Hai Kang Seafood Restaurant.. one of the best

Have you ever passed by Wilson Street in San Juan, during a weekend night?  How about a Sunday night?  Ever wondered why it gets really traffic there, well we found the culprit.  And it looks absolutely delectable.

Chinese Lumpia for Chinese ghost month

The Chinese ghost month, happens once a year during the 7th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar, it has been a tradition in the family to have Chinese Lumpia or simply lumpia in our house especially on the 15th of the ghost month.  I don't know if its really a tradition amongst Chinoys, but I'm sure glad we have this in our family.

Yes indeed, you can buy a lumpia in Manila anytime, but from all the lumpia that I have tasted, going over to my aunt's house to have a taste of their lumpia still excites me.  I can still remember my teenage times where I can actually finish 6 rolls of lumpia, but I was nowhere close my cousin being able to finish 9 rolls already while making another one, haha.

So what makes for a good lumpia, what ingredients make it more enticing and flavorful.  Honestly I wish I know the lumpia secret that runs in the family, but I definitely want to have some now.  I guess the most important thing for you to make lumpia is that you need to keep your ingredients fresh.  Now what goes first, yes the lumpia wrapper and so we go on...

 Fresh Vegetables!  Be sure to clean your vegetables, these veggies are vital as they are nutritious and also serve as the second layer of your lumpia after the wrapper.

 then comes the main ingredient, the lumpia filling mix.which as what I can taste are squid, cabbages, carrots, a little ground meat and of course the family tradition way of cooking this which I really don't know.  You can even eat this dish without the wrapper, just make it as a dish to rice and you will be satisfied.  After scooping for the lumpia filling, we add grounded nuts and sugar all over to put a little sweetness to our lumpia.

 we could also put some seaweeds with dried sotanghon to give that unique taste that only seaweeds can give the hungry tastebuds

And finally after the filling, toppings, veggies and sugar nuts have been combined.... roll them up and prepare for a feast

start eating and enjoy, after this year, I will be looking forward for to next year's family lumpia feast.  Happy Eating!!

Reminiscing Shantung Restaurant

Shantung Restaurant, one of the earliest restaurants ever to have surfaced since the early 80's if I may recall right, I still remember the days when we dined in their first store at Echague, Quiapo and still named "Lo Wan", if you cannot recall the place? Better ask your moms and dads, even your grandparents, I am quite sure they have a lot of stories that they will cherish whenever you would mention it to them.  And through the years they have transferred from the original branch to another in Binondo, and finally now at West Avenue, Quezon City.

So let's stop the chit chat and go to what's keeping Shantung Restaurant a favorite among the young ones and and the young once.

My favorite and most unforgettable soup. The name is Soup No. 1 as it is the first listed on the menu.  It is basically Hot Sour Soup, every restaurant has their specialty and this one is definitely Shantung's landmark dish.  It is made up of pork's blood, bits of meat, and "tenga ng daga" shrooms and eggs, this may sound a little on the "what must this taste like" phrase, but believe me it is so good.... why it lasted at least another generation and still going strong. P130 for small and P160 good for a party of 6.

One of my favorite dishes, Shantung's Fried Crispy Chicken
(8pcs for P180)

this has always been on the order list ever since I can remember, dip it in their signature sweet chili sauce and savor the taste of the juicy meat bite after bite.

Fried shrimps ala Camaron Rebusado, P 210, only the freshest shrimps, full of flavor toss it over pepper salt or their signature sauce, makes the meal all the wonderful to enjoy.

 Oyster Cake P155, honestly I don't really like oysters, and I hate eggs as well, but when you put it all together, it is a totally different dish, and I can't stop munching it over ketchup.  My mother is happy at least I eat some eggs... haha

Fried dumplings or "Oh tien" in Chinese is a rice buddy for me

Just look at the meaty goodness wrapped on crunchy fried wanton wraps (8 pcs for P105)

Don't forget to request for the dip for this dish, unmistakable.

And Mixed Seafood Pot, P280 for the large size, a combination of crispy Tofu over clay pot simmered fresh catch from the sea, with fish fillets, squid, fresh shrimps, sea cucumber and a array of vegetables.  This dish is quite new to the restaurant but they did great and tasted good too, my dad agrees.

In the end, I am glad that Shantung Restaurant still have not changed their classics and maintained the good taste that they are famous for, and mind you they still hire some of the same people from the original branch in Echague and yes I recognize them.  That goes to show how old already am I, haha I would still remember them during my childhood days taking our orders.  Now, grab dad and mom, lolo and lola, they would be delighted you brought them here to reminisce the good old days and enjoy good food as well.

Shantung Restaurant

96 West Avenue, Quezon City

(02) 926-1957

Lu Gang Cafe...casual dining at its finest

Nothing excites me more other than having a good dish in the middle of the table, a pair of utensils to use and good friends to share it with.  Such is the case in one glorious lunch at LuGang Cafe, San Juan.

Stir fried Sukiyaki beef with red chili pepper

this dish is very tasty indeed, the Sukiyaki beef is so soft that you would know that the beef used is very fresh indeed, I love how the beef mixed well with chili, even though it hinted a little spice, it can still give you an appetite to have more...

Taiwanese Stewed Pork - P190

I like how they presented this dish, it looked great, but that's all there is to it. Sad to say, this dish did not meet my expectations. I wished it could have been better though.  Pricewise it was ok but our house help can do better than this...

Tofu with preserved egg - P 120

this dish is particularly good... that is based on my friends expressions as they were munching on this, just to let you know, I am not quite fond of Tofu as well as century eggs, but I guess they were happy with this... lastly I wish they had not used the word "preserved" for the egg... just my opinion though.

Xiao Long Bao (6 pcs) - P 158
I wish and wish one day that the Philippines will get one of the best Xiao Long Bao in the world, and still with this in town, I think Manila is still in search for the best Xiao Long Bao...

Enough of my whinning.... of course there is something good in here

Pineapple fried rice, this is actually good, the pineapples and cashews not just gave the fried rice a good presentation it also give the fried rice flavor, yes many chinese restaurants already serve pineapple fried rice, so why should you order this? because the flavors of the pineapple and cashew nuts gave it a unique taste like no other pineapple fried rice that I have tasted.... sweet and tasty, really good.

Last but not the least, the 3-cup chicken - P 290

this 3-cup chicken is by far one of the most delicious one that I have had from my many trips to different chinese restaurants all over Asia.  It has a distinctly good taste, maybe its because of the wine used to cook the dish, but no matter this is so good that this was the first dish to disappear from the table, I promise myself I will get another serving of this next time I come around Lu Gang, but for me only.... **selfish

It was quite a lunch, and yes Lu Gang Cafe did not disappoint,  LuGang Cafe is famous all over Asia for their delicious dishes and fine cuisine, as it originated in China.  As far as the place is concerned it was very pleasant to the senses, and you will never feel crowded because of the wide spaces that they have.  One more thing to commend is that their service is great, even though they have only opened for a few weeks, everything was panned out quite well. 

Also try their set meals ranging from P 230 - P290, with choices such as Curry chicken, stewed pork, beef curry and Yakiniku beef, hope you do have a wonderful meal and enjoy it as much as I did. 

Price range - P250 - up

Lugang Cafe

Connecticut St., Greenhills

San Juan