breakfast of champions 1

What do you do when your best-est friends in the whole wide world check into the swankiest resort on the island? You crash their second honeymoon by joining them for breakfast, of course. Ooh, hotel breakfast buffets excite me.

Getting it on at Shangri-la's Boracay Resort & Spa.

First day, first plate. An earnest attempt to eat healthy.

Cantaloupe, dragon fruit, pineapple, watermelon and orange. Champion: Sweet, sweet orange.

Second plate. Must have carbs. And butter.

Nutty bread with imported butter, and waffle with whipped butter and strawberry compote. Champion: Nutty bread warmed up in the toaster.

Third plate. I couldn't NOT have any flaky pastry.

Danish and veggie omelet. No winner for this round.

Fourth plate. Piling on the proteins.

Assorted cold cuts, smoked mackarel with horseradish and capers and smoked salmon with a squeeze of lemon. Champion: Although ugly, the salmon was tasty. 

The best-est thing in the buffet. I saw them in the dessert section. Everyone ignored them. The foreigners probably didn't know what they were, and the locals probably thought they were too ordinary. They looked so cute and forlorn.

The lowly mini ensaymada.

I saw its potential. Toppings were all around.

Drizzled with chocolate syrup and vanilla slurry. A thing of beauty.

I lost count of how many ensaymada we ate that morning. They were soft and fluffy. Not dry at all, but not greasy from too much butter, with just the right amount of grated cheese and powdered sugar on top. They were divine even without the add-ons.

Cookie Monster's masterpiece. With chocolate, vanilla and ALMONDS!

After almost two hours of grazing, we finally got up and waddled out.

Like a tornado just sucked everything up.

The breakfast buffet at the Vintana Restaurant of Shangri-la's Boracay Resort & Spa costs about PHP1,200 (US$28) per person for walk-in customers, including taxes and service charge.