I've always thought that this place was very expensive. But what I do appreciate is that wherever…read moreI go the flavor and taste of their food is consistent. Might as well be a fast food joint. Not really into the hype. I've eaten at their restaurant here in the USA and in Taipei. Still unimpressed. I happen to go because we had guests that wanted to try it. Xialong bao is everywhere now a days and cheaper too. Service was prompt and polite. Ambiance is an austere decor. Try Chinatown in downtown Binondo-Manila instead. You might be surprised.

The first time l ate at Din Tai Fung was with my husband when we took a trip here in Manila a few…read moreyears ago. We loved it! This is a really popular Taiwanese dim sum restaurant located in Greenbelt 3. This time I had lunch with a good friend as she spared some time from her busy working mom schedule. Arrived midday, it was easy that they could accommodate a party of two. You can make reservations easily, or walk in. Luckily there are six other branches in Metro Manila. We needed a quick briefing because it's been a while since we ate at DTF. Ordered a bunch of items from the menu and each dish came out quickly. My top 3 were the beef noodles, sweet and sour pork, and pork xiao long bao! Service is excellent, restaurant is really clean, lots of tables making it very spacious and comfortable.

This restaurant seems to be famous among locals. Until we left the branch, the restaurant was…read moregetting more and more busy. Assorted Xiao Long Bao (original, black mushroom, cheese) could be ultimately better if (1) I could distinguish the difference among flavors and (2) if they were served hotter. Cheese was very mild; just a hint of flavor. They all tasted good, though. For that, I am grateful! Hakaw was typically good and the Mandarin Orange Chicken was a good time-out from lemon. They seemed to be understaffed during the hour but wait time was okay. Requesting water refills was a bit of a challenge but we could really see their efforts.

Discovered Tasty when I started working decades ago. This is a hidden gem... not well known…read morecompared to other restaurants. Favorite among the locals. Located beside Binondo Church. I always order the Fried Pork Cho Rice. It comes with a huge, tenderized, thin, and breaded pork chop with plain rice. The outside is crispy and well seasoned. Yummy! Do not miss the sauce! It's on the table (look like soy sauce but it's not) that goes very well with it. It also comes with a bowl of soup. I have ordered the dumplings before... they are good. You have the option of having it steamed or pan fried. I also always order the winter melon juice. Not sure how to describe the taste but it's a sweet and refreshing drink esp when it's hot outside. Staff is pretty efficient. Once seated, they will give the menu for you to look at and come back (or wave them over) to place your order. Decor is basic... more like a hole in the wall restaurant. Check them out when you are in the area.

I usually order for delivery as the people in our office loves them. They offer fresh noodle soups…read morethat are filling. The bigger-than-your-face pork chops alone are worth the trip. Dumplings come in meat only and with kuchay (chives).

As far as variety is concerned, Taiwanese-owned Quan Yin Chay at Ongpin St. beats other…read morevegetarian/vegan places in Binondo. This place is quite popular in the neighborhood and is always buzzing with customers, both young and old. It's a friendly introduction to vegetarian/vegan cuisine in Binondo, and at affordable prices, too. They have a wide range of mock meat dishes in Taiwanese, Chinese and Filipino styles. I got so excited when I saw that they have vegan corned beef hash! It's by far the best one I've ever had, and this place doesn't even use garlic or onion, yet their dishes are so flavorful! You get complimentary tea as well for each meal! If you're a fan of radish cakes, and if you want them a bit crispy on the outside, this is the place to get them. I personally prefer softer and chewier radish cake textures, though. Quan Yin Chay is also a good place to restock your all veg pantry. You can purchase dried mushrooms in bulk, Magic Meat, other mock meats, canned vegetables, seasonings and spices here as well.

Quan Yin Chay is a vegetarian restaurant and has been a favorite since my childhood days. Its…read moreoriginal branch is located along Soler st before moving to Masangkay, and now at Ongpin St. My mom offers to the gods some days of the month and this is where she gets all the vegetarian dishes she needs. Lately, this has been the only times we have the opportunity to eat their dishes. Quan Yin Chay offers a ton of dishes from real vegetables to mock meats to snacks both Filipino and Chinese. They try to reinvent local favorites into vegetarian versions. Some dishes I like are: sisig, menudo, afritada, and sweet and sour pork. I also love theur fried lumpia, barbecue, and raddish cake which can be sold per piece. They also serve Fresh Lumpia, but theirs is more wet. I like their offers better than other vegetarian restos because of the wide array of choices and the unsatiated tastes. Try to visit them and remember not to bring any meat inside to respect their religion and rules.

Fong Wei Wu used to be called and was more known as Feng Wei Wee. I'm not so sure why they changed…read moretheir name as everything is the same in the menu anyway. Could it be a change in ownership or tax troubles? Who knows. The important thing is that they still deliver the same quality of food that made them famous. The whole restaurant is unassuming. It is small and doesn't look like much. For all intents and purposes, it's basically a turo-turo. This is where all similarities end, as the food is completely different. If this is your first time, I suggest going with the house specialty, the hong ma. It is a sizable bit of braised pork belly. Don't you dare remove the fat when you're about to eat it. It's part of the experience. This dish is really rich and decadent so I don't recommend eating it all by yourself. Share it with someone lest you get a heart attack after.

Fong Wei Wu is a small Taiwanese canteen type restaurant and is a constant favorite of most Chinese…read moreseniors that live around the Banawe area. It took me completely off-guard when they just turned around and changed their name from Feng Wei Wee (not sure why; it's not like they tried very hard for a new name). The menu consists of simple homemade Taiwanese cuisine that feels as if your very own Taiwanese grandmother cooked for your family. I won't lie, when my grandmother has a potluck party and she has no time to cook, she asks me to run over to Fong Wei Wu to order their food to bring as her dish. She manages to pull it off every single time. Sometimes I wish I could cook that well and get away with it. My go-to orders would be their Kiampang (Adobo fried rice), and Angsho Chicken Leg.

King Chef is my go-to when wanting dim sum, especially during Happy Hours when the prices are…read morecheaper. I'm Chinese and approve King Chef.

The food was great and the staff was friendly! I was craving xiao long bao and their dumpling hit…read morethe spot. :)

Awesome place. Found this place while my husband and I were looking for a place to eat. The place…read morewas spacious. We didn't get seated right away tho considering there were only about 4 tables occupied. Didn't greet us at the front and just waved us in. The waitress who took our order (I think her name is Elena, this was January 12, 2020 at 9PM) looked kind of pissed off. I was asking her what the seasoning was for Three Cup Chicken and I didn't understand her the first time (I was sick and my hearing wasn't at its best) so I asked her to repeat it and she looked as if rolling her eyes at me was the only thing she forgot to do. Anyhow, we ordered the Spicy Wanton and the Three Cup Chicken and some plain rice. The food got served pretty fast but the waitress didn't give us any utensils to use. The other waiter, RJ, noticed we haven't started so he gave us utensils. The food was pretty good. I liked the Three Cup Chicken a lot. I also got the Yakult Green Tea which came in a huge plastic cup. We noticed RJ, the waiter was the only one really working in the establishment. He's always on the go and always helping out customers. There were 3 more people out there but he was very consistent and quick and refilled our water so we gave him a tip. Kudos to RJ. He is a really good worker. Y'all should make him a manager. Will come back for sure. Gave them 5 stars cause RJ made it a good experience,

Saw this restaurant some weeks ago when I dropped by SM North EDSA. At first glance, I thought it…read moreis something expensive and not-so-authentic, and I was in a bit of hurry so I didn't give it a chance. For the sake of trying out new restos, I gave this one a try recently. I was surprised to see that they serve Taiwanese street food favorites and traditional dishes. Their menu looks wonderful and made everything looks so delicious. Unfortunately, we skipped the street food fare because I was with my parents-in-law who are not very adventurous for a dinner. However, we did order Xiao Long Bao, Beef Tendon in Pot, Red Roasted Eggplant, and Hot Prawn Salad. We tried ordering the Kiampong (Chinese Fried Rice), but it was out of stock. Their Xiao Long Bao, for me, is by far, one of the best I have tried. The skin is very delicate and melts in your mouth. The soup inside fills up the bun and is very flavorful. The meat is soft. The other dishes we ordered are normal but cooked well. I am hoping to try their night market favorites next time. Just made me miss Taiwan all of a sudden.

Like chicken? How about Taiwanese-style fried chicken, large enough to cover your face? If your…read moreanswer is yes, then Hot Star is definitely worth a visit. The specialty is, as mentioned, large. Light eaters may want to consider sharing, while those with larger stomachs to fill will likely be satisfied. Be warned, though, the rice included with the meal is on the small side, so order an extra one (or two) if you don't want to risk feeling unsatisfied. Hot Star can get full at night, especially on weekends and when there is an ongoing event at the nearby Mall of Asia Arena. To avoid disappointment, drop by at an off hour or be prepared to wait a while. The ambience is pretty much fast-food standard, but more cramped than most. There is an outdoor area where smoking is frowned upon, although you can take a few steps to one of several nearby ashtrays. If your meal leaves you feeling a little too stuffed, there is an actual running track right outside, so slowly walking off what you just ate is a definite (if somewhat unconventional) option. If you do, expect a lot of real runners and dog walkers beside you.

This area is one of our constant stops, especially if we need to wait for traffic to get better or…read morewhen we have to grab a bite before heading home. Such was the case when I first tried Hot Star Chicken. We were heading home, and because of traffic along EDSA, we got to the area at around 9 in the evening and decided it was too late for us to still make it home for dinner. We looked around and it was one of the very few establishments open. Famished, my dad and I ordered one each, with me getting the barbecue flavor while he got the original one. We were very hungry, but boy, we were shocked when our orders arrived. The chicken was huge! Not wanting our food to get cold, we dug in. I was very happy with mine, a bit sweet similar to how Korean chicken tastes. Given the Filipino's innate love for sweet food and the value for money in this more-than-enough meal, I'm pretty sure Hot Star will be a "hot" item in the lists of foodies and will receive stars in their hearts and tummies.

This place caught me by surprise. I came in with no expectations and I came out quite satisfied. I…read morethought that no one could top Mien San's Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, but apparently this place can give Mien San a run for its money. I apologize in advance to Mien San die hards but sometimes their soup is a bit runny and/or oily. At Taione, the beef soup is really tasty. Not oily at all. I didn't get a headache afterwards which probably means that the soup was made from bones and not MSG. I ordered the Beef Brisket and the beef was soft and came apart easily. Everything tasted so clean. For dessert, I had the taho with pearls and black syrup. Absolutely loved it. The pearls were especially chewy. I didn't think anything else would be good but the server recommended their tofu dish and it was also quite impressive. Definitely worth a try.

One good reason to go vegetarian -- or vegan, as they like to be called -- is for good health. A…read morevegetarian diet is supposedly the healthiest there is, but some doctors will say that there is not enough protein in their diet to be totally healthy. I don't care to join either side of this debate. What i do is eat vegetarian dishes whenever possible, but still go for red meat and fowl on a regular basis. Whenever I am out on the field for work, I usually end up heading for the nearest SM food court to eat, and I'm glad that a lot of them have a branch of Bodhi Vegetarian Healthfood. The taste of their various vegemeat dishes comes close enough to the real thing. One of my favorites is their version of sweet and sour pork, as well as their pork barbecue on a stick. Biting into either dish tells you that it can't possibly be real pork. This is where the tofu-based dishes is a dead giveaway that it's not the real thing. But then, you would know because this is a vegan place, remember? Bodhi has set meals for less than P100 and they even come with a teeny weenie cup of iced tea or soda as well as a complimentary mini cup of soup. When I was young, the only place to get vegetarian meals on a regular basis was the Adventist Hospital in Pasay City. I'm glad that we Pinoys have come to appreciate the health benefits of vegetarian food, and that there is a Bodhi Vegetarian Healthfood place nearby. Four stars for them,