IMPRESSIONS Sunday Brunch Buffet – A Foodie’s Buffet Favorite :)

IMPRESSIONS by Maxim Hotel has an interesting Sunday Brunch buffet strategy — they only have 3 stations (hot, cold, and dessert) that serve limited but high quality food using only the finest ingredients in the buffet.

Foodies love it because it is not overwhelming but satisfying, and you can savor each of the carefully curated item in the buffet by Chef Cyrille Soenen also known as Cicou. Also, foodies love the live stations where the food is only cooked or prepared upon order — as many as you like.

Here are some tips to enjoy the Impressions Sunday Buffet and highlighting our favorites:

Best Sunday Brunch Series 2013:

• SOFITEL: SPIRAL’s Ultimate Sunday Champagne Brunch!?
• IMPRESSIONS Sunday Brunch Buffet – A Foodie’s Buffet Favorite 🙂
• MARRIOTT CAFE Sunday Brunch Buffet Crossover with CRU STEAKHOUSE!
  
• RAFFLES & FAIRMONT SPECTRUM Luxe Sunday Brunch!
• DUSIT THANI: Sunday Family Brunch Buffet (Umu and Basix Crossover)

IMPRESSIONS is the French Fine Dining Restaurant of the 6-star Maxims Hotel in Resorts World with its signature golden glow ambiance and the 2,000-capacity wine cellar wall.

The 70-seater restaurant is open for dinner (ala carte) everyday and brunch buffet during Sundays.

Ala Carte Menu:
Appetizer, Salad, French Oysters, Soup, King Prawns and Live Lobster
Live Fish, Fish Entree, From the Grill, Lamb, Poultry, Beef Carving

Drinks Menu: Aperitif | Spirits | Spirits, Liqueurs, Beers | Cold Beverages | Hot Beverages | Digestives 

Wine Menu: 
Beringer: Napa’s Finest | Wine by the Glass: Champagne, Sparkline Wines, White Wine, Red Wine  | Wine by the Bottle: Champagne, Sparkling Wines | White Wine: France | Italy, Spain, Germany | California, Australia | Chile, Argentina | Red Wine: Bordeaux & Graves, France | Margaux, France |Saint Emilion, Saint Julien, Lorie, France | Italy | Italy, Spain | USA, New Zealand | Australia | Argentina, Chile

 

Impressions’ restaurant area is a bit small and not as overwhelming as I expected it to be. It still feels like you are eating inside an exclusive part of the Resorts World Mall instead of a hotel.

As you start the buffet, you are assigned a table number so that you can order and have the food delivered to your table. Love the Pentel pastel colors they used in the table. 

One serving of the freshest fruit and vegetable juices is available as part of the buffet.

You can start with either a rich soup like Lobster Bisque or a healthy version like Minestrone.

 

LIVE COLD STATION

The cold station features bread, appetizers, cold cuts, fresh fruits, nuts, preserves, salads, seafood and the Japanese section.

I love the use of live herbs to highlight the freshest offers in the buffet.

Aside from preserved mango, we also like the preserved coconuts 🙂

For appetizers, we like to start with the hummus and baba ganoush dips with bread.

The cheese, nuts and honey are limited but of high quality (not as extensive as Spiral’s Cheese Room).

Don’t miss to get the ★ Goat Ricotta cheese with truffle honey and the Feta cheese in olive oil, rosemary and garlic.

I suggest you start with a fresh serving of create-your-own salad.

There are also options for freshly prepared salads. Our favorite is the Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella and Fresh Basil Salad.

We also love the cured Salmon and Duck breast. They also serve salmon gravlax and beef carpaccio.

There’s also a good selection of cold cuts, and premium-aged hams.

One of our favorites in this station is the duck breast wrap that is prepared upon order.

One of the most raved feature of the Impressions buffet is the ★ Caviar buffet with Salmon Roe, Black Caviar (from Herring Roe), and Golden Trout Roe.

Usually the caviar is eaten as a spread on top of bellinis which are tiny little pancakes with sour cream on top.

One of the most indulgent dishes in the buffet is the ★ Foiegras Ravioli with truffle foam! 

Most buffets would have a fresh seafood selection but what sets Impressions apart are scallops and oysters from France.

You can order your ★ Scallops baked with butter, cheese and pesto.

We love to savor every succulent piece of the scallops.

My wife preferred the ★ Grilled Scallops which are healthier and not as nakakasuya as the baked version. 

Usually the oysters are not displayed, but you must order the ★ Gillardou Oysters from France.

It is best ordered raw with lemon and shallot vinaigrete.

One of the best oysters ever!

As a palate cleaner, we would usually get these strawberry compote from the dessert section and eat it in-between plates.

The cold station includes a sushi, and sashimi buffet.

Our personal favorite are the unlimited serving of grilled eel and

… the cooked-upon-order shrimp tempura 🙂

You can also order the grilled shrimp version vs. the fried ones.

Another personal favorites are the ★ Grilled Sea bass and Salmon usually served with potatoes and fennel cream sauce.

 

LIVE HOT STATION

The live hot station features 8-10 selections of meat carvings which include the following: 

(Note: selection changes depend on what’s available and on what occasion)

Slow Roasted U.S. Black Angus Prime Rib

Salmon Stuffed with Prawns Ala Nicoise

Veal Shank Sous Vide

Honey and Soy Marinated Pork Baby Back Ribs

Roasted Turkey with Leg Roulade Stuffed with Truffles and Foie Gras

Barbecued US Short Plate

Tandoori Roasted Australian Leg of Lamb

Herb Roasted Chicken from Pamora Farms

Apricot Honey Glazed Ham

Traditional Ilocos Bagnet

The Impressions service is attentive, and you can feel the sincerity that they want to help you as efficiently as they can.

You can order all the meat that you want with sidings in a mashed-up plate.

Although I realized that it would have been better to ask the meat to be served one plate at a time and request them to plate it with the recommended side dish with sauce on the side.

Make sure to pair the Black Angus Beef with the Yorkshire Pudding 🙂

Don’t forget to order red wine to go with the meal. 

Tip: Take advantage of the great wine selection in Impressions. I suggest you go for the buffet with the wine included or upgrade your buffet with the wine-all-you-can package if available.

Wine Menu: 
Beringer: Napa’s Finest | Wine by the Glass: Champagne, Sparkline Wines, White Wine, Red Wine  | Wine by the Bottle: Champagne, Sparkling Wines | White Wine: France | Italy, Spain, Germany |California, Australia | Chile, Argentina | Red Wine: Bordeaux & Graves, France | Margaux, France |Saint Emilion, Saint Julien, Lorie, France |Italy | Italy, Spain | USA, New Zealand | Australia | Argentina, Chile

TIP: When eating meat, make sure to drink hot water or tea so that the meat fats and cholesterol are washed down instead of being solidified in your arteries when you drink cold water after meal.

Honestly, with a lot of good food around we forgot to order pasta. If you are going with kids, the pasta station is definitely one of your first stops 🙂

 

DESSERT STATION

An awesome meal is not complete without the best desserts. Impressions dessert selection was obviously impressive 🙂

The best seller and signature Impressions dessert is the ★ Chocolate Ganache with Fleur de Sel Pie, a salted chocolate cake that is only available during the Sunday Brunch buffet.

Mille-feuille Cake

Fresh Fruits and Marshmallows with Chocolate dipping stations.

Another favorite is the pudding-like dessert called ★ Chocolate Clafoutis with Cherry.

For sansrival lovers, try the Sansrival Balls.

Impressions’ Modern Christmas Log

They have limited dessert gummy bear selection for kids. Don’t miss the Cream Puff hidden below with an exotic mousse inside.

You can also order an open-face crepe and home- made gelato (Ferrero and Salted Caramel are our favorite flavors).

(Tip: try the Beringer Moscato wine to pair with your dessert 🙂

Finally, order a freshly-cooked churros with 

… hot coffee to finally end the impressive Impressions Sunday Brunch Buffet.

Overall, we love the attention to quality in every dish that is cooked or prepared upon order. We enjoyed the seafood and dessert selection the most and not much of the meat carving. What makes this buffet special is the extraordinary attention of the servers who are always ready to serve you with a smile.

It is an affordable luxury that every foodie can enjoy specially when celebrating special milestones and events like welcoming the new year 2013 🙂 It’s one of the best Sunday Brunch Buffet in Manila! 

Best Sunday Brunch Series 2013:

• SOFITEL: SPIRAL’s Ultimate Sunday Champagne Brunch!?
• IMPRESSIONS Sunday Brunch Buffet – A Foodie’s Buffet Favorite 🙂
• MARRIOTT CAFE Sunday Brunch Buffet Crossover with CRU STEAKHOUSE!
  
• RAFFLES & FAIRMONT SPECTRUM Luxe Sunday Brunch!
• DUSIT THANI: Sunday Family Brunch Buffet (Umu and Basix Crossover)

IMPRESSIONS is a French Fine Dining Restaurant which offer a good selection of Salad, Seafood, Foie Gras and offers a Prime Meat cooked in our live show kitchen with perfection. It is headed by our Celebrity Chef Cyrille Soenen from France. Impressions has a wide selections of wines, you can choose from our Wine Cellars which is also one of our main attraction. The Restaurant is located at the 3^rd floor of Maxims Hotel, Resorts World Manila. 
Operating Hours:
Mondays-Sundays: 6:00pm-12mn 
Sundays: 11:00am–3:00pm (Brunch buffet) 
Telephone: +632 908-8883
Mobile: +63 915 951-9390 (restaurant manager)
Email: impressions@rwmanila.com
Website: www.rwmanila.com

Impressions Gourmet Holiday Brunch (P2,888 nett),
Regular Sunday Brunch (P2,100 estimate 2013 increase from P1,888 intro price)

DRESS CODE:  Smart Casual
MODE OF PAYMENT: We accept Cash/Credit Card (Visa/Master, American Express, JCB, Union Pay), Resort World Gaming points (for Members only), We honor Senior Citizen Discounts.

Parking Tip: Parking is in the Resorts World Mall parking area. Impressions is located in Maxims Hotel in between Marriott and Resorts World mall. You can take the escalator or elevator near Cafe Maxims to the 3rd floor where Impressions is located.

★ – Highly recommended and Don’t Miss Dishes

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Full Disclosure:  We paid for our meal. I wrote this blog post myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I have no business relationship with any company mentioned in this post or any organization promoting it. As a policy, I don’t accept compensation from food and travel places we feature in the blog. 

P.S. Kids under 12 eat for free for every 1 paying adult 🙂 Although, I don’t think it is as kids friendly as the other Sunday brunch buffets.