Tong Yang

Okay, here’s one restaurant that’s all about the DINING EXPERIENCE more than the actual food that you eat. Tong Yang is a Chinese restaurant that specializes in Shabu-Shabu (not the drugs you fool). Basically there’s a market buffet table set-up and you get raw food and ingredients. You sit down on your table and cook it either by frying it on a hot plate or you include it in your hot pot. Mich and I are regular customers at the Tong Yang branch along Quezon Avenue and we usually eat here not because of the good quality of food, but just because we enjoy cooking for one another.

QUICKIE FACT SHEET
Name: Tong Yang
Location: Quezon Avenue (They have a branch in Megamall too I think)
Type: Shabu-Shabu
Price Range: P550+

Full review of the buffet selection, customer service, and everything else after the break.

What I like about Tong Yang is the variety of viands and ingredients available on their buffet table. For meat lovers, they have almost everything covered. They have various cuts and portions of beef, chicken, and pork. They even partnered with a US company to give US quality beef cuts. My personal favorite for the meat selection is their US Bacon strips. Really nice when fried with butter, haha. Dangerously delicious.

The section that stands out the most though is their Seafood. They have several kinds of fish available, including my personal favorites – Gindara and Blue Marlin! Sadly, they don’t have Salmon but they do have Tuna on the table as well. Other than the fish, they have crab, squid, lumot, oysters, scallops, and shrimps. One of the dishes Mich and I love to cook here is Sinigang na Hipon.

Other than the good dishes, Tong Yang also offers really odd food that you usually won’t find in buffets. They have several kinds of hot dogs, spam, and luncheon meat. Really weird. Haha. Oh – they also serve dumplings, siomai, kikiam, and squid balls.

After the main course, you can also have a good desert here at Tong Yang. They have an Ice Cream that usually has Mocha, Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry. Just take your pick and enjoy.

In terms of cleanliness, the restaurant is a bit messy. That’s expected though since everyone in the place is trying to cook, haha. What’s good is the management made sure that they would have a lot of waiters serving the customers. Note that you have bottomless drinks and rice already included in your buffet. Just flag down a waiter and ask for your drink and rice re-fill.

SUMMARY

Rating Card
1 – Waste of money
2 – Satisfactory – just okay. Nothing special
3 – Wow, something to remember.
4 – OMGWTFBBQ I WANT MOREZZ PLZZ

FOOD QUALITY: 3
DISH PRICES VS QUALITY: 3
CUSTOMER SERVICE: 4
RESTAURANT CLEANLINESS: 2
RESTAURANT OVER-ALL RATING: 3

Again – this place is really nice for family gatherings and celebrations. Also a cool place if you want a unique dining experience with friends or for a date. It’s not that romantic though since you’ll smell like smoke and butter when you get out.