Lunch Buffet for P695 in Alba Spanish Restaurant near MOA

Alba Restaurant in Two E-Com near Mall of Asia (MOA)

Alba holds a good memory for me because it is where (though not the same branch) I started my baby steps towards becoming a food blogger. It was one fine day of  May 2012 when my mom and I decided to have a lunch buffet in the Makati Branch of Alba. Although I was already blogging that time, venturing into the world of "food blog" hadn't totally crossed my mind yet. As a matter of fact, if you'll take a look at my blog post about that lunch experience, you'll notice that it just looks like a journal documenting what transpired.

This is why I was experiencing euphoria as I was drafting and writing this blog post. I couldn't help but think that maybe Alba served as one of the primary catalysts that morphed me into a food blogger that I am right now.

Alba's Set Up and Interior - cozy and classy

I did a lot of talking already, so let me now share with you our dining experience here in Alba which, in a nutshell, was just above satisfactory.

As we were cordially ushered in our seats, we were immediately served with a warm soup. This notion just made a great first impression which were sustained as far as service is concerned.

Corn and egg soup freshly served as a warm welcome!

This corn and egg soup was heavily incredible with all its simplicity and smooth flavor and taste. It may not look so special in the photo, but when I look at the photo, I see imaginary colors and flair coming out of the soup bowl.

After downing all the heartwarming soup, I immediately scanned the buffet table with a camera on-hand to take photos. I have to be honest with you, I wasn't able to taste everything, but anyway, I included here almost everything you can find there on the buffet table.

Gambas Pate (Shrimp Pate), Garlic Mushroom Pate and Cheesy Pate

My favorite among the three pate available was the Gambas Pate. It just tasted so amazing and memorable, unlike the other two which I found a little off.

Tortilla Espanola - Traditional Spanish Potato Omelet

One of the dishes that wildly called my attention was the lechon which I found really photogenic. Too bad when I decided to take photo, it looked like this (after people started feasting on it):

A Fiesta Favorite Lechon in Alba Restaurant

Well, unfortunately, it didn't taste as good as it looked primarily because of the cold temperature of the dish that made the skin wrongly soggy and rubbery. Luckily, there was an alternative for it which was the Lechong Kawali which I really loved!

Lechong Kawali - crunchy and tasty the way it should be!

This lechong kawali was crunchy not unlike the other one. This just brought out the goodness in this fried dish. Plus, adding some sauce to it just made everything so wonderful!

Cold Cuts and Salami for appetizers

Salad for a fresh start here in Alba Restaurant Lunch Buffet

Tuhod y Batoc

Stewed ox-kneecap & chuck with brown sauce, mushroom, green & red pepper

Tuhod y Batoc - a fusion of Filipino and Spanish Cuisine

Although this dish could have been more tender, I like how it tasted. The flavors from the spices and ingredients used such as the bell pepper, herbs, mushrooms and whatnot were present making it "likable".

Now, even if Alba is a Spanish cuisine restaurant, it still serves some other cuisines too albeit few, such as this buffalo wings.

Sweet Buffalo Wings in Alba Restaurant

What I admired most about the buffalo wings was the sweetness (i.e. close to the taste of a barbecue) and the rather subtleness of the spiciness. However, if you are really fiery-hot-hungry, you may fail to appreciate what this dish can offer.

Croquetas de Pescado

Croquettes of fish served with aioli sauce

Croquetas de Pescado - balls of goodness!

One of those dishes that I frankly fell in love with was this croquetas de pescado! These fried croquettes of fish simply tasted amazing combined with the close-to-perfection frying. Oh, one thing that you should never forget when eating these is the aioli sauce. It stunningly brings out all the greatness in the croquettes! This is what I call simply amazing!

Champignon al Ajillo

Button mushrooms in olive oil, garlic and chili

Spanish Champignon al Ajillo

Escalivada - roasted vegetables with anchovies

Even if there were a couple of dishes or food varieties that I found amazing, there are still those who belong to the lackluster division, including this tuna adobo.

Atun Adubadas - Tuna Adobo

What didn't work out, in my opinion, was the lack of softness from the tuna. The essence of an adobo was there, but the texture didn't bring enough justice to the entire package.

The Famous Paella Valenciana

Valencian rice dish with chicken, pork, seafood and vegetables

Paella Valenciana of Alba Restaurant

Now, something that may bring appeal to you is this Paella Valenciana in Alba Restaurant. This is one of the things that made this place known. Anyway, it's a good thing to note that there were some inconsistencies with the rice dish. Before it got refilled, it was somehow salty (although the overall taste was still pretty good). It was a good thing that on the next refill, they got it just right!

Related Post: Paella in the Relik Tapas Bar in Taguig

Rollos de Pollo of Alba Restaurant

I don't know how this one is called in English, but it had some similarities with a cordon bleu except that this had a sweet savory sauce that went with it. Admittedly, I enjoyed it because of the overall blend of flavors highlighted by the cheesy center!

Pasta in white wine sauce with tomato chili sauce

Canonigo

Delectably soft meringue cake with vanilla custard sauce

Another house specialty of Alba Restaurant - the Canonigo dessert

Very similar with the dulce de leche, this famous Canonigo dessert of Alba simply blew my mind away. There are 2 main reasons why I totally found this dessert spectacular. First off, it's difficult to find something this sweet and delicate elsewhere. Second, you'll find adventure for your taste buds in this Canonigo with its light and melt-in-your-mouth texture combined with the creamy custard sauce.

Anyway, all the other desserts are the usual ones you see in most desserts. However, although there had been less varieties for the desserts, I really enjoyed them

Special Cheesecake and Tart in between - I honestly failed to note how they call this

Brownies for desserts in Alba restaurant

Lychee Gelatin and more for your sweet cravings

Chocolate brownie cake to sweeten your dining experience

Alba Restaurant -Ratings
Note: Unshaded stars are equivalents of half-stars.
Place ★★★★☆
Variety ★★☆
Taste ★★★☆
Service ★★★★
Value for Money ★★

To wrap up this blog post, I would note that Alba is merely a "so-so" place to visit, as far as buffet dining is concerned. Given the variety of the food, both the lunch and dinner buffet appear to be rather wallet-wrecking as they fail to maximize the value of every penny you'll spend for the buffet. However, if you can avail of vouchers in deal sites, by all means, check this place out! Or how about ala carte dining, then? 

Alba Spanish Restaurant
Location: 4th Level, Two E-Com Center, Ocean Drive, Mall of Asia Complex (MOA), Pasay City
Service Charge: 10%

Contact No.: (02) 384-6344

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