Food Delivery: Choi Garden

The spike of Covid-19 cases in the Philippines is alarming. We have doubled the number of cases in just a month. Hence I am sticking with having my favorites delivered instead of me going out. And I don't feel like I'm missing out that much as most of my favorite establishments now offer takeout and delivery. One of my top picks last month was Choi Garden.

Hello, Choi Garden.

Choi Garden has been one of our go-to restaurants for Chinese food. We would usually have dinner there whenever we crave for roast duck or pork. And last Father's Day, R's dad requested that we get some of our favorites from this classic Chinese restaurant. 

Promo Alert: Choi Garden at 50% Off

Choi Garden has this chaotic and rather stressful dining ambiance. It feels as if one gets transported to Hong Kong with its efficient yet cold (no smile) service. But its mouthwatering Roast Pork and Peking Duck are just too good to say no to. And its constant partnership with credit cards makes it a lot easier for us to say yes to dinner at Choi Garden. 

Hello again, Choi Garden. 

Choi Garden partnered with American Express (issued by BDO) this month till December 13, 2019 where cardholders can get 50% off your bill with a minimum order of PHP5,000 and maximum order of PHP10,000, Mondays to Fridays for lunch and dinner. 

Xiao Long Bao Heaven: Lugang Café

When eating out, Chinese restaurants are hardly top of mind for me as I prefer Japanese food. (Go blame my anime addiction turned I-want-to-be-Japanese-but-it’s-impossible-so-I’ll-just-eat-everything-Japanese nature.) This is the reason why for the longest time, I have never tried Lugang Café. It’s not Japanese. *turns away* But F has been raving about Lugang Café’s coffee and was very nice of him not to tempt me during Lent season as I sacrificed coffee for 40 (long) days. Come end of Lent, we finally went to Lugang to try that F-recommended coffee.

Hello, Lugang Café!

It wasn’t exactly my first time here as I visited the same branch with my friend A. But I just had a drink then as I was too full to eat anything else. This time though was different as I came from work and famished.

F was already inside when I came in and I let him order for me as I have no idea which ones are good. He ordered the following: Steamed Xiao Long Bao (PHP248), Taiwanese Steamed Minced Pork (PHP220), Stir-fried Beef Noodles with Taiwanese Barbecue Sauce (PHP280), Aweto Flower, Mushroom and Jelly Fish (PHP290) and a pot of Arabian Coffee (PHP240).

In less than 15 minutes, our xiao long bao was served. It was served hot and I found out from F how to eat it the right way. [Dip it in the sauce, place it on the spoon, and then nibble a bit of the dumpling and sip the juice then eat the whole thing.]

The warm xiao long bao sure hit the grumpy spot. It made my tummy happy. The pork was rich in flavor and I just love that it was really juicy.

The Taiwanese Steamed Minced Pork was rather soupy but it was yummy too. The bits of pork were slightly sweet and salty at the same time. It somehow reminded me of pork adobo but minced and saucy.

The stir-fried noodles on the other hand somehow reminded me of Thuk Thai’s noodles. The sweet barbecue sauce made it hard for me not to have a forkful after another. The tender beef bits added texture to the dish making this a winner plate.

The Aweto flower dish was rather interesting. F asked if I was grossed out by it but I actually found it yummy. He mentioned that the taste of this dish is something that requires getting used to. That statement made me wonder though if I just gulped down the whole thing before I could taste it or simply because I love food.  Anyway, the dish was slightly tangy and the texture was quite unique. It had some rough parts and it was rather gummy as well. Overall though, it was a great dish.

Promo Alert: Lugang Café's Feast All You Can

Dieting is impossible if you are surrounded by foodies. We talk about food in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, and yes, even during lunch break.

*ding*

Okay, there really wasn't a sound but when A sends an email, it has to be about one of the following-- (1) picture of the day, (2) weird things I do not wish to explain further, or (3) eat-all-you-can. And because I always hope that the emails are about the last one, I read the emails ASAP. 

And true enough the last one was about Lugang Café's Feast All You Can. 

Exotic Food Trip Stop: Café Mezzanine

Exotic! That’s the first thing that comes to mind whenever I hear the word Binondo. Yes, not Chinese nor hopia… EXOTIC. I find it funny that it was just this year when I first visited this place, and now, I just can’t get over it. Soup #5, Turtle Soup, Frogs, Eels… these things charm me in a very odd manner.  

November 26, 2011. Fear Factor: Exotic Food Trip Edition. 

 

I invited several friends from Couchsurfing to a different kind Binondo Food Trip. Unfortunately, I was not aware that the word “exotic” could turn them off like The Grinch seducing the mommy who kissed Santa Claus. Alas, I was able to gather 7 people with the help of a fellow CSer. 

 

Our first stop was Café Mezzanine known as the Volunteer Fireman’s Coffee Shop. There we ordered Soup #5 (PHP250) and Special Kiampong (PHP50 per serving). I also ordered Coffee Float (PHP90). 

I was so excited to try Soup #5 because it was quite exotic. Bull’s balls? How can that not be exotic? 

Last Day Lunch with Manny Pacquiao

…’s favorite restaurant in Chinatown, L.A.. To make more sense, I ate at Manny Pacquiao’s favorite Chinese restaurant! *POW* (Okay, perhaps the pow didn’t help make me sound cooler.)

On our last day in L.A., our family friend treated us to a Chinese restaurant somewhere in Chinatown. She said that our very own PacMan frequents that place. 

 

Upon entering the restaurant, the claim “PacMan frequents the place” was confirmed in more ways than one. 

Ordering was quite difficult due to language barrier. We were not the ones who ordered the dishes but I felt my aunt’s frustration while conversing with the person who waited for us. It was a happy ending though as after 15 minutes of describing and pointing, the order was made. 

Kyoto in L.A.

We have finally landed and are hungry for… well just about anything edible actually. Good thing that our family friend brought us to an eat-all-you can place here at Glendale.

Kyoto. It was definitely screaming Asian. The place was packed and we had to wait for 20 minutes for us to be seated. Well, that was a good sign for it meant that the place is popular and the food’s good. 

Right across a peaceful lane.

My First Bite: Delicious Kitchen by Eat Well!

Watching a cooking demo on an empty stomach is pure torture.

We had a cooking demo last Saturday which was well attended and the dishes featured were definitely mouthwatering. Thus I wasn’t able to stop myself from buying food from nearby stalls (as we held the cooking demo at Robinsons Supermarket, Galleria). I started my snacking trip with a large order from Chatime (the Pearl Black Tea was yummy!), followed by a hotdog on stick and some candies from Candy Corner.

I was still very much hungry when the event ended thus I couldn’t wait to visit a restaurant I’ve never been to before. The first restaurant that came to mind was DELICIOUS KITCHEN. I’ve been eying that restaurant since I first tried Johnny Rockets. The line “by Eat Well!” sure made me curious.

I was so hungry that I initially ordered a lot. Good thing I was with my mom and she told me that I should stop being a glutton and just order 3 dishes. Fine.

I ordered a combination meal—rice with Lechon Macau and Steamed Chicken (PHP240), Pan-Fried Eggplant Stuffed with Minced Shrimp (PHP275), and Fried Shrimp Puff with Wasabi Dressing (PHP330).

Yes, no appetizer or desserts this time as I was restricted to order so. L

First dish that arrived was the combination meal. It wasn’t very photogenic. The taste was at the same level with how the photo looked like. It was rather bland. The dish was not served with any sauce and we had to ask the server for it. He gave us hoisin sauce… which was sweet (but we were craving for something salty… think Mang Tomas. Okay, we are the typical Filipino eaters when it comes to lechon macau).

Next dish served was the Fried Shrimp Puff with Wasabi Dressing. I thought that the wasabi dressing was nothing; but I was wrong. One bite made me remember the sensation of inhaling Vicks Inhaler. The wasabi sure made me breathe better. I find it quite spicy so I scraped off most of the dressing. The shrimp puff was good but it was not far from the ones from Paotsin. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed given that this was the most expensive dish we ordered.

Finally, the Pan-Fried Eggplant Stuffed with Minced Shrimp…

It was… quite oily. It was definitely different though. There was the chewiness of the minced shrimps and a bit of crunch. I find the dish a bit too salty though since it was sprinkled with salt and pepper so I made sure to put a lot of vinegar to kill the saltiness. Nonetheless, it was a very interesting dish.

Overall, I was disappointed with the restaurant. The name didn’t seem to have matched the dishes we ordered. Perhaps we should have asked which ones were their best sellers and our dining experience could have been different.

I might visit this place again, but most likely not in the near future.

Delicious Kitchen is located at Robinsons Galleria Veranda, Quezon City.

Hand-pulled noodles anyone?

As part of our Rizal Rediscovery tour, we walked around Binondo for some authentic Chinese food. (Now that I typed it in, it doesn’t make sense.)

Anyway, we went to this small noodle shop called Lan Zhou La Mien (no, I wasn’t able to read the signage… I relied on what our “tour guide” told me).

We ordered Beef Lamien (PHP120), Beef Kan Pan Lamien (PHP130), Ba Bao Sha Guo Lamien (PHP140) and pork dumplings (PHP100). Our other friend ordered Seafood Lamien as she’s vegetarian.

While waiting for our food... we watched how the noodles were made.

First dishes to arrive were the Beef Lamien and the Beef Kan Pan Lamien. Well, the two are pretty much the same only the latter does not have soup. I prefer the Beef Lamien because I can’t help associate noodles with soup. Also, I find the Kan Pan Lamien a bit hard to swallow. A bit thick for me.

Beef Lamien

Beef Kan Pan Lamien

The beef however was very tender and flavorful. It was not salty at all and I’d say that it was seasoned well. Also, the noodles played a major part in the dish. You’d know that the noodles were cooked well. Chewy but not hard or of the texture of overly cooked rice.

Ba Bao Sha Guo Lamien

I wasn’t able to try the Ba Bao Sha Guo Lamien but I was told that some ingredients added were quite bland. I just took one quail egg so I can’t really comment about it.

Pork dumplings... not really photogenic. :(

The pork dumplings on the other hand were just right. Not really outstanding. I had better pork dumplings. I also prefer dipping it in soy sauce but the only one available there was black vinegar. I’m not very sure if that’s the proper way to eat dumplings as I am not really fond of Chinese food (though I’m Chinese).

We “stared” at the restaurant that served vegetarian dumplings. I’ll try that one next time.