Pinoy Life At Large

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Su Zhou, my secret dimsum haven in Mandaluyong

16 October, 2007 (02:12) | Uncategorized | By: Arpee

Since my post about eat168, I have decided to blog about restaurants that offer good food at P500.00 (US10.50) or below. Other food blogs feature restaurants that offer top-notch food at sky-high prices. My philosophy is that good food need not be expensive. I’m sure with the stiff competition among restaurants, there will be one or two food places out there that will offer high-class and exotic food that is affordable to working class. I just have to look really hard.

Su Zhou Dimsum is the parent of yet another high-end restaurant located at the Promenade in Greenhills. I have dined in their Promenade restaurant and I believe that the fare is exactly the same, except for the plates, cutlery, ambiance and the price tags.

It is located along A. Mabini Street inside Brgy. Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City. Parking is available for only three cars, while other customers will just have to come back later or park elsewhere. Service is fast and so is customer turnover. As i have always done, allow me to start with the booboos:

  1. Location. It is hard to find if you are not familiar with the place and when you decide to cruise Mabini Street, it is easily missed. So for those who want to come here, cruise by Mabini Street slowly and stay on the left. Mabini is a one-way street and if you see the elementary school to your left, you’ve already missed it.
  2. Tight spaces. Inside the restaurant, spaces are kinda tight to move around. For a hefty guy like me, I am discouraged to go to the washroom because a lot will have to be inconvenienced just so I can get back to my table. Luckily for me when I went that day, there weren’t any customers. I can only imagine how it will difficult it would have been for me, had the restaurant been full with the lunch crowd.

And the yahoos;

  1. They have some of the best kuchay dumplings ever. It comes with this black vinegar sauce that is so unforgettable. Yes, there are other places that serve kuchay dumplings but this one is a beauty because it’s not salty, so full of flavor and you don’t have to go all the way to Binondo.
  2. The servings are large. I had the Taiwan special beef noodles and it was so filling. It was advertised to be spicy but I found it just ok. Foreigners not used to really spicy food will enjoy this! The beef is tender and the chunks were larger than average.
  3. The restroom is clean, well-ventilated and has a nice scent to it. A separate wash area is provided outside the toilet.
  4. Service is lightning fast and comes with a smile. You shouldn’t be cheap about tipping, as they are always on their heels, lunch crowd or not.
  5. Though the ambiance is not exactly like their Promenade place, it’s something that you’ll probably like. I loved the ambiance because it’s small and has a homey feel to it.

Check out the pictures and see for yourself.

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This is exterior of the place. It is very popular with local Chinese community. Like I always say, if it’s good enough for them, it’s probably the real thing.

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See their menu and note that their prices are VAT inclusive as it should be.

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This is Su Zhou Dimsum’s Taiwan Special Beef Noodles. Really good!

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Noodles with kuchay dumplings. Another personal favorite.

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Served hot and ready for the tasting.

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Eyeglasses aside, Noreen and Eden are so ready to dig in. Note the size of the bowls.

Comments: 6

Dimsum heaven in Mandaluyong

15 June, 2007 (06:49) | Uncategorized | By: Arpee

Seen above is my Tito Udol enjoying the Noodle Feast and the Stuffed Tofu (each filled with shrimps!) along with his bottomless iced tea.
Han Pao is indeed a gem of a restaurant! Every once in a while, you try a restaurant only because you’ve gotten tired of the usual fare. Such is what happened to me yesterday. I found this badminton place in Mandaluyong and begged to be allowed to park there because it was lunch time and the heat was scorching, so I didn’t want to park in open lot.
That is how I found Han Pao. Noreen saw the place and said. “ayoko na maglakad sa KFC!” Thus began my journey into dimsum heaven. No more starters here, we immediately went into the main course: Yang Chow fried rice, Noodle Feast (reminiscent of Luk Yuen’s Noodle Feast but with larger portions and less MSG) and the Stuffed Tofu.
We expected it would be served in the usual oblong melamine mini-dishes, they usually use in most Chinese restaurants. Lo and behold! All dishes were served in large dinner plate-sized china, overflowing to the brim. The tofu was a complete surprise to me. To think that I’m so crazy about tofu, each Stuffed Tofu was stuffed with fresh shrimps and a little green (tasted like kutchay) veggie. The noodles were definitely better than Luk Yuen’s Noodle Feast which reeked of salt and MSG. Han Pao’s version had less MSG, more natural flavors.
So how much did we spend? Noodle Feast - P200, Stuffed Tofu - P175, Yang Chow fried rice - P135. And we even had enough leftover for dinner. There is no service charge, just the usual e-vat.
It was not filthy as mentioned in another blog (though that was probably his opinion which this writer respects). The place was clean and the service, fast. I wish I had tipped better. I will DEFINITELY come back to this place.

Comments: 3