Years ago when a friend turned eighteen, we ate at Tong Yang Shabu-Shabu at Chimes. I remember that as a fairly pleasant experience so when we found out that there was a Tong Yang that would open in SM City Davao, we were looking forward to it.

Fast forward to a few years, Tong Yang Plus finally opens. As usual with any new place here, the place is always fully booked and the waiting list is always a mile long. My family tried to line up twice during the holidays, which, admittedly, was a bad idea, until my mom finally decided to just book us a table for a later date. That's how we found ourselves spending the first Tuesday of the year at an all-you-can eat hotpot and grill buffet.

The selection is pretty decent. The place is a lot smaller than Vikings so they understandably have a lot less to offer. If it's just a matter of quantity, it's worth the money, especially if you're capable of consuming boatloads of food. That's the usual in buffets, right? Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the quality. I didn't enjoy the food as much as I thought I would.

They had interesting choices for noodles for your hotpot. My dad tried the black noodles and he said they actually taste like squid ink, which was cool. I chose the chicken broth for my hotpot and it tasted exactly like chicken flavored cup noodles. My brother had to change his vegetable broth to something else because it tasted nothing at all. Their meat for the grill fell a flat to me because I felt like I've tried better elsewhere. The cuts were a little too thick to my liking.

Their selection of sushi was uninteresting. They were very colorful (there was one with purple rice or something?) but they don't look like anything I would put in my mouth. The salmon sashimi, as expected, is always the first to go.

I suppose it's a buffet thing to have your prettiest stuff the first thing a customer sees when they enter your restaurant. Tong Yang Plus has their dessert by the entrance and their colorful appearance certainly gives the impression that everything here is delicious. Their dessert look cute, but they don't really taste anything special. They're just nice to take pictures of. They have rice cakes and ice cream too, but no crepes. There was a set of small drawers with gummy candy that I think you're supposed to put as toppings on your ice cream. I thought that was kinda cute.

I try to avoid writing about negative experiences or reviews on this blog because I only want to look back on good things. But maybe sometimes it's okay to write about not-so-good things also. This is a very personal thing, though! People still go there and they have pretty good reviews on Facebook. They have promos for big groups (more than ten people) and birthday celebrants, too. What's not good for me may be good for you, so don't let my experience dissuade you from trying this place for yourself.

Try to get a reservation, though. The waiting list for walk-in customers as it is right now is just not worth it.

Tong Yang Plus Davao

SM City Davao Annex, Davao City

website: https://www.tongyangplus.com/

facebook: @tongyangplusdavao