Sambo Kojin Buffet Collab in SM Southmall

 
Sambo Kojin Buffet Collab with Dads, Saisaki, and Kamayan

It was my brother and sister's birthday celebration and they wanted to eat at a buffet. Sambo Kojin has been a popular buffet place even before the pandemic and since most of us haven't tried Sambo Kojin before, we thought it was the best time to try it. As I checked their Facebook page, they were also offering a buffet collaboration with Dads, Saisaki, and Kamayan meaning when you add P130 per person to your buffet price, you get access to more food variants from the mentioned restaurants. So we paid Php 988 per person which we thought was a good price for a buffet. 

Pros

1. Plenty of food selections. My little picky eaters were happy that there were fries and Yakisoba. I guess buffets are really not suited for picky eaters. As for us, we were happy with the roast beef that was served in the Dad's meat section. 

Roast Beef from Dad's

Here is a raw video I took inside Sambo Kojin so you can take a better look at what food selections are available during our visit: 

Cons

1. Too many diners. Though a high number of diners can be good for business, especially after COVID-19 lockdowns, it's a bit stressful for customers like us because the dining tables and chairs are a bit congested with one another and there's little room to move around. Maybe you should expect a lot of people to dine in on a Sunday lunch. 

2. Old food favorites were no longer there. My sister was looking for the sweet potato casserole that she loved during her first visit to Sambo Kojin before the pandemic, but she was saddened that it was no longer available during our latest visit. She said it was sweet and delicious, and she was excited to let us try it, but too bad it wasn't there anymore. 

3. Their bathroom was dirty! When we went to their bathroom after eating and the smell was just too horrible. We didn't use the bathroom because of the scent so we tried one of the bathrooms of SM Malls instead which smelled cleaner. 

4. There was no hot tea or coffee available AND the juices took forever to be replenished. We were a bit saddened that there were no hot beverages unlike in other buffet restaurants. The only beverages included in the buffet rate were water, orange juice, iced tea, and some soda that weren't even placed inside a dispenser. We just saw random 1.5L bottles lingering around the beverage area that at first, we didn't know that we can drink from it not until other people started putting sodas in their glasses.  

Is it worth it?

If someone wants to treat me to a Sambo Kojin buffet then yes, who doesn't want free food, right? But if I were to pay for it, then sad to say I would prefer to dine somewhere else. My sister said she's still willing to come back, but a majority of us think otherwise.