Dads incredible: The world on your plate

Never did we dream of going around the world in one day (or even just a few hours). But in this tour, we let our tongues do the walking. After all, this is a food tour of the all-new Dads World Buffet, which takes our palate practically around the world in a thousand and one plates.

First on the food itinerary is the carving station for those with a robust craving for the big fat (US) turkey, (US) roast beef, and ham.

There’s New Zealand leg of lamb, too.

Next stop is Korea, where you can treat yourself to oodles of Korean noodles  — chapchae, a favorite Korean party food made of sweet potato noodles with veggies for an added crunch and bits of tender juicy beef. Or beef up on kalbi jjim, fall-off-the-bone braised beef short ribs that’s a popular comfort food in Korea.

Then we land in Amazing Thailand, where we get a high with popular Thai specialties like fish tod lad prik (spicy sweet sour fish fillet), chicken pandan, and yam pla duk foo (crispy catfish salad with green mango, peanuts, shallot, chili, and lime dressing).

We then fly over to Singapore for its world-famous Hainanese chicken, which is simply boiled chicken made exciting with ginger/soy sauce/sesame oil sauce.

After Singapore, we make a stop at its next-door neighbor Malaysia to catch the aromatic whiff of lamb curry.

A short distance away is Indonesia, where we fully satiate our hunger for sates — chicken, beef, and pork.

Then comes India, where we rev up our taste buds with some vegetable samosas (pastries with spicy savory fillings).

And then we’re off to China for those really toothsome dimsums and a lot of Chinese dishes we love so well (fried squid with salt and chili, chicken with tausi and chili, fish fillet steamed with garlic and soy sauce, etc.).

Now, we’re leaving Asia to fly off to Greece where the souvlaki (little skewers of tender cuts of meat) is a big favorite of both the locals and the foreign tourists.

I love pasta with a passion, so off we go to Italy, where we feast on not just lotsa pasta but also on lasagna (beef and mushroom) and beef carpaccio, perfectly thinly sliced raw meat that makes the most perfect Italian appetizer.

Ole! Spain is our next food destination, where the tapas (those little plates of finger foods that are enough to satisfy anyone’s big appetite) top our food tour. 

If you’re a sucker for soccer and churrascaria (those assorted grilled skewered meats that never fail to thrill), Brazil is the place to go.

For the penultimate leg of this ultimate food tour, we hop over to Mexico for those sizzling hot fajitas, quesadillas, tacos, and nachos.

And for our last stop, we visit the US, the home of the free and the land of beef ribs, steak, and buffalo wings.

Of course, included in Dads’ world offerings are Kamayan with its good-old native favorites (like the eternal fave lechon de leche) and Saisaki, where you get a most heartwarming welcome with its 70 to 100 varieties of sushi as well as assorted grilled delights cooked in front of you.

And don’t forget to drop by the dessert station for a sweet ending to a most fulfilling — and filling — food trip.

Before, it was just the Dads crossover buffet, with three buffets: Kamayan, Filipino buffet; Saisaki, Japanese buffet; and Dads, Continental buffet and carvings. Now, you have practically the whole world on your plate — and palate — with Dads’ over 300 dishes.

“We renamed the whole concept of Dads as Dads World Buffet because now, we have buffets from all over the world,” sisters Pia Villavicencio-Lago, Cara Villavicencio-Espinosa, and Mara B. Villavicencio tell us.

The sisters also stress that everything is made from scratch. “Which is why we have 50 chefs cooking per branch,” Pia points out. “We have an executive chef who trained unde a Korean chef, our seasoned Japanese chef Isao Takada, and our Filipino chef Ferdinand Diona who travels all over to learn how to cook an authentic Bicol Express, for instance. We can do street food all the way to Michelin-star food.”

The sisters have taken over the work at Dads from their dad, VicVic Villavicencio, the pioneering spirit behind Kamayan.  They have certainly learned by heart the lessons Dad taught them. “Dad taught us good values and how to deal with life,” they chorus.

One lesson learned from Dad: “We should do a better job than the carinderia and make sure we serve our guests well,” Pia asserts. “Thus, if you go around the buffet tables, you will see our buffet attendants (or the roving servers) who will offer to get and bring your food to your table so you don’t have to be standing up every now and then to get what you want from the buffet tables.”

She adds, “We now have a drink station and a drink menu from where customers can choose their drinks which will be served to them.  Although we’re self-service, personalized service is very, very important to us.”

“We really want to spoil our diners, make sure they don’t stand from their seats because we can get the food for them,” says Mara. “We want you to be as comfortable as possible.”

With a buffet that’s 10 times bigger than before, Dads prices have not increased significantly. Plus, the buffet price now includes a bottomless supply of all the soft drinks, iced tea, juices, and shakes you can take, and Milo for kids, too.

Dads now also has more delicious vegetarian and healthy options.

But is the “no-leftover” still the rule? Yes! Another lesson learned from Dad who pioneered this resto policy: Never waste food. Get only what you can consume.

The Villavicencio kids were exposed to food early on in life. “Dad would wake us up at midnight to eat chicken barbecue from the street,” Pia relates. “He loves food so much he’d buy food sold in the streets and he’d cook it. If he wants to eat, he’ll wake up everybody to eat with him.”

Coming from a long line of great cooks (his grandmother and mother before him), VicVic was a self-learned cook. “He learned the basics overtime, then the techniques and methods,” says Pia.  “My dad can make something out of nothing. I think it’s innate in him. And when he goes out to eat, he’ll try a dish and say, ‘I can do this.’”

Needless to say, the Villavicencios bond over good food. “We the kids have learned how to cook and eat,” says Pia. “Yes, everybody cooks, some more than the others. I’d say the best cook is my older brother Veejay. That’s what happens on a family Sunday lunch or dinner. We get something from our restos and complement them with something we made at home.”

The whole Villavicencio family recently went on a food tour of Korea and Japan, where they took a cooking class.

The Villavicencio siblings agree that their dad’s best trait that has served him well in running a restaurant business is that he knows what his customers like and he’ll serve it even if it’s not to his liking.”

Another lesson learned from Dad: Listen to your customer.

The customer is happy if the service is good. And the service can only be good if the people giving the service are happy.

Another lesson from Dad: Treat your staff well. “We have people who have been with us since Kamayan started more than 30 years ago.”

Dads, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, has undergone a major renovation to make its legion of patrons even happier.

More reasons for Dads diners (the seniors especially) to be happy: Aside from the 20-percent senior citizen’s discount mandated by law, Dads has its super senior discount where diners, 70 years old and up, get 50-percent off the price of the buffet that boasts over 300 dishes with unlimited drinks.

Now, Dads incredible!

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Dads’ medley of multiple cuisines is affordably priced (Dads Glorietta and Edsa branches) at P688, Monday to Friday lunch; P788, Monday to Friday dinner; and P888, lunch and dinner on weekends and holidays, which include Saisaki and Kamayan buffets, as well as bottomless and interchangeable drinks, from shakes and juices, to iced tea and soft drinks. No service charge.

Dads SM Megamall World Buffet special price is up to May 31: Monday-Friday lunch, P488; Monday-Friday dinner, P688; weekends/holiday lunch and dinner, P788.