Dining Out Magazine

A Midday Buffet at Don-day

By Joaquin Medina @joaquinigo
Done with our errands in the middle of Saturday, we unsurprisingly thought of just one activity before heading home: EATING! but Don-day vamos a comer? We were near Katipunan, so Alvie suggested one cheap Korean buffet she heard about (I seriously have no idea where she gets all these places).
I was surprised to see so many restaurants cluttered about this area of Teacher's Village. BRGR Project's here too! We finally got to the place, and I was already full when we got there from drinking about a Venti and a half of Starbucks' Asian Dolce Latte (great drink, by the way and drinking all that before a buffet was a genius idea on my part, I know).

don-day fresh restaurant

Check out my sweet ride!

I immediately liked what I saw when we got there. They have a small air-conditioned section and a huge outdoors area. I would have preferred to sit outside in the fresh air, but the tables were reserved for some K-Pop event. This is a fitting restaurant for that, I guess. Haha. We weren't welcomed, and weren't even noticed for the couple of minutes that we were snooping around the buffet table. More of a self-service place, well that's cool. The service was good enough for the essential things like taking your order and getting your bill and that's what really matters.
I was kind of confused with the setup and near the buffet table, we found the closest thing they have to a menu.

don-day fresh restaurant

That dude has a cool shirt! I miss Rock Band.

You basically have three options:
Don Day Table Buffet, P199.00 - You can have everything that's on the buffet table, but it's only available lunch time. Not a bad deal at all!
Samgyupsal, P299.00 - Don Day Table Buffet plus unlimited pork that you can cook at your own table grill.
Beef/Samgyupsal, P399.00 - Don Day Table Buffet plus unlimited pork and beef that you can cook at your own table grill.
Whatever you end up choosing, make sure to clean up your plate or YOU!!! will be charged penalty. :)

don-day fresh restaurant

A small buffet table with so many choices.

Since we weren't really hungry, we took the middle road and ordered just the pork option. I liked the buffet selection. There was a lot of weird, different food that I'm not usually exposed to. Is this authentic Korean cuisine? The not-so-popular kind? I don't know! I hope they put labels next time so I at least have some idea of what I'm eating. It doesn't even have to be anything fancy. Even small pieces of paper would do. If you were to ask me what my favourites were, I'd answer the thing, the round thing, and the other orange-y thing.


don-day fresh restaurant

I loved these um.. roundy things.

They actually had a lot of good food. I didn't touch the rice and I didn't even have enough space to try a little of everything. That might have been my fault though, for starting full. Haha.

A Midday Buffet at Don-day

More delicious things! 

Now, what did I pay 100 pesos for?

don-day fresh restaurant

Some gyupsal?

The pork was okay. It was tasteless, because it was simply just pork. I guess the taste of your Samgyupsal is dependent on your Korean culinary skills. They have a bunch of sauces and spices available for you. I did not know what to do with them, but I enjoyed the hot sauces. The pork wasn't bad, but I enjoyed the buffet table enough not to care too much about it. Perhaps next time, we'll try the beef, but that will no longer be cheap buffet. Haha.

don-day fresh restaurant

Who needs the pork when you can come up with this delicious number from the buffet table alone?


Verdict:
Samgyupsal: Good for a great price
I liked the meat/seafood dishes, the pancake thingamajigs, and the croquettes (at least I got that one right!). The fun was cut short when my caffeine and milk-filled stomach started feeling worse for wear. :( I guess coffee and kimchi don't mix, or at least not in extreme quantities. I easily learn my lessons though, and I look forward to trying this fun and affordable buffet again in the future and I will not drink a Venti beforehand next time. Just a Grande.
Love Don-day? Hate it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!
A Midday Buffet at Don-day

DON-DAY FRESH RESTAURANT
40 Malingap St.,
Teacher Village - East, Quezon City
(02) 435-0528
Operating Hours:
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
5:00 pm-10:00 pm
Facebook: Don-day Fresh Restaurant
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