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I enjoy eating siomai with my Chinese food as much as anyone, especially when the dumplings are all covered in chili and soy sauce goodness. So when I received an invitation to try out Gloria Maris’s new dimsum buffet one week before it officially opens, I made sure I didn’t have any lunch so I could try everything on the menu – and have room for seconds.

Beginning August 30 until September 21, Gloria Maris Podium and Rockwell will be holding a dimsum buffet on weekdays from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. For only P238 per person, you can enjoy a delightful array of freshly-cooked dimsum and other short order dishes. I thought the time was a little bit awkward for a dimsum buffet because on weekday afternoons, most people are still at school or stuck in their cubicles. And even if they weren’t, a buffet is a little too heavy for merienda, isn’t it? I think this might have been more appropriate for weekday lunches, but I suppose those eating lunch out on weekdays don’t have the time to make the most out of a buffet.

The dimsum included in the buffet are those that you can find in Gloria Maris’s ala carte menu: siomai, hakaw, Japanese siomai, chicken feet, sharks’ fin dumplings, seafood roll, asado siopao, and spinach dumplings. Although they had a dimsum cart out, you won’t need to rummage through it to find dimsum that you like. Each order of dimsum is made to order to guarantee freshness and quality.

The mid-afternoon feast also included yang chow fried rice, birthday noodles, foo chow style chopsuey, sweet and sour pork, fried spring rolls, steamed pork spareribs, and beancurd roll. All of these short order dishes will be changed every week for variety.

As if that weren’t enough, the buffet also included lean meat century egg congee! I would have gotten full on this alone – I love congee.

I made sure I left room in my tummy for dessert – taho, which was kept warm in a wooden bucket. You can add as much sugar and sago as you like too!

If the Gloria Maris dimsum buffet were held at more accessible hours, I’d definitely come back again. It’s the best place to go to if you haven’t eaten Chinese food in a while or if you’re in the mood to eat enough dimsum to last a lifetime. I’d recommend it anyway if you’re free during a weekday afternoon, but forget about resuming work afterwards – you’ll be too full and sleepy to!

The Gloria Maris Dimsum buffet costs P238 per head and will run from August 30 to September 21 on weekdays, from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. For reservations, contact Gloria Maris Podium at 636-2905 or Gloria Maris Rockwell at 895-9741.

Tags: chinese food, dimsum buffet