Four Seasons HotPot City is the newest buffet concept that opened recently along SM By The Bay at SM Mall of Asia. This newest buffet restaurant in Manila specializes in hotpot / shabu-shabu creations which diners can customized by themselves with fresh and healthy ingredients. Being under the umbrella of the famous buffet chain, Vikings Group, Four Seasons HotPot City holds the promise of providing luxurious feast of unlimited proportion.
In a nutshell, Four Seasons HotPot City concept spring forth from the cook-your-own-food idea which is not really new in the food scene and the noble idea of farm-to-table, a fairly new practice in Manila restaurant scene but not at all a foreign concept. But as expected of any Vikings Group restaurants, it goes beyond that.
In a nutshell, Four Seasons HotPot City concept spring forth from the cook-your-own-food idea which is not really new in the food scene and the noble idea of farm-to-table, a fairly new practice in Manila restaurant scene but not at all a foreign concept. But as expected of any Vikings Group restaurants, it goes beyond that.
THE PLACE
Four Seasons Hot Pot City is located along SM By The Bay at SM Mall of Asia, just right beside Movie Star Cafe and other restaurants long the strip. It is hard to miss with its big signage.
The place, as expected, is of Vikings ambiance quality. I have always been honest how much I admire the interior designs of every Vikings Buffet branches. I have not seen Vikings Niu in SM Aura Taguig and Vikings Buffet in SM Jazz Makati, as someone who has a thing for beautiful restaurant interior, my friends told me to get ready as it will blew me away. Judging by how designs and themes of all Vikings Buffet branches which I have been to were executed well, I expect nothing less.
Such is also the case for Four Seasons HotPot City. The design is impeccably curated - from the beautifully designed lighting fixtures to the cage-like wire accent hanging on the ceiling, to the wall design that mimics brick walls, down to the plush seats. Back part of the restaurant features a partition that double as a white wall with different variety of displays which somehow represent what the restaurant serves.
There is an ample room which can accommodate around 380 people. The main dining area has tables with built-in digital stove and electric yin-yang dual sided hot pot cookware. This can be perfect for group of 4 as it can accommodate 2 types of soup among the plenty of variations that Four Seasons HotPot City offers.
Aside from the dining hall, there are five private rooms, each one can accommodate 10 to 12 persons max at a time. A round table with Lazy Susan in the middle for convenient food access is also equipped with built-in digital stove. Instead of the yin yang pot however, mini stainless steel pots perfect for personal use are available.
THE FOOD STATIONS AND SELECTIONS
As mentioned, Four Seasons HotPot City can be liken to a market. Diners can get their food from different stations then carry back to their table where they can cook everything to their liking - hot pot style, of course.
Meat Station
Meat Station of Four Seasons Hot Pot City features wide variety of meat (pork, beef, chicken, lamb) neatly and meticulously prepared by the Four Seasons chefs.
Each are prepared in individual food container of decent proportion. There are variety of choices, most notable are the selections of offal or innards which I noticed are pretty popular to the diners.
My favorite part of the meat section however is the area that features sliced variety of meat. Choices includes beef short ribs, beef striploin, beef short plate, pork jowls, pork neck, pork belly, and lamb.
Seafood Station
Seafood lovers may find their little heaven in this part of the market buffet spread. There are plenty of seafood choices which are not limited to fish.
There are unlimited servings of prawns, squids, scallops, baby octopus, crabs, and get this - frog legs, which by the way I don't really care much about but other diners totally dig.
Vegetable Section
Different vegetables selections includes green leafy ones, different type of mushrooms, taro, corn, tamarind, and many many more.
Dimsum and Dumplings Food Selections
Since these goodies can be categorized under meat, seafood, and vegetables, they are situated alongside one area that features the aforementioned main food sections.
Chefs busy creating different kinds of dimsum and dumplings are visible to the diners and they are friendly enough to assist you should you need assistance or if you have any questions regarding particular item on the food chest.
Meatballs are aplenty, but vegetarians need not frown as Four Seasons also has a wide variety of vegetarian selections such as tofu and vegetable dumplings to name a few.
Different kinds of noodles which colors are feat in itself are also readily available and located by the dimsum and dumplings section of the market buffet.
Appetizer and Japanese Section
This section is one of those that features ready-to-eat dishes. It has salad, bread, and cold cuts just to name a few.
Japanese food staple such as sushi, sashimi, and rolls are also located in the same section as the appetizers. It make sense since these Japanese goodies are often considered a good meal starter by menu in any buffet set up.
Premium Section
As of the time of writing, Premium Meat Section is not yet in operation. Ms. Raquel Bartolome of Vikings Buffet Group informed us that it will open soon and will feature premium quality meat which can be had for added cost. I am guessing that there will be Angus beef and the likes, which I don't mind shelling extra money for considering the quality, so I am excited for this section.
Hot Dishes Food Selection
Aside from having the liberty to create their own hot pot concoctions, diners may also enjoy ready-to-eat hot dishes available on the buffet spread. The selections comprised of well-loved Chinese cuisine and the ever buffet famous Shrimp Tempura.
An Eat-All-You-Can feast will never be complete without dessert, and Vikings Buffet Group being known for their hotel quality desserts made sure that at Four Seasons HotPot City, diners will also get to enjoy delectable sweets of the same quality.
Bar Section
Just like at Vikings, Four Season HotPot City includes unlimited drinks for their diners. Selections are pretty much the same as that of Vikings - soda, flavored iced tea, fruit juices, chocolate shakes, coffee, and tea. While they offer unlimited beer, Four Season also serves wines for a additional cost.
Sauce and Broth Selections
Sauce plays a great part in coming up with delicious hot pot creation, hence, the sauce ingredients and pre-made sauces are present in every main section of the market buffet. The choices are wide so diners can be as adventurous as they want to in creating their preferred sauce.
Soup broth choices includes chicken based broth, seafood based broth, vegetable based broth, sate, and sinigang broth. I also heard there is this special broth called Sibut which is essentially flavored with Chinese spices.
Note however that these broth is use only as the base of your hot pot creation, so, do not be surprised that the flavor is a tad bland. Flavor will develop as you go along adding your food choices and the sauce you create. You may change soup as often as you want, Four Seasons allows it. Just be sure to finish your everything on your pot before doing so (There are people dying of starvation, wasting food isn't really nice thing to do when you are blessed with plenty. Just saying.)
MY FEAST
Our group occupies one of the private rooms at Four Seasons, hence, I was able to enjoy my hot pot using the personalized stainless steel pot cookware. The first broth I opted for was the sinigang variant.
It was tempting to stick to the usual Sinigang dish creation but with the enticing choices of ingredients available in the market buffet, I cannot help but go crazy over the countless possibilities I could come up with with my hot pot.
First on the pot were the veggies especially those which takes time to be cooked and those which provides flavor to the broth.
I went ahead and focus on seafood choices first since I fancy a Seafood Sinigang that day. I went crazy over the prawns, I tell you.
I did have a great time with the seafood choices but as a meat-lover, I never let the chance to feast on meat pass by. The meat selections are awesome in itself, I wonder what more if the Premium Meat section opens.
Variations of meat also did well with my chosen broth but I feel the need to dip the meat in the customized sauce Ms. Raquel created for our group to try. But I figured these meat will shine the most with sate broth.
So that's what I did. After finishing my Sinigang hot pot creation, I opted for sate broth which the very able food attendant at Four Seasons prepared for me.
Dimsums are also great with the sate broth so I took the liberty to go crazy with my selections. There are countless of choices. I am glad that since they do have vegetarian section, tofu were given highlights.
Aside from the tofu selections, what I love among the ball choices are the ones filled with cheese. I tell you, it tasted so good and really perfect with the sate broth and sauce I had.
After the hot pot feast, rule of thumb is there should always room for desserts. As per usual, I had cheesecake which by the way Vikings Group is really good at. I love everything on my dessert plate that I remember having a second helping of almost everything.
I wasn't really planning to have a beer but Ms. Raquel suggest that I should try their Chang beer, and I did. Had I known that it was that good, I probably down several bottles of it while feasting on my hot pot. I am not really a big beer drinking as I prefer cocktails over it most of the time, but Chang beer was a revelation. Tasted much like Hoegaarden but I deem it's lighter. Next time I'll be at Four Seasons, it'll be a drinking feast.
Four Seasons HotPot City I must say is my new favorite buffet restaurant by far. Yes, it doesn't have the usual pre-made dishes I am used to enjoying from the usual buffet restaurants, but the enjoyment of having to select your own food choices and cook it to your liking is something I appreciate. I love the fact that the buffet rate is very reasonable and the quality of food choices is equally impressive. Needless to say, I know I'll be back at Four Seasons HotPot City.
FOUR SEASONS HOTPOT CITY, SM MOA RATE
Adult Rate:
Adult Weekday Lunch: 588
Adult Weekday Dinner: 788
Adult Weekends/Holiday Lunch & Dinner = 788
Kids Rate:
Kids below 3 ft: FREE
Kids 3 ft - 4 ft Weekday Lunch: 188
Kids 3 ft - 4 ft Weekday Dinner: 288
Kids 3 ft - 4 ft Weekends/Holiday Lunch & Dinner: 288
Kids 4 ft - 4 ft 6" Weekday Lunch: 288
Kids 4 ft - 4 ft 6" Weekday Dinner: 388
Kids 4 ft - 4 ft 6" Weekends/Holiday Lunch & Dinner: 388
*Prices are subject to 5% service charge.
For list of promos, check out Four Seasons HotPot City website.
Four Seasons HotPot City
SM Mall of Asia
Bldg E., By the Bay, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City
Contact No.: 831-7777, 835-7777
Website: www.fourseasonshotpot.com.ph
Facebook: www.facebook.com/fourseasonshotpotmoa
Twitter: @fourseasonsHP
Instagram: @fourseasonshotpotph
