Thursday 21 August 2014

Spices: Shifu Master's Kitchen

We were looking for a place to dine and since we we dining with our parents, its almost always have to be Chinese food. They have their favorites but since me and my brothers wanted to try something new, we stumbled upon Shifu Master's Kitchen. The resto is relatively small and from how it looks, you can mistake it for one of the eateries in Ongpin Street.

Shifu Master's Kitchen


We each ordered something that we wanted, one of the usual things my dad orders is the Hot and Sour Soup. Shifu's version was really good, it was sour and had the right amount of spiciness. The soup was thick filled with strips of tofu, mushroom and pork bits.


Hot and Sour Soup - Php215


My mom wanted the Lohanchay, an all veggie dish that is stir fried with soy based seasoning. This was cooked well as all the vegetables still had a nice crunch.


Lohanchay - Php185


Jim ordered the Salted Fish Fried Rice.  There were small clumps of white rice that wasn't mixed well but  it didn't really bother us since Shifu's fried rice wasn't as oily compared to other more expensive version in other Chinese restaurants.


Salted Fish Fried Rice - 165


Shoti had a craving for Lechon Macau. I'm used to seeing a big slab of pork belly served when having this, Shifu's only had two chopped up slices of pork belly. The skin was bubbly, a great indication of crunchiness and it indeed was. Though small, it was worth its price.


Lechon Macau - Php205


I wanted steamed fish and the server suggested the Fish with Garlic. Steamed dory in a light soy sauce topped with chopped garlic and spring onions. Tasted how it should be but I kind of wish that there are more garlic on top.


Fish with Garlic - Php225


We also ordered other dishes. The Steamed Wanton didn't look pretty but it was stuffed with so much meat plus it sure did taste good.


Steamed Wanton - Php180 / 10pcs


If there is a dish to try out, it's the store's bestseller, the Pata Bihon. The noodle dish didn't look pretty, bihon looks pale and a big chunk of pata or pork knuckle was sloppily place on top. It didn't looked appetizing plus I'm not much a fan of the bihon noodle, I prefer the canton variety.


Pata Bihon - Php215

I mixed everything up and found all the sauce at the bottom and upon trying it out, it caught me off guard that it was so delicious. The bihon noodles had a nice bite to it, the sauce that came from the pata tim was on the sweet side and it had that malinamnam flavor to it. I also enjoyed nibbling on the little meat and cartilage of the pata as it was tender and flavorful.


Pata Bihon


Everyone enjoyed dinner, happy with the meal and stuffed to the brink. Flavor wise, I really won't consider it as 'pure' Chinese food, to me it was more like Chinese food with a twist of Filipino flavors. Nothing fancy here, just great tasting 'home-cooked' dishes. The best part of eating here is the price, for the quality and serving size, everything is so affordable. Unbelievably affordable! This is one resto that's worth going back to over and over again.




Shifu Master's Kitchen
Address: 58 Granada Street, Quezon City
Tel No: 726 1135
Facebookpage: www.facebook.com/shifumasterskitchen

Monday 11 August 2014

Spices: Kettle

We were initially planning to eat at another resto but since that resto was packed with so much people, we ended up eating here.

Kettle

I asked the server their bestseller and he pointed the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. I was kind of hesitant to order it at first since it seems too expensive for a two piece chicken but the server assured us that it was good. The chicken was supposed to be served with cornbread but they ran out so we had the sweet potato fries as substitute. The fried chicken has an incredibly crunchy breading and the meat inside was super moist and tender. How I wish they added more seasoning and spices on the breading and this would have blown me away, a cajun spice mix would have been perfect. I got to try the cornbread on a separate occasion and it was really good. It was super moist and it just had the right amount of sweetness.


Buttermilk Fried Chicken - Php519


We also ordered the U.S. Angus Short Ribs that was braised in cervesa negra and chipotle barbecue sauce, served with garlic mashed potoatoes and coleslaw. What I like about this dish was the beef was so tender, we didn't even need a knife to cut it. The sauce was on the sweet side and I barely tasted the smoky flavor of chipotle. Overall, the dish was pretty good, the flavors on this dish made up for the bland pasta we had.


U.S. Angus Short Ribs - Php469


On paper the Truffle Gorgonzola looks so promising,  spaghetti, truffle cream, fried basil and parmesan. I was looking forward to having this but I got so disappointed when I tasted it. It didn't smell of truffle and it didn't taste of Gorgonzola, it was terribly bland.


Truffle Gorgonzola Pasta - Php289

I asked for salt and the server proudly presented us with a pink himalyan salt, it still wasn't enough to save the dish.


Pink Himalayan Salt


If asked if the resto is worth a 2nd visit, I'd say yes. Simple and excellent food quality. Walk around the east wing and you'd know that this is one of the favorite restos inside the mall.




Kettle
Address: 5th Floor, East Wing, Shangri la Plaza Mall
Tel No: 654 7077