A MOA Birthday for Ten: Buffet Dinner, Then SM Game Park

For a MOA birthday with ten people, book the Filipino buffet at Cabalen in SM MOA, or a private room at China Blue by Jereme Leung in the Conrad if the budget is ₱1,500 a head and up. Bowling and karaoke come after dinner at SM Game Park, the games floor in the South Entertainment Mall at SM MOA.

Two tables that fit ten

The buffet. Cabalen is a Filipino buffet with kare-kare, and it takes big groups, at ₱500 to ₱1,500 a head. A buffet solves the three problems of a table for ten: nobody waits for anyone else's order, the big eaters and the small eaters pay the same known amount, and the bill splits evenly.

The private room. China Blue by Jereme Leung is Chinese fine dining with bay views and private rooms, and it is on the Michelin Selected list. It takes big groups and costs ₱1,500 and up a head. A private room keeps the cake, the speeches and the singing to your own table.

Both are in the MOA Complex, which keeps ten people in one place from arrival to goodnight.

A third, a ride away. Crystal Dragon at City of Dreams serves Cantonese family set menus and takes big groups. A festive set for four to six has been priced at ₱36,000++, so ten people means two sets. City of Dreams is in Entertainment City, Parañaque, so this is a different complex and a different budget.

The costed plan

• Buffet dinner: ₱500 to ₱1,500 each. For ten: ₱5,000 to ₱15,000.
• Private-room dinner instead: ₱1,500 and up each. For ten: ₱15,000 and up, before drinks.
• Games after dinner: the lane price comes on top. Ask SM Game Park for the current rate.
• Cake: ask the restaurant whether you can bring one and whether there is a fee.

A typical MOA night runs about ₱700 to ₱1,500 a head, which lines up with the buffet version: ₱7,000 to ₱15,000 for the ten of you.

Bowling and karaoke at SM Game Park

SM Game Park is the bowling and games floor in the South Entertainment Mall at SM MOA. It has bowling, billiards, archery and karaoke, which covers a group that wants to compete and a group that wants a mic. Dinner first, games second: ten people who have eaten are easier to herd toward a lane.

Before the invitation goes out, ask the Game Park these questions:

• Are the lanes open on your date, and until what time?
• How many people per lane, and can lanes be held for a group of ten?
• What is the current price per game and for shoes?
• Are there karaoke rooms, and can one be booked?

If the answers do not work, there is a free fallback. MOA Sky is a rooftop park on SM MOA with viewing decks, a 1 km track and an amphitheater. There is nothing to book: it is open space for a walk and the group photo after dinner.

What to book and when

1. The table. Call with the headcount and the date, and ask about a time limit on the table.
2. The games. Only after the questions above are answered.
3. The meeting point. Send one pin. Each complex here is walkable inside, with a ride between complexes, so everyone should arrive at the MOA Complex and stay there.

If bowling is the point, do it in Cubao

The planner covers Cubao now, and the Pasay Bay Area is next; see the areas page. Cubao is where the lanes come with a booking. Paeng's Gateway Bowl has 24 lanes and six billiard tables, is open until midnight and accepts group and occasion reservations. Timezone Gateway 2 has private karaoke rooms and takes party bookings.

That night is costed in a Cubao birthday for ten under ₱800 a head. For other headcounts, see where to celebrate a birthday in Manila, by group size and the birthday guide.

The planner covers Cubao now. Pasay Bay Area is next, and this post is written from the same kind of checked list.