Flower Stories Cafe

I'm not really ecstatic nor too disappointed. I just feel like I need to contribute to the few reviews out there, when there are still hundreds -- or maybe thousands -- who are clueless of what they bought in metrodeal.com.

After reading bad reviews here, here and here, I told myself I'm not going to expect so much from Flower Stories Cafe. After all, it's just P199, why expect something like Sofitel nor Yakimix right? So when Lou and I got there, we both had the same reaction - it's not so bad! The ambiance was good, the food was so-so:

so-so, maki was rice loaded

main dishes.

(I normally don't fill up my plate like this, but I did for review's sake. LOL)

good points: Roast beef was tender, onion rings were crispy!

spaghetti sauce tasted like ready to eat pasta sauce of Hunts,

straight from the can. (But I love Hunts! so no minus points. LOL)

I guess what pulls this resto down is the false advertisement:

1) "Eat-All-You-Can International Fusion Buffet Featuring the Finest Foods from Asia and Europe & Drink" -- Take a look at our plates again, I don't see how they are "finest foods from Asia and Europe.

2) "P199 instead of P500" -- If it's worth 500 you'd think that the buffet size would at least be 2/3 of Saisaki. No. In my estimate, the rate of the buffet is really 199 so there's no such thing as "save P301!"

3) "Some of the classics they regularly serve up include Honey Grilled Chicken, Tropical Pork Chop or Tokyo Seafood Curry" -- they were all not in the menu.

4) "With their vast array of dishes, from appetisers to warming mains, to sweets, customers are bound to discover something new as well as plenty of classic dishes" -- it wasn't a vast array. Appetizers were veggie sticks (not even a salad with lettuce), and rice-loaded california maki. Dessert was a fondue ONLY, with 4 types of dippers - wafer sticks, sliced bananas, pastillas and marshmallows.

5) Lastly, the photo:

Not a single item in the photo was there. I figured that this photo was recycled from another resto, or from metrodeal's pool of generic photos! TSK. TSK. TSK.

Oh, another thing. They said it's a "Large restaurant with airconditioned indoor dining area and outdoor patio area (al fresco) with fantastic view over the city of Intramuros". I took a pic of our window's view.

hmmm. fantastic view nga! (now it's up to you if I'm being sarcastic or not. LOL)

I'm thinking, if this resto plainly made a 1-liner ad saying "Unli tender roast beef and crispy onion rings only for P199!" people would probably rave about it, especially after finding out that it's actually a buffet of some other dishes. LOL. See the cons of heightened expectations?

In the end, Lou and I had different verdicts. Lou said, if given a chance and IF he lives nearby, he's willing to buy such deal again. (so actually, that's "never again" for Lou haha!) Me, NO, I won't buy one again. It wasn't because the advertisements fooled me, nor because I hated the food. It's just that I didn't love the food either. Nothing stood out, so for me it's not worth a 2nd chance. But yeah, it's worth 1 try, so don't fret if you already bought the deal .

Now I dunno if this is good or bad, they're selling another round of vouchers, for P249 this time: http://www.metrodeal.com/main.php?dealId=ODM0. ANAK NG. MAS NAGMAHAL PA! hahaha! (in furness ha, binago na nila yung pictures and descriptions!)