of people were getting salads that time so I decided to go back to it later or maybe after eating but I completely forgotten to take pictures of their salad display.
The halo-halo section was one of my favorites. Halo-halo is a Filipino dessert in which different fruits and other sweetened ingredients are mixed together. These ingredients above can be mixed together in a bowl with crushed ice. Halo-halo become special if you add a scoop of icecream (mostly ube) on top.
Then my feet brought me to the sushi section. When, I saw the display of the varieties of sushi, I told myself to be quick on my food tour so that I could start eating. I was excited to eat so many raw salmons together with sea weeds. It is very rare that I get a chance to eat these kind of food because they are very expensive. That was the perfect time for me to consume a lot of them.I think it became more inviting and tempting because they were arranged aesthetically on the trays.
I was very excited to tell Grace about my target for that night. She was there on our table waiting for me to finish my food tour. 😅
Then, I went to see the section for meats and main courses. A lot of people were lining up to get their choice of main courses. Surely, these foods will be the heaviest food selections. So, I told myself to try few slices only.
I cannot name them all because not all of the nain courses were labeled. I also did not ask for their names from the food servers for I was shy. I did not want them to think that it was my first time there. 😅
Roasted Leg of Lamb. "Ohhh, what is this?" I asked myself! I never had tasted a lamb before. So, I decided to get a slice of this. It tasted like an expensive goat meat, but I did not like that it was so hard to chew unlike the beef meat. They also served pork, chicken, and fish in this section. So, it was a no brainer why people would line up here.
I also took pictures of the other varieties of viand for the purpose of showing them to Hive. I wanted to try each of them but it is very impossible. I would really salute a person who could at least try each of the food in Vikings! Anyway, here are the other main courses that were served that day...
They also have this food which is a mixture of rice, sea foods, eggs, fish balls and some spices. I wanted to have a scoop of it because I really love seafoods but I ended up getting so many meat food already so I have no space on my plate. I could not also use my other hand because it was busy taking photos and videos.
They also served common Filipino appetizers such as the guso, lato, and lukot.But I remember Grace's pointers to not eat common foods that we could just buy in carenderias and other restaurants. But they really looked very delicious.
The all-time favorite bam-i which is always present in fiesta celebrations was also served. But I noticed that people did not get even a small serving of it, probably because there were plenty of selections also.
Aside from these, there were also a grill station where the guest can ask the crew to grill anything they want to eat from seafoods, chicken, and pork meat. They also have a noodle section beside it, where you can select which ingredients you want in your noodle soup.
The Birthday Cake Treat
All birthday celebrants received a small cake from the Vikings. Grace and I did not eat the cake because we were very full that that time. We decided to just ask the crew to box it so we could take it out. Prior to the giving of the cake, all crew danced two tiktok hits. It really made the vibe of the restaurant very lively and friendly.
Last Say
I totally enjoyed my birthday dinner date at Vikings SM Cebu. The place, food, and the crew were all great. You really are paying for the luxurious experience, sumptuous food, and friendly and accomodating crew. I give it 100/10 rating. There is no need to recommend because I know for sure that it will always have a good product and service rating.
But, I will never return to Vikings if I couldn't avail a promo such as the birthday promo because I am not rich. I also got a little frustration because I was not able to eat all.
