Shoot First Eat Later

Lunch at Willie’s Smoked Carolina BBQ

Summer in the USA means road trip! It was the kids’ first weekend summer break and we went to Virginia Beach for the weekend. After a couple of hours on the road we started to look for a place to eat lunch. We passed the usual McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut and the usual fast food chain. Our patience paid off when we saw the small sign for Willie’s BBQ.

La’s hubby, Chee was in charge of getting us to Virginia Beach while La and I were in charge of looking for a restaurant for lunch.

me with Ethan and Erin

Willie’s BBQ was on the same lot as a gas station and a convenience store. It didn’t look like much from the outside but we took a chance anyway.

To be honest the sides excited me more than the BBQ pork.

My nephew Ethan loves chicken so he got his own plate. I guess it was good since he finished it rather quickly. I did get to try a potato wedge and it was good.

1/2 bbq chicken and potato wedges $8.95

Erin had the kids meal with 2 small but generous sides of baked beans and candied yams with marshmallows. I found the yams yummy but a bit too sweet. Erin loved it all.

child’s plate -1 roll, pork or chicken, 2 small sides, and a drink $4.00

Chee had this generous plate of pulled pork. I tried it and found it to be tender and smoky but a bit dry. A quick dip in some Carolina bbq sauce and it was perfect.

pulled pork, cornbread, 2 regular sides & a drink $8.95

La and I shared an order of baby back ribs. They were finger lickin good! It was so much better than the pulled pork. The mac and cheese were also amazingly good. The baked apples were just ok. What really blew my taste buds was the awesome cornbread. It was so buttery, crisp on the outside and so moist and tender on the inside. It was the best cornbread I’ve ever tasted.

1/2 rack of baby back ribs, cornbread, 2 sides & a drink $15.95

We were really happy with this discovery. La and her family went back to Virginia Beach before the summer break ended and they went back to Willie’s BBQ for another satisfying meal.

menu from Willie’s BBQ

Willie’s Smoked Carolina BBQ

2245 Pocahontas Trail
Quinton, Virginia 23141
telephone: (804) 932-9333

Pitango Gelato

I like gelato, ice cream, frozen yogurt and other cold desserts but I’m not crazy about them. If there’s some I’ll eat it but if there’s none I won’t go looking for it. I’d rather have a good cookie, cake or chocolate for dessert. Since Pitango Gelato was right next door to The Counter we went there for dessert after dinner.

As soon as I saw the flavor orange dark chocolate on the door sign I knew what I wanted. You see I have this obsession with the orange dark chocolates. It’s the one combination I look for in chocolate bars, cakes and definitely ice cream. And it has to be dark chocolate and none of that wimpy milk chocolate. The only other dark chocolate orange ice cream I’ve eaten and loved is by Haagen Daz.

The orange dark chocolate flavor was actually for a sorbet. On their web site the flavor was described as :

Chocolate Noir
It’s all about the chocolate: dark, deep and complex. This marriage of Venezuelan cocoa and Costa Rican couverture chocolate creates an intense flavor that’s not too sweet or too bitter. It’s also rich in antioxidants, low in fat (less than six percent) and dairy free.

Orange Dark Chocolate
We lace our Chocolate Noir sorbet with a hint of orange essence for a truly decadent combination.

The other flavor I chose was the Sicilian almond gelato. It was nice and the almond flavor was sublime. But the orange dark chocolate sorbet was out of this world fabulous! I couldn’t believe it was sorbet and it had less than 6% fat. It was so, so, so rich and creamy. The chocolate flavor was totally intense and decadent and the hint of orange was just enough to make me moan. It was the best sorbet I’ve ever eaten in my life.

Pitango Gelato
Reston Town Center
11942 Democracy Drive, Reston, VA 20190
telephone: (703)606-9906

Store hours:
SUN – THUR / 11:00 AM-11:00 PM
FRI – SAT / 11:00 AM to Midnight

Dinner at The Counter – Custom Built Burgers

Another burger! Yes, all for my desire to find the best burger. I was quite excited to try The Counter and their customized burgers. I’ve been studying their menu even when I was still in Manila. It was hard trying to decide what to put on my burger.

The Counter has most of it’s branches in California. Other than Connecticut, the only branch in the East Coast was located in Reston, Va which was 15 minutes away from my cousin La’s house. It was the first time for all of us to try The Counter. Cousins La and Sha said they waited for me to arrive so we could try it all at the same time. Aww… how sweet!

This is my cute niece Erin, happily posing for me.

The Counter is not your ordinary fast food burger joint since they also sell beer and wine. They also serve milkshakes.

We couldn’t decide what fried starter to order so we ordered them all. I didn’t like the sweet potato fries. I found them too greasy. I liked the one at Gott’s Roadside much better.

the fifty-fifty : crispy onion strings & sweet potato fries $6.25

The fries fared a little better. They were crisp and well seasoned.

single order of fries $1.25

We were each given a form with all the options to create our own personal burger. Normally I’m a purist when it comes to burgers. I usually order a plain burger without anything to distract the taste of the beef. That’s how I can tell if the burger is good or not. But how could I not pick a few toppings when they all looked so good? With a lot of thought and restrain I ticked the boxes below.

This was what my burger looked like the right side up, with a generous slice of horseradish cheddar slightly melted on top.

I flipped my burger to take a picture of the dried cranberries, organic mixed greens and sprouts. On the side was the roasted garlic aoli sauce.

The burger was cooked medium as I requested. The burger wasn’t really very tasty. I didn’t get the beefy steak taste I look for in burgers. It really needed all these toppings to help it taste better. It wasn’t really bad but it definitely isn’t a favorite. Honestly I still prefer Chili’s burger in Manila.

This is what Lanneth chose for her burger which she shared with her daughter Erin. If you tick the correct quantity of toppings per step like we did the 1/3 lb. burgers cost $8.50.

La’s the veggie lover among us cousins. She chose grilled onions, sliced cucumbers, carrot strings, a grilled pineapple and gruyere cheese. With all those different flavors and textures I was amazed she still enjoyed her burger. We both agreed that the burger we grilled in her house from supermarket ground beef tasted better than this.

Sharon also chose grilled pineapple! Sorry but I don’t like pineapple with my food. That goes for pizza and sweet and sour pork. Anyway, Sha also chose Tillamook cheddar and hard boiled eggs as suggested by our waiter.

Hard boiled eggs on a burger? Sha said it was surprisingly good with the burger. Sorry but I’ll stick to my burger free of eggs and pineapple. If it was a fried, runny sunny side up egg that’s another matter.

Erin and La

Here are some of their suggestions for burger combos.

The Counter’s menu (click to enlarge)

my plate

The Counter Reston
11922 Democracy Drive
Reston VA 20190
telephone: (703) 796-1008

Lunch at Chutzpah Deli

Before going on a trip I usually do some research on places to eat and shop. I found a list from Ray Foley’s book “1,001 Sandwiches You Must Eat Before You Die” which listed the places in Washington DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland. One of the restaurants on the list, Chutzpah Deli, happened to be only 5 minutes away from my cousin’s house. It was also in the same strip mall as one of my favorite stores, TJ Maxx.

Armed with La’s car and the gps which I named Svetlana, it was the beginning of my eat and shop adventures.

I went in at 12:45 pm and the place was full. I decided to buy my sandwich and eat it at home.

The sandwich came with pickle spears and a container of potato salad.

The potato salad was yummy. It had pimiento in it which was a change from the traditional potato salad.

I ordered the The “Fuggedaboudit” as recommended by Ray Foley. It was amusing when I tried to order the sandwich since I fumbled with the pronunciation by saying it slowly syllable by syllable. The guy at the counter yelled, “you mean the forget-about-it!” Naturally, he said it fast and with confidence.

The “Fuggedaboubit” is a Chutzpah original made with hot corned beef and pastrami with a schmear of chopped liver on grilled rye with melted Swiss, cole slaw and Russian dressing. It was everything I liked all in one sandwich. Yes, even the chopped liver. In my mind it was paté.

The “Fuggedaboudit” $12.95

This is what it looked like after I sliced the sandwich into a fourth. It was definitely overstuffed and messy to eat. But, oh boy, was it finger lickin’ good! The chopped liver added a creamy texture to the cured meats which weren’t salty. The coleslaw gave the sandwich a nice crunch. And the bread… the rye bread was out of this world good. I love, love rye bread but good rye bread does not exist in Manila. This was the real stuff complete with caraway seeds. Rye bread slathered with butter and grilled to a crisp definitely put it over the top.

I managed to eat only half. But it was a good, good half I tell you.

Chutzpah Deli
12214 Fairfax Towne Center
Fairfax, VA 22033

Super, Duper Healthy Lunch at Whole Foods Market

The alternate title of this entry is “How I ate like a vegan for one meal.” Except for some chicken that came with a pasta salad everything on this plate was vegan. To those who know me eating vegan would the last thing on earth I would do. But after the excessive and sinful eating in San Francisco I decided my first meal in Virginia would be healthy and cleansing.

I arrived in Virginia at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am. I would like to thank my cousin Sharon who picked me up at the airport at 6:00 am. She then dropped me off at our cousin, La’s house so she could go the gym and work. I went in to a house full of sleeping people. They were blissfully unaware of my presence as I unpacked my luggage in the kitchen and lugged the rest of my clothing down to the beautiful basement which was to be my home for the next 6 weeks.

When my cousin La and her kids finally woke up they found chaos in the kitchen where I left all their presents. After all greetings and opening of the presents were done and the kids were picked up by the school bus, La and I went to Whole Foods Market to buy some groceries and have lunch.

I have always loved going to Whole Foods not for the healthy stuff in the grocery aisles but for their wonderful array of prepared appetizers and cooked food. These are just from the cheese section. La and I get a lot of inspiration there for what we can make at home.

Why didn’t I buy some of that Chocolate Goat Torta with Bourbon?

Whole Foods had 2 huge buffet style counters with prepared foods. One was all healthy salads while the other had cooked International food like curries from India, noodles from Thailand, chicken from China and a lot more. I’ve always been curious what the food from the healthy section tasted like so I finally took the leap and tried some.

Our favorite was the quinoa salad which tasted a little nutty and had a slight crunch to it. I loved the vinaigrette dressing and the sweetness from the oranges and grapes and texture from the cashews. It was like eating rice and salad at the same time.

quinoa w/ grapes, oranges & cashews

My second favorite was the tempeh. Tempeh is a cake made from soybeans. It tasted like peanut butter to me. Strange but true. It was nutty and dense.

spicy tempeh salad

The wheatberry salad was just ok for me. It had a harder consistency and it soaked up less flavor than the quinoa.

curried wheatberry salad

More berries in this salad. Gogi berries, mulberries, and different nuts. Not my favorite either.

superfoods salad

Here I am holding the plate of salads while in front of the pizza, roast chicken, prime rib. Sad huh?

La and I actually shared that plate of salads. I did get some caesar pasta salad with chicken and smoked chicken and tomato salad so the meal wasn’t totally vegan. La also had a cup of tomato bisque. Unbelievable but we were both full after this tiny bit of food. Oh I forgot we also had some of the flatbread and truffle mousse paté beside our tray. By the way this wasn’t cheap. The plate of food and soup cost about $8.

I really liked the the healthy choices we ate. It’s a good thing to eat like this from time to time but I don’t think I can eat like this forever. How will I survive without burgers and pizza? Well cake, cookies, chips and chocolate are vegetarian. Hmmm…. I can survive!

Dinner at Jody Maroni’s Sausage Sandwiches

It was my last day in San Francisco. It was a short trip that lasted 3 nights and 3 days. In a span of 3 short days I was able to try a wide variety of food thanks to Ariel and Jeanne who planned all of my meals to the last detail. Despite the brevity of my trip I was even able to squeeze a musical in between meals.

After lunch at Limon I went to the Orpheum theater to catch the matinee of the hit musical Wicked.

The musical Wicked has been running since 2003 and I don’t know why I’ve never watched it. It’s the best musical I’ve ever seen! I just loved the witty dialogue, the beautiful songs, the sad and happy story lines and the hilariously wicked comebacks of Galinda, the good witch. This was the first musical that didn’t make me snooze for even a single minute.

I had to go the airport around 7 pm for my red eye flight to Virginia so I suggested having dinner at the fast food of San Francisco Centre mall. I love sausages next to burgers and pizza so when I saw this stall it was an easy decision for my dinner choice.

full menu (click to enlarge)

The sausages were actually from Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom. I don’t know him nor have I ever heard of the brand but since the sign said ‘world famous’ I thought it should be good.

I chose the exotic sounding chicken pomegranate sausage on an onion roll and hold the veggies. I was happy it wasn’t too salty otherwise it was just ordinary. I didn’t taste the pomegranate or even a hit of sweetness. It was just a regular chicken sausage that was lean and not greasy thankfully.

Chicken Pomegranate Sausage $5.49

Ariel had the Polish sausage and garlic and parsley fries. When I asked him was his sausage, he just shrugged his shoulders.

Polish sausage combo meal (w/ soda & garlic fries) $9.49

I had my first taste of garlic fries at Level III, then again at Gott’s Roadside. Garlic fries were very popular in San Francisco. These fries were the worst of all three. They were cold, hard and inedible. A total waste of money. We wanted to have it changed but the restaurant was closing already. This was around 6:30 pm. I guess they gave us the left-over fries instead of cooking a new batch.

fries w/ garlic & parsley

This wasn’t my idea of a last meal in San Francisco but that’s ok since I had several great meals to remember the city by. Thanks again to Ariel, Kit, Jeanne and my HS friends who all made my short trip very memorable.

Jody Maroni’s Sausage Sandwiches
San Francisco Centre
845 Market Street – Space FE-8
San Francisco, CA 94108
telephone:

Lunch at Limon Peruvian Rotisserie

People often ask me, “How do you remember everything you ate?” That’s a very legitimate question since it may be a month or two before I write about a restaurant I ate in. By that time I have already eaten in several restaurants in between. That was the case in my recent US trip. I ate out almost everyday for seven weeks and sometimes twice a day and there was no way I will remember the details of all those meals.

The secret is not my wonderful memory since that’s fried and gone already. It’s the notes app on my iPhone. As soon as I take a bite of food I write down all my thoughts on it’s taste and flavors. Nothing beats an immediate and first reaction to food.

When I was preparing to write this entry I opened my notes app and to my horror I realized I forgot to take notes on Limon. I immediately emailed Ariel to ask what he recalled about the food since Limon was one of his favorite chicken restaurants in San Francisco and he has eaten there several times already.

This entry was written by my guest blogger, Ariel. My opinions are in italics.

The 3 sauces are the aji amarillo, rocoto aji and chimichuri. These dipping sauces typically accompany any Peruvian meal.

Aji Amarillo sauce is made of yellow chili peppers with cheese (or queso fresco). This is a spicy sauce that goes well with roasted chicken, french fries or yuca fries. Amarillos are long and thin peppers that are bright orange in color but the unripe ones are yellow. The seeds inside will make a dish very spicy.

Rocoto Aji is another chili pepper that is actually apple in shape and can only grow in areas with cool climates. I am not sure what Limon mixed it with that made them look more orange.

Chimichuri is a sauce made from parsley, oil, vinegar and onion. In some Latin countries, they use cilantro.

I loved all the sauces because they complemented the food we ordered. They added an extra kick yet they weren’t too strong or intense to burn your nose. Some foodies even compared their sauces to chutneys or curries which I disagree. Ariel is right. I loved all the sauces. They made the food special and exotic.

aji amarillo, rocoto aji and chimichuri sauces

Ceviche mixto was a dish made with raw fish, calamari and tiger shrimp marinated in citrus juices such as lemon, lime and sometimes chili peppers. Some also add onion, salt, and pepper to season it. Les said she didn’t like raw fish but we all enjoyed the Peruvian kilawin (a Filipino dish similar to ceviche)

Ceviche Mixto $9.75

The braised beef short ribs were braised in a huacatay-cilantro broth. Huacatay is another Peruvian herb used to season dishes. I read somewhere that this herb was related to marigold and tarragon and has an aroma that is a cross between mint and basil. The short ribs were so tender and flavorful.

Seco de Costillas $8.95

We ordered the veggie empanadas stuffed with mushroom, spinach, choclo and mascarpone cheese. We wanted to compare it with the empanadas we have in Manila. These fried stuffed pastries didn’t really make an impression on us other than it was pretty expensive for 2 small pieces.

veggie empanada $7.25

We all loved these crispy pieces of chicken. It was like eating chicharon (pork rind) but in chicken form. These were marinated in soy sauce, garlic and the aji amarillo. I liked the flavors and crunch of the chicken. This is a popular appetizer in Peru.

I liked the fried chicken with the salsa criolla (onion relish) more than the rotisserie chicken.

Chicarron de Pollo $8.50

The free range chicken was slowly roasted in an open flame. This was their signature dish. it was succulent, flavorful, juicy and delicious. It was so good that I ate the chicken skin even though I shouldn’t. The rotisserie chicken is viewed as a traditional or national dish. This is the dish that I come back for again and again.

I wasn’t really too impressed with the rotisserie chicken. I found it too salty but I agree it was indeed amazingly tender and juicy.

Half Rotisserie Chicken $9.95

Yuca or cassava is a root vegetable common to South America and the Philippines. I liked these better than the potato fries. It was crispy on the outside but soft on the inside.

In the Philippines cassava is most often used for sweets like cassava cake rather than savory dishes. Some companies have made flavored cassava chips but I’ve never seen any restaurant in Manila serve cassava fries like this.

Yucca Frita $3

Overall their food is full of bold and exciting flavors. Their prices are very easy on the pocket. With all the food we ate was I only paid about $50 tax included. (It’s cheap because servings were really small)

Thanks Ariel for introducing a new cuisine that Jeanne and I both enjoyed. Limon is one of the top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area as judged by SFGate for 2010. The others that I’ve tried that were also in the list were Bocadillos and Pizzeria Delfina.

Ariel & Jeanne

Limon’s menu

Limon Peruvian Rotisserie
1001 South Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94110-2615
telephone: (415) 821-2134

Dinner at Marlowe

I believe American cuisine has a bad rap. When you mention American food one immediately thinks of burgers and pizza. On this trip I learned that this is far from the truth.

Yes, burgers seem to be the favorite American food and it’s everywhere. From the ubiquitous fast food joint to restaurant chains even high end restaurants. And believe me I’ve eaten my share of burgers on this trip.

I’ve enjoyed the American food at Anchor and Hope, Salt House and Gott’s Roadside where I had my first burger in this trip. When Ariel told me he was bringing Jeanne and me to Marlowe another American restaurant I didn’t hesitate to say, “Yes!” Jeanne and I consulted Yelp and we took down notes on what others said were the best things to order at Marlowe.

Marlowe was a short bus ride from Union Square. It was located in the Soma (South of Market) area. I was surprised because the area looked like an industrial area and Marlowe seemed out of place. Nevertheless, the place was packed. We were lucky to get a reservation at all.

While waiting for our turn to be called, we took our time to read the food quotes printed on the glass wall of the restaurant.

These were some of my favorites.

After 15 minutes of waiting we were led to our table. The place was very small and cozy and wonderfully warm.

How can we resist not ordering the roasted bone marrow? It was simply sinful. The salsa verde sauce was the perfect condiment for the marrow.

roasted bone marrow $11

I’ve never tried brussels sprouts before. From what I’ve seen on tv and movies nobody likes them. But almost everyone in Yelp loved it and so we ordered it. One bite and we were all hooked. It was soooooooo delicious. The leaves were crisp reminding me of tempura batter. It was seasoned with just lemon and salt. The taste was so different and addictive. I’d eat it over potato chips any day. Gasp! Did I really say that?

crispy brussels sprout chips $6

A lot of people in Yelp said the burger was the best. A lot of newspaper articles on the web proclaimed Marlowe’s burger as one of the best in San Francisco. Ariel and I were so excited to try it that we actually ordered one each. Neither of us wanted to try something else.

I took a bite and it was far from nirvana. I found the burger very, very greasy. It also lacked any flavor and it didn’t have the beefy, steak taste I look for in all burgers. Not even the bacon, cheese and caramelized onions could save it. Was everybody wrong? Was I wrong? Maybe it was just an isolated case? I looked at Ariel and saw his frown. He didn’t like his burger either. It wasn’t really horrible but I just expected more from a burger so highly praised.

The fries were another thing. They were the best fries I’ve ever eaten in my life. The were unbelievably light and crisp and fantastic with the horseradish aoili.

SFGate rated this among the top fries in the Bay area.

I don’t know when I’ve had a fry that has such a thin, delicate coating. With each bite, the fry shatters like glass to reveal a creamy, almost custard-like inside. The fries are $5, and come with horseradish aioli. The secret to the clean flavor and crisp coating: They’re fried in rice oil.

Marlowe burger $13

Jeanne ordered the poulet vert which turned out to be the best chicken dish ever. It was beyond soft and it was very, very full flavored. You could taste the marinade all the way to the bone. I bet if you ate the bone it would taste good too. It was a million times better than the burger. Boy did we envy Jeanne.

From an article in SFGate I learned that the chicken was marinated for at least 25 hours in a mixture that includes basil, parsley and tarragon. No wonder it was so amazing.

poulet vert $21

Here’s a video of the chef making the chicken.

Marlowe is another restaurant that impressed me even though their burger didn’t. The crispy brussels sprouts, fries and poulet vert are not to be missed. I’m definitely adding this to my list of restaurants to go back to.

Marlowe’s dinner menu

Marlowe
330 Townsend Street,
San Francisco, CA 94107
telephone: (415) 974 5599

Stores at the Ferry Building in San Francisco

After lunch at Gott’s Roadside, my high school friends and I took a walk inside the Ferry Building. There were lots of stores and restaurants in the marketplace. All the stores were unique and interesting but a couple of them caught my eye.

I wanted to buy some cheese at the famous Cowgirl Creamery but I didn’t know which to buy so I didn’t buy any at all.

high school classmate, Angie and me

The words tasty salted pig parts made me laugh. But it’s really what Boccalone sold.

There were all kinds of salami and other cured meats hanging in this special temperature controlled storage.

Far West Fungi was my favorite store of all. They sold all things mushroom- from fresh mushrooms to truffles and products made with truffles.

I really, really wanted to buy this truffle mousse. It was on my list ever since I saw it on a web site that featured the best new products on the market. I figured I would buy it in Virginia, where I was headed after San Francisco, instead. But to my dismay I never saw this again.

truffle mousse

This looked so decadent.

black truffle pate

me, Eileen, Angie and Mercy

Cowgirl Creamery Cheese Shop
1 Ferry Building, #17
San Francisco, CA 94111
telephone: (415) 362-9354

Boccalone Salumeria
1 Ferry Building #21,
San Francisco, Ca 94111
telephone: (415) 433-6500

Far West Fungi
The San Francisco Mushroom Store
1 Ferry Building #34,
San Francisco, Ca 94111
telephone: (415) 989-9090

Lunch at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao

I will interrupt my US restaurants tour with a review of our lunch yesterday. Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao is currently the hottest restaurant in Manila as evident with the long lines that form from the time they open until they closes.

I didn’t really want to eat there yet since it just opened last week. I wanted the restaurant to be more stable before I tried it but since my dad got a reservation for the 3 of us I might as well go. Reservations are only given for parties of 8 or more but my dad knew someone who knew someone and he was able to get a prized table on a Sunday no less.

Some naysayers predict that after six months the lines will be gone. I’ve eaten in Crystal Jade branches in Hong Kong (pre-blog days) and Singapore and both branches were more than a few years old and there were still long, long lines. If they can match and maintain the quality of the food in those countries then I don’t think we’ll see the end of queues for quite some time.

The place was small for a Chinese restaurant specially in Greenhills. I heard from some of my friends who’ve eaten there that the noise level was very loud and the food took a long time to arrive. The noise didn’t really bother me and the food came out very fast. It seems they have improved since they opening day.

Just like in several Hong Kong restaurants they give you an order sheet with the entire menu on it. Just check which dishes you want to order and give it to the waiter. Be sure to bring your reading glasses!

Crystal Jade’s order sheet (click to enlarge)

We ordered some of our favorite dishes and a lot of them were on the first page of the menu. We really have to go back to try the food on the other pages. The chicken was hard and not very spicy. I found it expensive since the chicken consisted on less than a quarter chicken cut in small pieces. The chicken in chili sauce of Peking Garden is a 100x better.

cold spicy chicken sichuan style P188

The xiao long bao (soupy dumplings) was actually good. The skin had the right thickness, the meat soft and the soup very flavorful. Peking Garden has a new competition. Although it’s still a far cry from the xiao long bao I had in Din Tai Fung Taipei.

xiao long bao P158

We made an error ordering the noodles with the same chicken as the appetizers but at least the was more chicken and it went well with the noodles. The noodles were hand made daily in the restaurant and it was the best noodles I’ve ever eaten in Manila. It was the perfect al dente with a ‘bite’ often lacking in Chinese noodles. I took home the left-over noodles and had it for dinner. The noodles were softer and lost the ‘bite’ but it was still good. The sauce was just mildly spicy and good for those who have low tolerance for heat like me.

noodles w/ spicy chicken P288

The smoked fish wasn’t like the ones we ate in Hong Kong. It didn’t taste like smoked fish instead it tasted like super sweet saucy fried fish. Think sweet dilis.

smoked fish P188

Baked radish pastry is one of our favorite dim sum and this one passed our standards. The crispy, flaky crust wasn’t oily and the filling of grated radish was plentiful and very tasty. All it needed was a little soy sauce or vinegar dip.

radish pastry P98

This is one of my favorite Chinese desserts and I always order it in Spring Deer Hong Kong where they make it best. I didn’t expect much but it was actually good. The crepe was egg-y and soft while crisp and the red bean paste had just the right amount of sweetness. I’m happy that now I can get this dessert anytime.

red bean paste pancake P128

Yes, the eel came after the dessert. That was the only foul up with the service. I don’t eat eel but I tried a piece. It was super crispy and didn’t taste like eel at all. That was good for me but my parents who love eel hated this dish. They said it was fried beyond recognition of the eel’s natural quality and flavor. They like the normal sauteed eel like here.

crispy eel in wuxi style P288

Overall it was a good meal specially the noodles and the xiao long bao. I will definitely go back to try other noodle dishes. The only other thing that spoiled our lunch was the length of time for the bill to get settled.

In the Philippines senior citizens who have government issued cards can redeem a 20% discount on their meals in restaurants and hotels. Normally restaurants just subtract the discount based on what the senior citizen ordered. So if there are 2 people out of 3 who are seniors then the discount should be pro-rated. It was the first time we’ve encountered a place where they divided each food item into 3 separate bills, 2 with the discount and 1 without. No wonder it took so long. I hope they improve this part. They don’t realize that there is a BIG community of senior citizens in Greenhills who will definitely use their cards.

Crystal Jade Manila menu
appetizer, soup, seafood, small dishes 2, vegetables, la mian,
dim sum 2, fried rice & noodles, dessert, beverages

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
Unit 117-121 (across Jollibee) V-Mall,
Greenhills Shopping Center
San Juan City, Metro Manila
telephone: 570-6910, 570-6912