Celebrating special occasions with friends is always fun, especially when it involves food. Last night, I was invited to a belated birthday dinner celebration by one of my closest friends, who used to be my colleague before he switched companies. We were very close when we worked together and have continued to invite each other to occasions ever since. For this particular dinner, he chose Joven’s Grill and Seafood located in Park Mall, Cebu City, Philippines. Let me take you through our dining experience there.
My friend had informed me that the call time was 6:00 PM. However, we arrived five minutes earlier as we did not want to follow the Filipino time. As expected, the table was already prepared for us, as my friend had made a reservation for 12 people under his name. Although we were supposed to be seated indoors, we had to dine out in the alfresco area since my friend had also included the unlimited samgyeopsal, which would cause too much smoke if done indoors. We waited at the designated table outside while waiting for the other guests to arrive, as the restaurant did not have the necessary equipment to do the samyeopsal indoors.
If you're looking for a place to dine in Cebu City, Philippines with unlimited buffet you might want to try here at Joven’s Grill and Seafood, it also has several branches that might interest you.
Their Park Mall branch is a convenient and accessible option, as our friend chose. Joven’s Grill and Seafood offers an unlimited buffet featuring many Filipino favorites, as well as some sushi and a few dishes from other cuisines.
The price per head is reasonable, and they also offer the option for unlimited samgyeopsal. Check out the photos for price references.
We ate at 6:30 in the evening. Here are the foods available at the buffet.
Most foods served here are Filipino foods.
Here are the foods we got. We also had samgyeopsal.
I would like to share my thoughts on the dishes I tried. First up was the rice, which was perfectly cooked and piping hot - a great start to my meal. I always enjoy my meals with hot rice, so this was definitely a highlight for me. 10/10.
Next, I tried the buttered scallops, which were unfortunately no longer hot. I'm aware that they may have been sitting for a while, so I would suggest serving them fresh and hot to enhance their flavor. 7/10.
The seafood boil was a mix of crabs and scallops, but some of it was physically damaged. It would be better if the crabs were served whole, and diners could open them up themselves. I would give it a 5/10.
I also tried the favorite Filipino dish, Lechon Kawali which was a bit disappointing because it was saggy and not crispy. 5/10 also.
Moving on to the fish soup, I would rate it a 8/10, the taste was delicious, but again, it wasn't served hot.
Overall, I'd rate the dishes an eight out of ten for their great flavors, except for the ones that weren't hot, which I'd rate a five or six out of ten. As for drinks, I had a refreshing iced tea which tasted good. Also just a heads up dinner here is only until 8:30 pm - Philippines time.
After we got stuffed, we struck a pose.
The third person in the photo is the birthday celebrant who paid for everything. Thank you for the sumptuous dinner, my friend!
This was my first time trying Joven’s Grill and Seafood Park Mall branch. If you ask me whether I'll come back, I'd love to try it during lunchtime. I think the food would be fresher then. We plan to try it soon. By the way, I recommend buffets for celebrations with many guests or heads, like birthdays. Eating all you can at buffets can save you a lot of money compared to restaurants with individual pricing. It's budget-friendly for quick occasions like birthdays.
Until my next food adventure! Ciao!☺︎♡