Wan Chai Tea House - Benavidez St, Manila

Wan Chai started as restaurant in the Binondo area that serves dimsum and ala carte items hot and fast. Later on, it had opened branches in different cities around the Metro. We have always loved going to the original branch in Binondo. And here is our food trip
It tends to get crowded during weekends so be prepared to wait for a seat..

Chicken feet
Elle: The chicken feet were large! Glad to not have been served just “chicken bones with skin”. It was spicy and slightly different in taste form your average chicken feet.
Cody: now this is chicken feet, unlike some restaurants that would serve under nourish feet, this was good…
Soup
Elle: I really liked this soup. It was clear and refreshing but still very tasty. There was a good amount of chicken, vegetables and other ingredients.
Cody: no MSG detected… the soup captures the essence of the chicken… Huge quantity of ingredients also.. very filling even if it was not cream based.

Fried rice
Elle: Comfort food!! Yumyum! it had lots of shrimp and was not too tasty which makes it go well with other viands.
Cody: If a Chinese restaurant in Binondo cant cook good fried rice, they should close… this one does it well, delicious, has lots of “sahog”.
Crispy Fried Chicken w kropeck
Elle: The meat was soft and the skin was crispy.
Cody: Tender, juicy with crispy skin, no complaints here.
Vegetables with century egg
Elle: I LOVE century egg! This one had large chunks of century egg and soft veggies. Perfect combination!
Cody: The gravy went well with the veggies and eggs. Veggies were cooked just right, bright colors! i also love the whole roasted garlic.. sweet
Shrimp cake
Elle: Now this is what shrimp cake should be! It was loaded with shrimp! The cake was soft but the edges were golden brown and crispy. Even without the sweet and sour sauce the cakes were scrumptious!
Cody: My fave Wan Chai dish.. u can taste the shrimp here and not flour unlike other restaurants.. crispy exterior.. perfect to pair it with sweet and sour sauce.

Padrino - A.venue Mall, Makati City

Padrino - is one of the chain restaurants or L'Opera group.. Aisde from Balducci and Tratorria Gourmet.. THe place is quite small compared to the other restaurants. ENJOY card has one of the better offerings with this restaurants. So we are very happy to give this place a try. And knowing the great quality of Italian food tha L'Opera serves.. I hope we dont get disappointed.

Hmmm.. is it just us or the food here seems to be cheaper than L'Opera....

Insalata Caprese
Elle: The mozzarella was delicious, fresh basil leaves, lightly seasoned. It was a very light and fresh appetizer. Yum!

Cody: Sliced Mozzarellla... was good, not as fresh i want it to me but still better than other restaurants. Tomatoes were sweet and tangy...

Insalata De Mare

Elle: fresh seafood with a bit of freshly squeezed lemon with just the right tang; tastes like the sea! I could eat a whole plate of this

Cody:. I love how they cooked the seafood.. with just salt and pepper.. very lightly seasoned so as nto to distract the taste from the fresh seafood.. wonderful and the dressing just wakes up the taste buds

Four Cheese pizza

Elle: thin and crispy but as you eat it, the insde is gummy which I really like. Smells amazing. The bleu cheese wasn’t too overpowering.

Cody:I always like my pizza with a tomato sauce base... this was just okay for me..

Duck Ravioli
Elle: Pasta was soft and al dente and the sauce was amazingly delicious and creamy. the truffle oil added another level of flavor to the sauce. You can only have a few bites of this cause it was a bit too rich.

Cody: this was good, the gameyness of the duck was not overpowering. The truffle cream sauce was simply divine.. Ellle just had a few bites but i could finish this dish.. with bread :)

Spaghetti Pescatora

Elle: Pasta was cooked perfectly and it had a little bit of a bite to it. The sauce was a bit tangy because of the tomatoes but I loved it with the fresh seafood. It was a light meal and yet it was still very satisfying.

Cody: Pasta cooked just right.. seafood were a plenty.. THe tomato sauce getting the flavour form the seafood... perfect..

Grilled swordfish

Elle: The fish was soft, not at all fishy in taste. The veggies were also grilled well. however the serving was small.

Cody: nice size fish.. grilled perfectly.. moist and sweet tasting. Vegetables were also grilled correctly..

Would definitely give this restaurant another visit if we want to eat italian food. Keep us the good work

Kim Garden - Paseo de Magallanes

Another food trip in Paeo de Magallanes brought us to this noodle place which was quite unique that you woulnt find a similar kind in Makati area. THe name of the restuarant is Kim Garden, located at the 3rd floor of the building where Brothers Burgers is located.

At first we thought it was a Koream restaurant btu looking thru the menu.. its more of a Taiwanese restaurant.

Here comes the food.

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup
Elle: I was surprised since they served the chicken separately from the noodles. The chicken was cooked perfectly seasoned but still complements the noodle soup. The noodle soup had a nice burnt sesame taste to it and the fresh cilantro gave it a fresh clean hint. The noodles were thick and chewy.
Cody: THe noodles were similar to Japanese soba, thick and have a bite to it. So for people who are not into thick noodles, orfer something else. I love noodles in general. The chicken was marinated in a sweet glaze which penetrated into the meat.

Fried Shrimp Puff
Elle: It looked a bit like a small empanada, the skin was thin and crispy. It had a lot of shrimp (looked fresh cause the shrimp wasn’t whitish it was still a bit salmon in color). It was a bit bland though but the crispiness of the dough made up for it.

Cody: very cute little fried parcels. delicious, cruspy, not oily. inside are wonderful crunchiness of fresh shrimps. i could eat 10 of this little treats,.

If you guys are tired from eating at Shakeys, Racks, Brothers, give this place a try.....