Roots Market Bistro

Early last month, Mom, Brother and I found ourselves in Promenade, Greenhills during lunchtime.  Tired of the usual favorites, my Brother suggested that we try out the newly opened Roots Market Bistro.  No one objected, so Roots it is!  Besides, who'd say no to try out a new restaurant, right?  Anyway, the three of us weren't really hungry, so we agreed to just order something light and share it among ourselves.  This is what we had:

Salad Rian

Grilled prawns, orange segments, feta cheese, mesclun, cranberry vinaigrette

Sponach and Mushroom Omelette

Baby spinach, mushrooms and gruyere served with house salad and pain de mie

                       

Cream of Cauliflower

Baguio fresh cauliflower, spring onions, slivered almonds, croutons

Tomato and Corn Soup

Served with parmesan tuile and wanton crisp

Pumpkin Soup

Jalapeno crema

More than double (pork) chop

Potatoes, mustard green, tomatoes

I'll keep this short and simple.  The only dish worth remembering was the "more than double (pork) chop".  That's it.  Everything else was forgettable and underwhelming.  The pork chop, on the other hand, was brined perfectly, tender and oh so juicy.  So yes, that might be the only thing I would go back for.  2 out of 5 stars.

Roots Market Bistro is at G/F, Promenade II, Annapolis St. cor. Missouri St., Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan

Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight

Early this year, I wrote a review about Crystal Jade Dining IN.  I remembered stressing about the high price points, although I must admit that the food was quite good.  So imagine my surprise when one day, I opened my inbox and found an email from Mr. Kenneth Yu, the Brand/Communications Manager for the Crystal Jade franchise here in the Philippines.  It was a simple email, inviting us (me and Hubby) to try out the new concept called Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight in their existing branch in V-Mall, Greenhills.  A few emails back and forth and we're set for our lunch meeting.

What new concept?  That was the first thought that popped into my mind.  I have dined in the Greenhills branch of Crystal Jade a few years back and have not gone back since.  And a few days before our lunch meeting, I happen to pass by V-Mall and realized that the old Crystal Jade has already gotten a new facelift!  To further fuel my excitement, a poster of different xiao long baos were plastered near the door, making me wish that the lunch meeting would come sooner.  

Fast forward to the meeting day, Hubby and I paid a visit to the newly renovated Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight.  First thought when I entered the restaurant was, whoa, they really did some serious renovation.  Gone was the classic look that I remembered from the past.  In its place was a definitely fresher, hipper look.   There we met Kenneth, who entertained us throughout lunch by explaining the background, concepts and stories about Crystal Jade.  The story was, he came across my blog, read my review of their branch in Fort, and was hoping he could change my impression of Crystal Jade.  Challenge accepted!  LOL.  Kenneth also addressed some of my concerns from my previous blog post.  He mentioned that Crystal Jade Dining IN is a strictly Cantonese restaurant, while the new Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight is a mix of Cantonese and Shanghai flavors.  That was the main reason why the branch in Fort doesn't serve the well-loved xiao long bao.

So you guys might be curious, how about the food?  How was it?  Well, here it is:

Spicy & Sour Soup in Sichuan Style

The very first dish that came out was the soup.  Admittedly, I'm not much of a fan of hot and sour soups, but I find this very authentic.  I like the fact that they did not scrimp on the ingredients -  there were loads of mushrooms and strips of whatnots that make up this classic Chinese favorite.  It was not too spicy either, perfect for people like me who cannot stand extremely spicy dishes.

Multi-flavored Xiao Long Bao

Cheese (yellow), Spicy Beef (red), Shrimp (orange), Vegetable and Dried Bean Curd (green) and Spicy Chicken (dark orange)

Different colored xiao long bao stands for different flavors.  This was the dish that made my mouth water when I saw a photo of it a few days ago.  Being tired from all the normal xiao long bao available in other Chinese restaurants, this was a welcome change.  The wrapper was a bit thick though, but Kenneth assured me that they'd improve on it since the restaurant was barely half a month old and the chefs are still adjusting.

Crispy Eel in "Wu Xi" Style

A few years ago, I remembered having the crispy eel in Crystal Jade and liking it.  It was a familiar sight when this was served to us.  Well, I don't like it anymore.  Now, I love it!  This dish possesses the three main things I love about food in general:  I love eels, I love crunchy stuff, and I like my food on the sweet side.  So yes, in my opinion, this dish can do no wrong.  My only problem is that I wish they serve bigger portions!  That's the glutton in me speaking.  Haha! 

Noodle with Spicy Chicken

Now this dish definitely adds the spicy kick for those who are craving for it.  Since I can't stand anything more than mildly spicy, I found myself guzzling water after a few bites of this.  What I can say is, the noodles are authentic hand pulled, and Hubby, the spicy-monster, happily ate my share.

Sauteed Beancurd with Seafood in Hot Stone Pot

Dishes cooked in stone pots are usually delicious.  And this was no exception.  Again, they did not scrimp on their ingredients, and each ingredient that makes up the dish was fresh and delicious. 

Braised Minced Pork & Mushroom with Cabbage "Lion's Head"

Another dish to rave about.  The braised minced pork was so soft that I initially thought I was eating tofu.  Kenneth mentioned that this was their owner's favorite dish, and I can see why.  That makes two of us now!

Mango Cream with Sago & Pomelo

Not so much to say here, after all, mango sago will be mango sago.  They did try to incorporate something different by adding a bit of pomelo, which gives off a bit of bitter taste to balance the sweetness of the mango cream.

Steamed Red Bean Bun

The insides of the Steamed Red Bean Bun

Soft and fluffy.  One of the best steamed red bean bun I've tasted.  Nuff said.

So the verdict?  I'm a convert!  Kenneth wins!  And no, I did not say nice things just because we were invited to the media lunch.  It really is pretty good.  And as for price points (my previous problem with the CJ Fort branch), I'm happy to say that for the quality of the food, the prices are pretty reasonable.  4 out of 5 stars!    

Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight is at Unit 117-121 V-Mall Greenhills Shopping Center, Greenhills, San Juan City

Lugang Cafe

My love affair with Xiao Long Bao (steamed soup dumplings) started a decade ago on a trip to Singapore.  People were raving about Din Tai Fung's amazing Xiao Long Bao and I just had to try them out for myself.  Let me tell you, the moment I put that entire soupy dumpling in my mouth and the entire contents burst inside, I knew.  I will be eating this forever.  Over the years, I've tried numerous versions of Xiao Long Bao in different restaurants here and abroad, but nothing compared to my first encounter.  As they say, you'll always remember your first. *wink* 

If it's your first time trying out the Xiao Long Bao, let me share to you the secrets of what makes a good Xiao Long Bao.  First, let's start with the wrapper.  The wrapper must be extremely thin, but not so thin as to puncture the dumpling.  Then, the number of folds must be equal in size.  After that, there must always be soup inside when you bit into the dumpling.  I've tried bad ones that had no soup and I tell you, it makes a huge difference.

Ok done with the short 411 on what makes a good Xiao Long Bao.  Now let's move on.  There's good news and bad news, and I'll start with the bad.  The bad news is that Din Tai Fung is only available in our neighboring Asian countries (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc).  But the good news is, there's a pretty good alternative to Din Tai Fung here in our country!  Any guesses?  If you say Lugang Cafe, then you're wrong.  Kidding!  Of course it's Lugang Cafe!  And as good as good news goes, I have another one:  for this month of June, they're having their "Feast All You Can" promo!  Yes, you've read that right!  Not only can you savor the goodness of authentic Xiao Long Bao, you can also consume as much as you can!  They actually had this promo last May, and I'm so glad they decided to extend the promo this June!

List of promo items

Rules!

Ok ok, enough with the blabbing, here's what we had:

Steamed Angled Loofah with Shrimp Xiao Long Bao

Pork Wontons in Spicy Chili Oil

Steamed Vegetable and Pork Dumplings

Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings with Truffle Oil

Steamed Chicken Xiao Long Bao

Steamed Kimchi Xiao Long Bao

Steamed Pork Xiao Long Bao

Steamed Crab Roe and Pork Xiao Long Bao

And since the promo allows one order of house specialty for each person, and there's three of us, here's what we had:

Hainan Boneless Chicken

Wasabi Mayonnaise Prawns

Sate Beef with Spinach

Nom nom nom... so good!  Another great thing is that they don't scrimp on their ingredients even if it's a promo.  You get the exact same great tasting Xiao Long Baos that you'd normally order ala carte.  Must have eaten something like 2 dozen pieces of those during the meal (oops!).  But trust me when I say they're really delicious!  Service was a bit slow though, and sometimes they mix up our orders but who cares right?  4.5 out of 5 stars!

Hungry yet?  No problem!  Go book yourself, your family and your friends a table at Lugang Cafe and start popping those mini pieces of heaven in your mouth!  Remember, promo is only good for this month of June.  So if I were you, I'd go there now.  Yes, NOW.  Stop reading! GO!!!

Lugang Cafe is at 116 Connecticut St. Greenhills, San Juan

Mr. SunMoon Seafood House

A visiting Uncle from California is in town, so being the traditional Chinese family that we are, the first dinner will always be in a Chinese restaurant.  Mr. SunMoon has always been one of my Dad's favorites, and with the location just a mere 5 minute drive, it's a no-brainer.

What we had:

Fish Lip Soup.  Being one of the classic soups, I guess you can say that I've tried about a hundred variations of this particular soup.  I like that SunMoon did not scrimp on their ingredients unlike other watered-down versions I had.  The soup was not too salty and was full on flavor.

Pig's Kidney.  Uh... I passed on this one.  The smell was too intense for my taste.

Fried Squid.  The squid, on the other hand, is something I would never ever pass up.  Soft with just the right amount of bite.

Fried rice is just fried rice, right? Wrong. Sunmoon's fried rice is not your average fried rice.  Having a spoonful will give you soft rice with bits of ham and chinese sausage. Yum.

The kikiam has been a childhood favorite and will remain as such even after many, many years into adulthood.

Was not too impressed with this one.  I've tried better ones (more on that in my upcoming posts!)

The sea cucumber tasted... normal.  Nothing to rant or rave here.

Did not try this either.  Not a fan of too many vegetables (who is, right? yes, that's me trying to convince myself that not liking vegetables is perfectly normal.  hands up if you're with me!)

Now we go to the main reason why we chose to eat in SunMoon:

This big bag boy weighs 1.9 kgs.

See how big it is? That's my thumb next to it for comparison.  And how does it taste? It took me no time to sink my teeth into its big, juicy, tender and sweet meat. Amazing, I tell you.

So overall, how does SunMoon rate? I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Mr. SunMoon Seafood House is located at G/F 1 Kennedy Place, Club Filipino Ave. cor. Ortigas Greenhills, San Juan