Hot Birthday Lunch

July 24. July 11. June 16. June 26.

These dates are the birthdays of my mom, uncle, cousin and baby cousin, and it is the reason why we ate a gluttonous lunch at HEAT last Sunday, July 11.

Heat is actually an acronym for “Healthy Eating and Amazing Tastes”. Heat offers healthy eating in amazing tastes in their international buffet consisting of Japanese, Chinese, Indian, European, American, and of course, Filipino dishes. The “stylish-resort” decorated establishment was created back in 2005, where at was lauded for its array of fresh seafood and wonderful tasting desserts. It’s definitely one of my favorite buffets, since I love dessert, and HEAT always manages to please my pallet.

sushi and sashami section, bread and cheese section

Even though most like to start the buffet with bread (there is a fantastic selection of bread ranging from focaccia to sourdough), I almost always start with sushi, though, the sushi available in Heat is no the freshest. The usual staples of a sushi bar can be found in HEAT, such as salmon, tuna and California maki, but my favorites were the salmon terrine and spicy tuna salad. A layer of crisp seaweed, sticky sushi rice, soft cream cheese and a thin layer of smoked salmon make up the gorgeous looking salmon terrine. I then went for the incredibly fresh lobster, still in its shell, which was so light, and its flavors were mellow.

lobster, sushi and sashami

For the entrées, I started off with grilled sea bass, shrimp palau, chicken tika, fish makhani and some vegetables, the “healthy eating” part to my meal. The sea bass was amazingly grilled and it was so flaky and soft, as if it will melt down as soon as I took a bite. The Indian foods available were all a little too spicy, except for the chicken tika, which was soft, and I like spicy food. HEAT also has a special soup making area where I ordered the laksa, a popular Malaysian and Singaporean dish, which was spicy as well. As soon as my brother took one sip, he immediately drank some water to cool down the heat. Maybe the restaurant is called HEAT because of the intense heat of the food.

plate 1: chicken tika, srhimp palau, grilled seabass, vegetables, fish makhani

Plate 2: Peking duck rolls, scallop-shrimp and vegetable dumpling

I then moved on to the Chinese section where I spied some scallop-shrimp dumplings. My sister loved these and the scallops were so ethereal and light, which complimented the unusually sweet shrimp. I also got a vegetable dumpling and a Peking duck wrap, which were both typical Chinese fare. It seems odd to me that my favorite siopao is found in HEAT (actually in Circles, as well). A soft white mantau, Chinese bread, is filled with a sweet asado and carrot filling.

plate 1: fresh shrimp, salmon tartar plate 2: peanut glazed sea bass, siopao, tempura, grilled salmon

The fish monger for HEAT must have had a good catch, since it seems like they had tons of fresh sea bass, which are almost extinct, to go around. Not only did they have grilled sea bass, but a peanut-tasting sauce glazed sea bass, though this paled in comparison to the grilled one. The Filipino section offered tons of variety. There was sinigang, a sour and spicy soup, barbeque, adobo and grilled salmon, which was so delicate and perfectly seasoned, all befitting to showcase the flavors of our country.

plate1: rib-eye, popover, pork ribs, pasta aioli-oli plate 2: laksa

A good buffet should always have a good cut of beef. In HEAT, the rib-eye filled the position. Since I don’t eat beef, my brother filled me in on the flavor, which was tasty, but it was a little too chewy for his taste. A side dish offered with the steak was a fluffy and hollow popover. They also added a shawarma station wherein guests can choose the filling for their shawarma, a famous Middle-Eastern snack.

chocolate brownie cake, tiramisu-like torte, blueberry cheesecake, creamy cheesecake

HEAT’s strong suit may not be in its savory dishes, but its sweet offerings make-up for it and takes the cake. After a smorgasbord of entrées, I finally went on to crowding my plate with the sinful desserts. I started of with the miniature cakes. Small slices of blueberry cheesecake, a creamy cheesecake, tiramisu-like torte, and a brownie cake rested on top of tiny white plates. Even though I adore cheesecake, my favorite happened to be the tiramisu-like torte. Layers of espresso-soaked chiffon cake and cream were topped with a chocolate ganache, Yum!

display of dessert section

The dessert section not only displays cake, but a prodigious variety of confections some being mini pecan tarts, cream puffs, sabayon chocolate cream and vanilla panna cotta, a heart-warming bread pudding and jelly. HEAT also offers Filipino desserts like bibingka, ube and sapin-sapin.

clockwise: cream-puff, pecan tartlets, blueberries'n cream crepe, chocolate and lemony cream-cheese puddings, chocolate cream and vanilla panna cotta

There were some new offerings like the heavenly chocolate and lemony cream cheese puddings. The puddings were sweet, airy and melted like butter once placed in the mouth. Another new addition was the churro. One churro is dipped in chocolate while the other a strawberry preserve, but both were light, sugary and delightful. Staples like the crepe station, halo-halo bar and the mini ice-cream parlor still offer their sweet and luscious delights, my favorite being the crepe, preferably filled with blueberries and cream, but I also love smashing in chocolate chips, nuts and brownies with the rich and creamy vanilla ice cream.

sabayon, churro, bread pudding with blueberry sauce, variety of chocolate straws

A beautiful selection of truffles and chocolates are for disposal as well. There were tons of fruit infused and plain chocolate truffles being offered, but my favorites were the ambrosial chocolate straws made in numerous flavors, strawberry, pistachio, and milk, white and dark chocolate. The pistachio chocolate straws were slightly nuttier; the strawberry chocolate straws were a bit tart, but still very very sweet.

chocolate truffles, halo-halo section

As always, there were chocolate fountains with plenty of different “dippable” items like fruit, cookies and marshmallows. A fountain was added, a blue one, which tasted like white chocolate, though I was hoping that it would be mint chocolate.

blue chocolate fountain, milk chocolate and white chocolate fountain

Once again, HEAT has stroked my sweet tooth and my really full belly. I can tell that most of their food is cooked healthily (maybe except for the desserts) and the taste is surely amazing. It remains one of my favorite buffets in the Philippines.