UPDATED: BABY RAIN'S BDAY GIVEAWAY: KING CHEF DIMSUM KITCHEN!

        If you're ever in the vicinity of Banawe in Quezon City and you're craving for some good and affordable dim sum in a bright and very presentable place, King Chef Seafood Restaurant would be your best bet. We recently went there with a couple of our other blogger friends to try their long list of over a hundred type of dimsums!  

        And the best part is, they have Morning, Afternoon, and Late Night Tea Time where they offer a huge discounted price on their dimsum! 

BDO’s TREAT! 45% OFF LUGANG CAFE!

　　For my regular readers, you would know that Chinese food is one of my favorite cuisines (American being the other one). And there’s a list of Chinese restaurants that have really caught my attention, and my tummy. The latest addition to that list is Lugang Cafe. We went past it one time at SM Mega Fashion Hall and I have been hearing good things about it, so we decided to give it a shot.

CHAIRMAN WANG'S: HAND PULLED NOODLES IN MOLITO!

         Before Ramen became the rabid food craze it is today, Chinese Noodle Soup was the go-to soup of choice for those looking for a lighter, yet satisfying meal. Chairman Wang's is restaurant in Alabang with a goal: Putting the pride back into noodle soups & reaffirming its place as one of the most popular comfort food(s?) of choice!

THE HUAIYANG CUISINE EXPERIENCE AT SHANG PALACE, MAKATI SHANGRI-LA! -RINAZ

“My culinary philosophy is to cook from the heart.”

Chef Anthony Dong

        When a chef thinks this way, you know you're in for a delicious treat! This is Chef Anthony Dong. And he is Futian Shangri-la Shenzen's Executive Chef that holds the title of Honorary Deputy Professor of Food and Beverage Management at Far East University Tainan, and a gold medalist in the National Innovative Cooking Competition in Shenzen. Long story short, he's big in Shenzen! That's why Makati Shangri-La is very proud to have him here as their guest chef for one week to cook his heart out featuring Huaiyang Cuisine at Shang Palace for Filipinos to try!

MEET THE ROBO CHEF AT RED ONION!

           Chinese Food, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.. Hehe.. Sorry but Chinese food and I go a long way back. The very first restaurant I ever remember going to was a place in Los Angeles called "Ho Ho's" when I was 5 years old. Even at a young age, I was enthralled by the wonderful mixtures of sweet, salty and sour, all in one bite.  The place is probably no longer in open, but the lasting impact it had on my palate has remained, and in fact, is stronger than ever.  

       I heard about a Chinese restaurant opening in U.P. Town Center, that features a Robo-Chef that slices their noodles for them, and I was immediately intrigued. Though their claim to fame is obviously their noodle dishes, there was something in their menu that caught my eye, and I couldn't stop dreaming of it.. 

       What you see above is me holding two plates of "Double Fried Sweet and Sour Pork" from Red Onion. 

HAIL TO THE KING CHEF, BABY!

         I've declared my love for Chinese food time and time again in this blog. My food blogger friends have been wanting to go on a Binondo Food Trip around for quite some time now, but we've never had the time. I have to admit that I am totally clueless around the Manila area. If you asked me right now how to get there, I wouldn't know where to start. I know there is a treasure trove of Chinese restaurants in the area just waiting to be discovered, which is why I've always had the area in my cross hairs.

     I felt a good place to start would be King Chef Seafood Restaurant at Lucky Chinatown Mall. 

KUNG HEI FAT CHOI: THE YUNG SHENG PROSPERITY TOSS AT XIN TIAN DI, CROWNE PLAZA

        I've had a fascination with Chinese cuisine since I was a child. But in all my years as a lover of Chinese food, I had never been part of a Chinese New Year Feast. I figured that they just lit up some fireworks, did a Dragon dance, then ate some noodles and Peking Duck, then found someone to kiss at the stroke of midnight. 

       Although I'm pretty sure i'm not far off from the truth, something I had absolutely no clue about, was the tradition of the "Prosperity Toss". 

        Good thing for me, my friends from Crowne Plaza Manila were more than willing to show me what that grand tradition was all about, at their delicious Chinese restaurant, Xin Tian Di. 

YEE SANG TRADITION: GOOD LUCK, PROSPERITY, AND HEALTH!

        If you're as clueless as I was about Chinese traditions, then you probably also have no idea what Yee Sang is. It was only last Tuesday that I learned about this tradition during a lunch at Shang Palace in Makati Shangrila for sort of a pre-Chinese New Year lunch. (Thank you to the people of Makati Shangrila for inviting us!)

BACK IN SESSION AT PHOENIX COURT!

        A few months back, Rina, Baby Rain and I enjoyed a short staycation at The Bellevue Hotel in Alabang. I was completely blown away when I found out that it wasn't an international chain, and that it was locally owned. One of the highlights of our stay was the incredible meal we had at Phoenix Court. Our meal was so awesome, I felt it deserved a sequel.

        Lo, and behold, I got it! 

UNLIMITED DIMSUM BUFFET AT XIN TIAN DI AT CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL GALLERIA

         During our amazing Staycation at Crowne Plaza a few months back, Rina and I capped off our epic weekend with a late lunch at the Hotel's resident Chinese Restaurant, Xin Tian Di. Although Rina and I were seriously contemplating ordering a whole bunch of Chinese dishes, the instant we found out that they offered an Eat-All-You-Can Dimsum feast, we dropped our menu and told the restaurant manager (who was kind enough to welcome us to the restaurant), "GIMME SOME OF THAT!"

THE BELLEVUE MANILA: PHOENIX COURT IS NOW IN SESSION

       I cannot reiterate enough how much I love Chinese food. I swear, I think I could live on Sweet & Sour Pork for the rest of my life (And bacon). I had heard a lot of good things about Bellevue Manila's Chinese restaurant, Phoenix Court from my other food blogger friends, so in the days leading up to our Bellevue Staycation, I wasn't sure what I was more excited about.. Staying overnight in the Luxury Hotel, or eating in the Chinese Restaurant?

      I'm still on the fence about what I was looking forward to more, but I was fortunate to have both, and I can safely say, that I believe Phoenix Court is one of the best Chinese restaurant's I've ever tried. 

THE 2013 DAVAO ADVENTURE: LOTUS COURT AT MARCO POLO DAVAO!

         Word of advice to Philippine Airlines: A pack of peanuts and crackers does not constitute a "meal" - especially when you delayed our flight. As you can imagine, we arrived at the beautiful city of Davao around noon time, and we were absolutely famished. Seriously, I was getting worried because thoughts of burying my face in the first Durian I see were beginning to pop into my head. 

    The thought of exploring Davao for the next few days kept me excited enough to keep me from getting grumpy. But I was seriously contemplating asking Spanky if we could pass by for some drive thru somewhere. As we hopped on to the van en route to the hotel, Spanky then told the group, "Hope you're all ready for some Peking Duck from Marco Polo Hotel's Lotus Court!". 

     It was at that precise moment that my tummy decided to let out a loud growl, which I think was its way of answering"Hell yeah!". 

MODERN SHANGHAI'S NEW MENU ITEMS! -RinaZ

          If you live for Chinese cuisine like Richie does, you might want to try out Modern Shanghai. They have good Xiao Long Bao and other classic Chinese dishes you might enjoy!

SUPER BOWL OF CHINA'S P1 WEEKDAY DEALS & THE YANGCHOW CLASH OF THE TITANS!

            The lights and the cameras were ready.  With five tables and what seemed like an infinite amount of bowls filled with delicious Yang Chow, the stage was set. And we had the best seat in the house. Though I was merely just a spectator, my heart was racing..  I felt like I was watching a live episode of my favorite show, Man Vs. Food. 

           Where was I, you ask? At the Yang Chow Chowdown: The Ultimate of Super Bowl of China event!

HOTEL HOTSPOTS: DIMSUM ALL YOU CAN AT LI LI IN HYATT HOTEL & CASINO MANILA

           In case the 24 entries weren't enough to clue you in, i'm going to go on the record now and say that I LOVE Chinese food. If you ask me one of my all time favorite restaurants, I'd easily tell you that it's Harbor City in Cebu.. A simple restaurant known for its Dimsum. 

           I'm always on the look out for amazing places to get some Siomai, Steamed Spareribs and Spring Rolls. So when I got the chanceto try the Dimsum Eat All You Can of Li Li at Hyatt Hotel and Casino, I knew that was one opportunity I couldn't miss. 

A BITE OF THE BIG APPLE: THE AMBASSADOREOS AT PEKING DUCK HOUSE

             Though we had just feasted on a magnificent Breakfast Buffet a couple of hours earlier, we worked up quite a bit of an appetite (Well.. At least I did)  during the first half of our New York City Tour (Coming up in the next post!). We had seen many landmark sites that we had only had seen in our favorite movies and TV shows. But even then we still had an entire City to explore, so it was best to make sure our belly was filled before moving on to the next leg of our tour. 

          Once again, Oreo Philippines, had our back and took us to Peking Duck House in China Town. 

A BITE OF THE BIG APPLE: IHOP AND BAOHAUS

           I hadn't even been in New York for five hours yet, and I had already dined in a legendary Cantonese restaurant that Anthony Bourdain had featured in his TV Show, "No Reservations". Based on that alone, I was ecstatic that my trip to the Big Apple was off to a smashing start. 

         After filling up my belly with Chinese Style Fried Chicken and Pork Chops, I joined the younger batch of the Oreo contingent, as we set of to The Biergarten at The Standard Hotel to unwind. 

       I had heard of numerous horror stories about roaming charges, I had resolved to use my smart phone in "Flight Mode" throughout the trip, and only turning it on for emergency purposes. I managed to catch a Wifi signal at the Biergarten and found some Facebook messages from my cousin Brian that lives in New York. 

      Since I hadn't seen him in years, so I was ecstatic to find out that he was more than happy to pick me up and go see us. Within minutes, Brian and his wife, Dori came fulfilling our dining plans that had been years in the making. 

     And so continued my first night in New York, which I look back at with much fondness as, "The Night of Three Dinners".

     *Tear*

A BITE OF THE BIG APPLE DAY 1: HOP KEE

             During my first meeting with Jennifer and Jasmin, the Official Philippine AmbassadOREOS, we were talking about the the places I wanted to eat at New York. As you can imagine, a free trip to New York is every person's dream come true (unless of course, you live in New York), so imagine what it felt like to be a food blogger, planning a trip to one of the greatest food cities on the planet.  

    My goal when going to New York was making sure that I would try some of the delicious hot spots I had seen on some of some of my favorite food shows that I had watched in the past. During our conversation, the twins told me, "Oh, please reserve one dinner for us! Our parents are taking us to Hop Kee!".

     The name "Hop Kee" instantly rang a bell, but I couldn't place it. Hey, it was a free meal so I wasn't going to say no to that. It was only after we had eaten did I realize where I heard the name "Hop Kee" before..

     From a little show called "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations".

WHEN IN CEBU: SPICE FUSION

Spice Fusion-ing like a boss

           Before I left for Cebu, I got in touch with the Cebu based food blogger known as the "Babe For Food", to ask for suggestions of places that I should check out when I get to Cebu. She gave me a concise and extremely thorough list, that included some very interesting suggestions. Something that she strongly recommended, was the restaurant "Spice Fusion". I kept it under my radar, because I'm a big fan of South East Asian Fusion, which is something that Spice Fusion boasts. But with the short amount of time I was there, I wasn't certain what places I'd be able to visit.

      I was at Cebu for a day, when my mom's good friend asked me where I planned on going. Naturally I said the usual staples, Harbor City, Zubuchon, and Sunburst. 

     She had just brought us an entire from Farley's Special Lechon (which my mom likes more than Zubuchon), so I was aware that she knew a thing or two about food, So when I asked her for a suggestion, she said very emphatically, "Spice Fusion!".  


   So two people whose taste I trust when it comes to food gave a resounding recommendation to Spice Fusion, so I knew they must have something good going on.  
  
  So I left the beach, and decided to take Rina and Baby Rain out on a date to Cebu City, with our first stop.. Spice Fusion!

YOU JIE XIAO CHAO: A CHINESE HIDDEN TREASURE NEAR ROCKWELL

             If you ever find yourselves in the outskirts of the Rockwell area in Makati, and you pass this gate on Camia Street, do yourself a favor.. 

            Stop, go down, knock on the door and walk in.

          Because inside, you'll find some of the most amazing Chinese food you'll ever try in Metro Manila.  

                     Friends, let me tell you all about You Jie Xiao Chao...