Monday, January 16, 2017

Love at First Bite: Choi Garden

I have been crazy for Chinese food ever since I’ve been with R. It’s hard not to fall in love with the centuries old cuisine especially when R’s family loves to go to the best Chinese restaurants in town. My tastebuds got spoiled and there’s no turning back. And just when I thought I’ve had the best peking duck, another restaurant made me think otherwise. And this “other” restaurant made me regret all the years of me ignoring it. 

Hello, Choi Garden

I always pass by this huge restaurant with red facade whenever I drop by Greenhills. A popular dining option for the Chinese community, this place gets really packed during dinner time and the day I went was no exception. 
It was R’s parents’ wedding anniversary dinner and they ordered a bunch of special dishes for us to feast on. While waiting for them, I was given some nuts, water and hot tea which I almost finished as I was super hungry. I also ended up eating more than I should as there was nothing else to do. My phone's signal was weak and they do not have wifi. It was just me and the peanuts. Well, it was mostly plate when R and his family arrived. 
They all arrived a bit before 7 pm and after a few minutes, a majestic boat filled with two huge Chilled Australian Abalone was served.
It was simply divine. I loved the firmness of the fresh abalone and I went to mushroom heaven after my first bite. I also liked it with a bit of wasabi for extra flavor and spicy kick. 
The Chicken Fruit Salad which it was supposed to be paired with the abalones was served a bit late hence we were not able to know if the two actually go well together. Nonetheless, the chicken fruit salad was also chilled, creamy and slightly sweet because of the fruit bits. I think I prefer my abalone as is. 
Another highlight of dinner was the Peking Duck (PHP1,000) which was prepared two ways, one was with just the roasted to perfection skin and another was with the meat which we stuffed inside a soft wrap. 
It has been quite a while since I had roasted duck as good as this one. 
The skin was so crispy while the meat was succulent and oh so flavorful. It was pure bliss. 
Next served was Shark’s Fin with Crab Meat Yellow Soup which was divine! It was thick and had a generous serving of shark’s fin and crab meat. I loved it even more as I was feeling cold that time. 
The Rock Lobster with Superior Sauce was pretty good too! Though the lobsters were on the small side, these scrumptious sea creatures were so fresh and had lovely snap per bite. The “superior sauce” was quite light hence giving way to the natural taste of lobster. The smooth noodles added texture to the dish and made it a filling one. 
The kiddos went crazy with the Minced Duck with Lettuce but preferred the meat with rice. 

I also loved this one as the duck meat was succulent and I really liked the crunch of the turnip. 
Last savory dish served was the Steamed Lapu-Lapu and it was lovely! It had a lightly seasoned flavor which made me crave for more! 
Last served were our desserts Egg Yolk Pao, something that reminded me of inipit and taro with tapioca balls and sago
The Egg Yolk Pao was your usual mantao with lovely egg yolk filling. I would have loved it more if it was salted egg. 
The inipit and taro desserts were pretty straightforward and quite ordinary. But I prefer those two over the egg yolk pao was both were sweeter and nicer to have to cap the meal.  

Overall, it was a good dinner. The mains were amazing and I can’t wait to have more of Choi Garden’s Peking Duck!

Note: Cleanliness is very important to me and Choi Garden marginally passed this one. The utensils on our table were quite dirty and I had to have some changed as there were still food bits on it! My glass was a bit sticky because some of my drink spilled while being served and the chef who chopped our duck had a stained apron. At least our plates and everything else were clean. 

Choi Garden is located at 12 Annapolis St. corner Purdue St., Greenhills, San Juan.

Choi Garden Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


3 comments:

  1. I love love love Choi Garden!! :) They also have the best Crunchy Pork a.k.a. Lechon Macau too!

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    Replies
    1. I agree!!! I tried the lechon macau and went to heaven! Will post my second visit review soon! :D

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  2. Nice! Is the Peking duck really only P1000?

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