Sambo Kojin: My Absolutely Foodie Birthday Celebration

It was a busy day but I made sure to celebrate with a bang in the evening with a Sambo Kojin Japanese and Korean Yakiniku buffet! :)

First of all, thank you to everyone who greeted me before, on and after my birthday! I still have yet to thank everyone who posted on my Facebook wall. All of you made me feel so loved on my birthday. <3

Birthday Cake c/o Sambo Kojin - Thanks!

My birthday, despite falling on a Saturday, was one busy day. I had a work meeting in the morning and a photography club meeting in the afternoon. 

SLR Photography Club Judges for Filipino Food Theme: Rosie, Ranze, Joboy

But I really didn't mind dedicating the entire afternoon to my photography club since 2 of my Filipino Food photography shots made it in the SLR club's Top 15! Hooray for a rookie win! 

I'm still learning how to use the SLR so I was extremely ecstatic that I got in. Hopefully my photos will also make it to the Top 15 in the greater Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF) contest. *crosses fingers* 

Sushi and Sashimi at Sambokojin

As soon as the meeting ended, I was off to finally celebrate my birthday at Sambo Kojin, Eastwood City! 

Grill and 6 Dipping Sauces

Named after the Japanese Kitchen God, it's a Japanese and Korean Yakiniku buffet restaurant that allows you to grill all you can minus the smoke. They have a wide array of raw meat for grilling with 6 different types of sauces for dipping.

Plus, they serve eat-all-you-can Salmon Sashimi that effortlessly melts in your mouth like butter - what more can I ask for? :)

Salad Section

For just Php595/head, they serve quite an impressive array of buffet choices: Salad, Sashimi/Sushi, Food For Grilling, Fried Food, Korean Food and Desserts. They even serve Ox Tongue and Black Tiger Prawns!

I've gathered eat-all-you-can techniques in my previous buffet visits, so my eyes were pretty much fixed on ticket items such as sashimi, seafood and meats, particularly beef. I almost ignored the Salad Bar altogether until my sister suggested wrapping the meats in lettuce like in Kogi Bulgogi. This goes well with the sauces from the salad bar too! 

Raw Meat, Raw Seafood and other Vegetables For Grilling Section

After two dedicated visits to the Sashimi Section for platefuls of Salmon Sashimi and a piece each of the unique looking sushis (I can't get enough of their Salmon Sashimi!), I finally dashed for a fresh plate for all the raw meat I can cook and consume. 

I completely forgot about my all-beef plan as my eyes traced along the mind blowing long line of plates in the Grilling Section - I wanted to try them all! So much for buffet strategies, I couldn't refrain myself from picking up almost every variety of meat. Soon I was performing a balancing act of three plates packed with raw meat, an act I would repeat for 2x more that evening! 

Trust me, it's not as glutton-crazy as it sounds once you've tasted their high quality meat.

Korean Food and Fried Food Section

Other great choices worth raving about are their Chapchae, Korean Beef Stew and RJ's favorite and most visited dish of the night, Katsudon. And if you can't resist having rice, I highly recommend their wonderfully flavored Kamameshi Rice.

Gyoza

Grilled Chicken and Kamameshi Rice

Since it was my birthday, my entire family kept flooding my plate with food matched with overly excited tones, "You should try this!" and "Have you tried this?" I was drowning with so much food around me that I never felt so lucky to have such attentive waiters, constantly on the lookout for empty plates. 

Ice Cream and Cakes at the Dessert Section

To finally wash down all the different sauces and flavors in my mouth, I ended my buffet with two highly chocoholic desserts, Chocolate Ice Cream topped of with Chocolate Chips and Chocolate Syrup and my Birthday Chocolate Cake from Sambo Kojin (see photo above). The waiters really gave me a shock as they came from behind and broke into a birthday song. Thank you! 

They also serve a pot of melted chocolate paired with marshmallows, fruits and lollipops for dipping. For cake fanatics, they have several bite sizes of cheesecakes, chiffons and even Brazo de Mercedes.

I do have some comments about the lack of labels in their grilling section and lack of cooking instructions (ex. not using the same chopsticks for eating and picking up raw meat) but as I'm writing these very words, I can't help but swear to come back to Sambo Kojin again - very soon! 

So despite having a hectic day, I still had an awesomely delicious birthday with my dear family. <3 

And to make up for the lost morning and afternoon, I decided to extend my birthday celebration to an entire weekend. Immediately after Sambo Kojin, RJ and I took a Victory Liner bus ride. 

Off to Baguio we go! 

PS. Sorry I can't pose my 2 Filipino Food photos since the FPPF contest isn't over yet. :)
PS 2. I'm still using my digital camera for my photos here since the SLR I use really belongs to my brother. Sayang! 


More Info on Sambokojin:
Address: Eastwood City Walk, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave, Bagumbayan, Libis, Quezon City
Map: Click Here
Menu: Click Here
Contact: (02) 421-0145 to 46
Operating Hours: Mon-Thursday 11AM-2PM, 6:00-10:00PM
                          Fri-Sun 11AM-2PM, 5:30-10:00PM
Budget: Php595/head +Php100 for leftover; except for Mon-Friday Lunch time (Php495/head) 
            Php295/child 
Payment Method: Cash, Visa, Mastercard, Amex
Attire: Casual
Other Branches: EDSA Greenhills Mandaluyong City (726-4466 or 726-4520)
Tip: Have a reservation and be on time for your reservation. :)


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