四十一：Wensha Spa and All-You-Can-Eat Buffet

The reception.

 My friend invited me to go to Wensha Spa Antipolo sometime around summer. I haven't been to Wensha and I've heard some good and bad reviews and I thought why not come with her and check it out myself. We arrived at Wensha around 10PM and you don't need to worry about time because it's open 24/7. 

Price list of the services.

When we arrived we went to the reception and paid for the package that we chose. We chose the package with includes the Massage, use of jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet. I think it was around 700. We were then given slippers and we surrendered the shoes that we were currently wearing and we were also given our locker keys which are in a bracelet form.

The lounge.

 There are seperate rooms for the ladies and the gentlemen. When we got inside we were given bathrobes which looks like kimonos and two large towels. The lockers are high tech, you just point the key on the door where the lock is located and it automatically opens and once you close it, after 10 seconds it automatically locks.

We changed clothes and a funny experience was when a door inside the ladies locker room flung open and us girls were all shocked especially the youngest among us which was my friend's sister who was only 15 years old. It was the jacuzzi room's door and when it opened we saw old ladies naked coming out of the jacuzzi. Our eyes enlarged from shock and we looked at each other as if stoned. I go to saunas but never have I seen a sauna room or jacuzzi room that is so well lit you can actually see every inch of skin of anyone inside there and it's their rule that you are not allowed to wear any clothing once you dip in the jacuzzi. Imagine how the guys would feel..

The dining area.

 Since we haven't eaten dinner, we went to the buffet room first. At first we thought they ran out of food but they were actually about to replenish it soon. There were rice, vegetables, noodles. dumplings, spring rolls and stews. There was a soft serve sundae machine as well and had two flavors, vanilla and taro. Their buffet includes drinks such as iced tea or orange juice. I grabbed a plate and filled it with the food that I wanted to eat. My friends decided to go for shabu shabu. I remember the last time I ate at a shabu shabu, I got so full because of the soup absorbed by the food that we boiled in it so I decided not to join them in eating shabu shabu. 

The food that I ate

Buffet area.

 We then went to check the bar. The buffet includes beer and a hard drink if I remember it correctly but we did not take advantage of it. The bar did look cool and outside the window is a view of Metro Manila since we're on top of Antipolo.

Nice lighting fixture.

 We then went to the spa to get a massage. We each have our own masseuse and they let us choose from different oils such as mint, ginger etc. The massage lasted for an hour. I think the masseuse did well but then after the massage we were presented with a paper for us to sign and give them a tip. It felt, for me, like they were trying to rob us because I thought it was already included in the package. I mean, I would gladly give a tip and they do not need to do that. They can just give the paper to us and let us give it at the counter freely but no they will really wait for you to sign the paper with the amount. So I felt like I was obliged to not give just a tip but to pay them. I gave my masseuse 100. 

My taro sundae.

 Last stop was the Jacuzzi. It was already midnight so the jacuzzi room only had us as its guests. We took a shower first. There were 2 jacuzzi tubs. One has hot water and one has cold water and take note it has hot not warm water. We dipped our foot and we can barely dip in it but we forced ourselves so our body can adapt to the temperature. What we noticed was that the water had some oils or conditioner in it because it seemed that our skin felt smooth. They also provide ice cubes for those who cannot stand the heat and those who want to go inside the sauna. They have mint and lavender oils that you can put on your ice cubes for aromatherapy.

View of Metro Manila from the bar.

 We tried both the steam and sauna room but both were too hot. I felt like I was going to faint inside the rooms and there is no way for any guest to control the temperature. Lastly we tried the cold jacuzzi tub to close our pores and it was ice cold it felt like the water was piercing our skin so we just jumped right in and got out right away.

We took our shower and they provide the shampoo and liquid soap and they have hot and cold water in their shower room. Back at the locker room they have disposable toothbrushes, toothpaste, cotton buds, hair dryer and even hair gel.

The bar.

Overall it was a so-so experience. Not good but quite okay. The place is nice but I feet like 800 pesos is too expensive for the so-so buffet and 1 hour massage but I do think one can enjoy the place if you can eat a lot because I don't or I can't. I think I'd rather get a massage then eat the food that I want at a restaurant and the cost might just be the same.

I think Wensha has two branches. The one that we visited was in Antipolo along Sumulong Hi-Way. It's about 15-30 minutes depending on the traffic from Masinag intersection going up to Antipolo. You won't miss it because it has a large sign along Sumulong.

二十七：Restaurant Review of Sambokojin

 

Sambokojin is an All-You-Can-Eat Japanese Buffet. It's not just a buffet but they also have this yakiniku grill where you can cook your own meats and it is smokeless because they use a stove instead of the typical charcoal grill. The branch that we visited was at Eastwood City in Quezon City, Libis but they also have a branch along EDSA.

 

The yakiniku grill.

As far as I can remember, we paid around 600 to 700 pesos for our dinner and we went there during a weekend night. I think it's cheaper if you eat during lunch and it's a weekday. You order the drinks seperately if you want one.

 

Different choices of sauces.

Before you start cooking, a waiter will show you how to use the grill and in our case, the grill was not working right. It took around 3 waiters or servers and about 15 minutes to have our stove or grill fixed. I actually got quite scared because I was worried that the gas from the stove might leak if it's not working right and flames might just burst right in front of us. I asked them if we can transfer but they got it working already. Our waiter showed us the sauces and which types are best for a certain type of food etc.

 

So many types of sushi.

 After the grill started working, my family went ahead and picked whatever we wanted to grill. I went to the sushi bar and took different types of sushi. I also went to the meat section and picked beef slices and some wrapped on vegetables and sausages. I was not able to take a picture of the meats because I was busy eating and forgot about it. I actually made a huge mistake of eating a lot of sushi because my stomach got full right away because of the rice. I rested for a bit and I went to the dessert section to get some ice cream next.
 

Dessert.

 At the dessert section, they have cakes, chocolate fountain, cupcakes etc. Since I was full, I chose to just get ice cream because I cannot eat cakes anymore. There was a very long line and after waiting for about 30 minutes in line, and yes I waited that long because at least my stomach had its time digesting the food I ate. When it was my turn to scoop I found out the reason why it took that long for people to scoop their ice cream and it was because the ice cream was rock hard. When I tried to scoop the ice cream, the scooper just slid on the ice cream. I had to like stab the ice cream before I can scoop it. I wanted to get a lot of ice cream but since it was really hard, I just filled whatever I can on my little bowl and becauase my hands were already tired. Some of the people were actually laughing at themselves as they scooped their ice cream because... they can't.

 

I made a great effort in scooping this ice cream.

 I actually think it's a great all-you-can-eat restaurant, a bit expensive but reasonable. Those who eat a lot will greatly enjoy eating there so I suggest you go there when you are really, really hungry. They also serve other East Asian cuisines such as Chinese and Korean cuisine. They have tempura, sukiyaki, beef stew, spring rolls etc. As a tip, stay away from starchy foods such as sushi and noodles if you want to make the most of your stay there. Go for the meats like beef and seafood such especially the shrimps and squid.