Above, under & beyond the rainbow: Food Review: FLAVORS CAFE, From Plain to Bland

Attending Zomato foodie meet-ups are fun to begin with. Not only do you get to try out the food offerings of certain establishments but also know fellow food lovers. And knowing them and sharing your thoughts about things broadens your pool of knowledge and understanding of certain things – food.

Flavors Café is located at the Lobby level of the Holiday Inn and Suites in Makati City. This is the 2^nd hotel in Makati that is literally connected to the Ayala Mall – Glorietta, a hop or skips from your room and you are now in the mall. Flavor’s is one café that is well lit and has ample space for all types of diners. With seating that is near to 100, has a small enclosed room for business meets (good for 8 pax) and an outdoor set-up for those who wishes to smoke as they dine, Flavors is one nice place to visit, visually.

The people or staffs of the café are courteous enough to attend to your need, if they are around. I don’t know how or what but they seems to have a Houdini gene running inside them. One minute they are there, the next minute they are gone. Such was my experience when I was there; I saw them walking (3 staffs) in the dining area and when I looked back to ask for assistance regarding an entry they were gone. It took me nearly a minute to decide whether I should try that offering or not since I have questions about it; then a hotel staff appeared.

Flavors Café main aim is to stimulate the taste buds of an individual; from sweet to salty to sour to bitter, spicy and umami – in culinary talk that would be the sweet, savory, spicy/smoky, tart and bitter. Which explains the food offerings that they have – from Asian dishes to European and American plate favorites, Flavor’s is set to capture your heart as one of those buffet establishment, in a hotel, that people should go for. Such can be so if certain steps can be made.

They have a good food offering; from salads to meats, to pasta and stews and a wide dessert option, Flavor’s has it made if the expected flavor and food treatment is there. My opinion: If you name your place Flavors, then I would expect bold seasoning and a real explosion of taste experience. If the seasoning is not bold enough to tickle the palate, critique or not the person may be, then it is not a food place wonder. My ratings for this place are as follow and I will explain why afterwards:

Service: started at a 7 that went down to 5

Food Offerings: 7

Food Taste: 5.21 (overall)

Appetizer: 4

Bread: 6.5

Meat & Sauces: 3.5

Pasta/Noodles: 3.5

Chicken: 4

Dessert: 8

Drinks (Hot & Cold): 7

Overall rating: 5.73

It was at least bearable.

One thing that I would like to give them credit too is the effort to keep the food at reasonable temperature for the customers to enjoy. All food offerings that need to be warm are kept on food warmers and heat lamps. While those that need to be at a cooler temperature were placed in areas away from heat and with ice, if needed. Now here is the challenge . . .since the food is kept on warmers there would be certain dryness on the meal especially if it is meat, especially chicken. Those under heat lamps or warm lamps, the same situation can be said and such was my experience when I took a sampling of their Baked Mac. It looks good but dry. The sauce and cheese dried-up from too long exposure under the warm lamp and made some of the macaroni a bit dry to the palate.

The salad area offers a limited selection. There were the usual greens and add-ons that you wish to place along with the standard dressings. What got my eye was the selection of prepped salad that time and their hummus. This is where the flavor issue started knocking in my brain processor and tongue. They have 4 offerings that time and what I chose were the Tex-Mex themed and the tuna. The tuna is good in terms of tuna presence in the salad. My challenge: the tuna taste like it came from the can and not fresh. The Tex-mex looks like Tex-mex indeed in terms of colors and some visible components. My challenge: It lacks that flavor kick that is typical Texan-Mexican in inspiration. The bell pepper was there and so is the onion but is that it? The hummus is good in terms of texture. Despite the absence of a herb flavor typical in a hummus, I still enjoyed what they have. Next plate please.

The ham or cold-meat offering is what I would say neutral in terms of taste. The honey-cured is not that strong in flavor, so is the pepperoni. The pepper crusted ham is but a step-up from being mild in flavor. Perhaps if I use them for sandwiches, the flavors may then be released. The challenge: there is no one to assist you immediately regarding your need of a slice of the ham/ cold cuts. You have to flag a staff, who would then relay it to the carving station – which is on the other side of the room- and then they will deliver unto your table (the positive point at that moment).

Since we are at the topic of meat, the carving station has 3 meat selections and a good number of sauces to match your taste. The positive point, the selection given – meat and sauces, they have options to choose from. You can play in terms of mix and matching a meat to a sauce and find what truly tickle and satisfy your fancy. The drawbacks in this section are the treatment of the meat and the flavors of the some sauces. When someone asked for medium or medium rare, then the expected piece should have a pinkish center, even when grilled, even if it is a thin slice. The reason as to why medium is the preferred cooking style of meat is because, it becomes soft that the natural juices/sweetness comes out plus soft enough to absorb flavors from the sauce of your choosing. The way they handled the lamb is good. For the beef and pork, it was not medium cooked that for sure. The liver sauce, why is it sweet?

Keema Mutter

The dish that I liked that night was their Keema Mutter. It looks like your ground meat minus the potato cubes that we are locally familiar with - plus pepper slices. It may not look much and even threatening, for those scared of heat/spicy food, but the flavors are nice. It has a strong ME flavor that reflects where the recipe hailed from. It is not spicy/hot but there is definitely a small concert of spice/flavors in your mouth. It was the only meat dish that night that stood up for the name of the place.

The dessert line is quite impressive. Individual offering or as a whole, the dessert is divine. From crème brulee to shot-glass treats, cake slices to treats on sticks, eastern to western ice treats, and classic bread pudding, they have something to cap the dining experience.

If you’re a chocolate lover then you should try the following: La Sultana, Macadamia, Chocolate Oheyna and La Tour. The chocolate flavor is so clear and strong on each cake slice that you might have difficulty in choosing which to truly sink your teeth on. The White Chocolate Blondie is a good treat also since it is not too sweet. Their Cheesecake, Lemon Meringue and Tiramisu, non-chocolate cake offered that night, also made the place proud! I love the Tiramisu! That small volcano like in shape cake treat carries a punch in the coffee department! Not that strong, it is simply right for that small size of a cake.

Their chocolate fondue station may be small in offering but packs a punch too. The chocolate used can be a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, based in taste. There is that sweetness typical of a milk chocolate and a bitter bite typical of dark chocolates. From bread sticks to cookies, to dried and fresh fruits and gummy treat, they have something for you to dip into their fondue.

With their cold drinks and house water, they do serve things fast; making sure that guest or diners has ample liquids at hand. Unfortunately, I have an issue with their latte. When you order a latte in a coffee shop, it will only take a full a minute or two for it to be served; with latte art, nearing 5 minutes, nothing more. When I ordered a latte from them and hoped for a latte art with it, it took 2 follow-ups and nearing to 15 minutes for it to be served. Because of the follow-up made, another cup arrived on out table, 5 minutes after the first cup which makes you wonder as to why it took them that long to serve the first cup. Is it because of the art request? If coffee shops personnel can do it, why not one working in a hotel café right?

Flavors Café may be situated inside a hotel, which is in a busy city, but still lacks a punch that is expected from Holiday Inn and Suites. Ambiance is good. The lighting of the place is also well planned because it is not glaring nor to soft, just right for casual dining. The comfort level of the place in terms of seats and tables is good – something that you would truly expect from a hotel. The things keeping this place from truly taking flight and capturing the hearts of people are the gaps in service delivery and bold food flavors.

Photos:

(All photos used were personally taken by me)

The Place: