Authentic Chinese Cuisine in Binan, Philippines

ankarlie (64)in #food • 6 years ago (edited)

Hello fellow Steemians @ankarlie here! Today I will share with you a different type of blog that I usually do.about this wondrous and super delicious Chinese restaurant that I have discovered in Binan, laguna Philippines. Binan, laguna is located 39 kilometers south of Manila. It usually takes around 1.5 hours to get there from Manila on regular traffic but if you plan to go there during rush hour it might take you twice as long. The name of the restaurant ZHAO CHINESE CUISINE it is located inside the Pavilion Mall of Binan.

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I discovered this by accident I was not really thinking of eating out that day. I was trying to find LBC, a local parcel delivery service in the Philippines when I stumbled upon this restaurant. I am not really into eating Chinese food however my boyfriend who accompanied me told me that I should try it and see for myself why a lot of Filipinos love it. Upon some quick googling I discovered that a lot of Filipino dishes had been influenced by Chinese cooking owing to the fact that the Philippines even before colonial period had been one of the major trading partners of China. Moreover a lot of Chinese "mainlanders" have migrated to the Philippines bringing with them their culture, way of living and of course their cooking.

When I first entered the the restaurant it felt really nothing special. The tables and seats were ordinary not the elegant tables and seats I usually see in movies. The utensils are ordinary kitchens utensils that can be bought in any kitchenware stores even the glassware were ordinary. What I found particularly out of the ordinary was the music they are playing in the background. It was a Chinese song with high shrieking voices that seems to sound like an opera song mixed with contemporary music. It sounded weird to me but I didn't mind since it was not too loud. There were also lots of red objects, I guess Chinese people love the color red.

When we were seated a lady approached us and gave as the menu. I didn't know what to order so I asked my boyfriend to order for me while I look around the restaurant. In one corner I saw a Chinese guy sitting near the counter wearing a chef's outfit. My boyfriend saw me looking at him and told me that he must be the owner of the place or maybe the cook. He further explained that if that is the cook then I am in luck as I will experience authentic Chinese cooking. He told that most of the Chinese restaurant's cooks are not Chinese but Chinese trained cooks even the expensive ones. That got me curious about the food as I only experience Chinese food from "Chowking" a fast food chain in the Philippines. My boyfriend then proceeded to read the menu and look for dishes we could order.

While he was still reading the menu a poster caught my eye it was a picture of a Chinese man with chef's clothes in a place that looks like an expensive restaurant or hall.

I tried to take a hard look at the person in the poster if it was the same Chinese man that was sitting in near the counter. I cannot confirm it as the man in poster seemed to be a lot younger than that of the man in the restaurant. In the poster it said that the Chinese man in the poster is a chef that used to teach Chinese cuisine in Hilton Hotel, who is now the head chef of the restaurant we are in. I asked boyfriend to confirm this. I tried looking at the guy and the guy from the poster, he could not confirmed it also. Have a hard time comparing the the guy from the poster and the man sitting inside the restaurant he decided to ask the waitress if that guy was the one sitting near the counter and more importantly if he is the one who will be cooking our food. To our delight the waitress told as that indeed he was the one cooking for us and yes it was him in the poster when he was still working in Hilton hotel. Curiously we asked why he was here and why in Binan. It turned out that he fell in love with a Filipina who also worked in Hilton hotel and decided to stay in the Philippines. The family of the Filipina was from Binan thus they opened their restaurant there. The restaurant we were in was the first branch and they plan to expand if it was successful.

After a couple of minutes perusing the menu my boyfriend decided to order. He ordered 5 dishes for us. The first dish he ordered was the "Yang Zhou Mixed Fried Rice"

Yang Zhou Mixed Fried Rice

I am used to always eat with rice so I asked my boyfriend to order rice. The rice was similar in texture to ordinary rice but tastier. It was mixed with some minced meat (maybe pork or beef), some carrots, some bell pepper and special sauce. It had somewhat similar taste to Chowking's chao fan but a whole lot tastier. I could have eaten that only but my boyfriend ordered more dishes so I was obliged to eat it with some other dish.

The Air conditioning in the the place was really cold so we decided also to have some soup. My boyfriend told me that he wanted me to taste "Hot and Sour soup" but he was afraid that I might not like it so he ordered another one just in case called "Creamy Seafood soup"

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Hot and Sour soup

Creamy Seafood soup

The first soup that arrived was the "Hot and Sour Soup." My boyfriend told me that the taste of this soup might be a little odd for me and it is an acquired taste. I smelled the soup and told my boyfriend that I could not eat that soup. I said that it smelled odd. My boyfriend only laughed at me and told me that the overpowering smell was the smell of Chinese vinegar and the black vegetable were mushrooms. There were some Tofu also but I cannot make out the other ingredients. With much persuasion from my boyfriend I tasted a couple of spoon full. The taste was too overpowering for me and it it tasted really different from the soup I am used too "egg drop soup" of Knorr. I beg my boyfriend if I could just have the "Creamy Seafood soup" instead. He agreed and he ate the "Hot and Sour Soup." I could see that he really enjoyed the soup since he was eating one spoonful after another. Honestly, I can still remember the taste of "Hot and Sour Soup" it didn't taste bad it just tasted different. Actually writing this blog is making me crave for "Hot and Sour Soup" I should have enjoyed it maybe I will try again when I visit Pavilion Mall to buy the Sofa bed I saw when I went.

The "Creamy Seafod Soup" was was awesome to say the least. It looks like egg drop soup with lots of seafod in it. I asked what where the white meat that was in the soup. My boyfriend does not really know it but he guessed it was abalone a type of sea molluscs. It was tasty that I wanted more but my boyfriend reminded me that there were more dishes to come so better not order another one. Comparing the two soups I really enjoyed the "Creamy Seafod Soup" but the "Hot and Sour Soup" had a more lasting appeal to me. I can still remember the odd taste and the more I imagine the taste I want to try it once more with a more open mind.

The next dish my boyfriend ordered was the "Butteryfly Prawns"

Butteryfly Prawns

I really loved this dish it tasted like tempura. However unlike Tempura this dish does not need any soy souce to dip in. It tasted great with the "Yang Zhou Mixed Rice" we ordered. It was so crisp and delicious you can even eat the tail! Comparing it to tempura does not really do this dish justice as I believe this is far more superior in terms of taste and texture. I liked that dish so well that my boyfriend reminded me that that dish was meant to be shared and there was another dish that I have not tasted it was the "Kung Pao Chicken."

Kung Pao Chicken

The only way to describe "Kung Pao Chicken" was like tasting heaven. It was so delicious even if the chicken skin was removed. I really love that dish that I researched it in online how it is made and learn how to cook it. It turned out that it was so popular that it was made the official dish in the summer olympics of 2008 according to this site. I love the taste of the all the ingredient. The chicken was superb, the vegetable was crunchy even the peanuts was delightful. Anyone who will visit this restaurant should try it.

I was so delighted with our food that I wanted to try the other dishes. But our stomach cannot handle it anymore. I will definitely go back to this restaurant and try the other dishes they offer. After eating to our hearts content. My boyfriend ask for the bill. He told me that the bill was not that high for the quality and quantity of food we had. This was our bill:

Hot and sour soup: 49.00 PHP
Creamy seafood soup: 59.00 PHP
Chicken mixed fried rice: 59x2 = 118.00 PHP
Butterfy Prawns: 299.00 PHP
Chicken KungPao: 199.00
Canned soda: 2 x 45 = 90 PHP
Extra plain rice: 19 PHP
TOTAL: 833.00 PHP or 16.6 USD or 5.8 SBD

So what is the verdict? I will definitely recommend this Chinese Restaurant for anyone who likes Chinese food. Go ahead try it is definitely worth it! 👍👍👍👍

Thank you for reading this post. Until next time!

#photography #life #philippines #untalented

6 years ago in #food by ankarlie (64)

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gremayo (56) 6 years ago

Wwoooaaahhh yummy!! Look so good and delicious!! Chinese resto always have these food fried rice like chaofan style mix with different flavors. I only eat that and I'm full. It's worth it and can fill up my stomach. Good thing it's very cheap and delicious. The last one you ordered look so yummy!!! Looks like a sweet and sour chicken to me.I like how they mix vegetables for their main dish. I'm sure vegetarians would love it too!!

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steemitraj (49) 6 years ago

Thank you very much for posting so nice meals, post and comment and share the post

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otom (60) 6 years ago

i think that resto deserves a "michelin award" since the chef came from a 5 star Hilton in Abu Dhabi hehehe...you look gorgeous!

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mimbel (51) 6 years ago

Enjoy your meal @ankarlie. I hope you are well amused with your friend in this beautiful Chinese restaurant. Congratulations on your day too

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faithlovefigures (38) 6 years ago

I love Chinese food. Thanks for sharing.

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munazza (54) 6 years ago

Hope you enjoyed tasty food and have fun there :)

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polashsen (48) 6 years ago

You told a lot about the Chinese restaurants. I like Chinese food and I like it too. It is found in our country, but it is not confiscated. Hopefully I'll test their food when I go to China.

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sanach (70) 6 years ago (edited)

lOoking very delicious Chinese food , i like it to much thankyou for recommended this Chinese Restaurant, When I've visit China I must eat in this restaurant :)
Enjoy yourself with meal sister @ankarlie

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nickeychan (42) 6 years ago

I'm not really into chinese food but this post had me salivating haha! I shouldn't have read this in the middle of the night haha. Great post! :)

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ediah (57) 6 years ago

Naglalaway lang naman ako... 😭

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Authentic Chinese Cuisine in Binan, Philippines

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