Hap Chan

Dim sum and then sum

Today we went to my cousins place at Bali oasis in Marikina. We took my Dad out for dinner but we didn't know where to take him. He has been on vacation here in the Philippines for 3 weeks and all we have been doing is eating Filipino food and unfortunately for me the hot weather and a bad dish of Pinoy style spaghetti had me under the weather for the past few days. But that spaghetti is a whole other story...

Before I continue just want to remind you guys to check out the video at the bottom If you arn't familiar with this berry Panny guy..and check out the ads on the side lots of great deals around the metro...

ok lets continue..jump!

Like I said all we have been doing is eating, and in the province all you get is traditional Filipino food and not just your ordinary Filipino food bu Kapampangan food. Although the food  was really good our pallet was searching for something else for a change. All the cousins were together tonight and it would make sense to order  a bucket of chicken or a pizza to get the most for your money right? But that's still not what we are craving for, at lease subconsciously. So we took a drive down Marcos Hwy. to see what we could eat. All we found was Mcdonalds, about four of them 2-3 blocks apart on each side of the street (whats up with that though? how many micky d's do you really need in a 1 mile radius?). After about 15 minutes we stumbled upon a Hap Chan, a Chinese restaurant that specialized in dimsum.

I have heard about Hap Chan before but have never eaten there, but it was a good choice. The store has thirty plus branches strategically located around different areas of Metro Manila and a few branches outside of Manila. I say it was a good choice not only because the food was good but because of the dim sum. I really didn't feel like eating too much, or should I say I wasn't PLANNING on eating much (most plans are made to be broken). But so the dim sum option was  perfect. But if you are in a big group or really just on a Chinese food fix you could also go for one of they're group meals.  

The waitress we had was was a little comedic in the sense that she would offer us dishes that were not available at the time and you can pretty much tell that he smile was not as genuine as the food, In fact She came off slightly annoying. I found myself giving he nods and thumbs up signs just so I didn't have to talk to her any longer and so she could place our order and go to another table. Anyways our our order was placed and like one of my favorite Filipino Comedian Jokoy says " you order chineses food and Bam!, its already on your table." They got our food out in about 5 mins. I was un-ber-ri-ba-ber how fast they got our order to us. Kudos to that. Well here are some of the things we ordered.

Chicken Feet

 Sorry I didn't eat this, its a little too exotic for me. I'm guessing it's good because a lot of people ordered this.

Beef Hofan

This I the first thing I ordered. I had a dish like this when i was in Hong Kong and I liked it.

The Hap Chan version had shorter and wider rice noddles but it tasted just as good!

Naw, it was bomb!

Pork Siomai

Siomai is always a good and safe dimsum starter. Tasted  like a siomai should taste but it packing more meat, but the chili sauce we made to dip it in was packing the heat. har har , pun pun. I swear sometimes in so corny. 

Lichon Macau

This was good. It was cooked just like a lichon should be cooked. The color was nice and golden, The  skin crunched just like you expect it to be , and the meat was nice and soft. It also came with a delicious and addicting dipping sauce. 

Chow Fan Fried Rice

And of course whats an Asian meal with out the rice.

The rice was very good.

Hap Chan was a very good place to eat. The food was served hot and fast. The place was well lit and clean. Ambiance perfect for a family dinner or a first date. It was truly a wonderful Cantonese experience here in the Philippines.

The cons: I'm sure the waitress we had was an isolated case plus maybe our patience was already being tested because we were tired and hungry. Another thing was Their dessert. We ordered Puto Boom Boom but I could have lived without it. It tasted like a soft chewy candle with a hint of coconut.

Maybe my taste buds were on vacation tonight but correct me if I'm wrong, I know Puto boom boom is supposed to taste sweet right? Like ube ( taro) with the coconut shavings on top. Now hap chan would be no where on my typical Student budget but it was a special occasion. Over all I give Hap chan an 7.5/10.

So the next time you are craving some chinese food I suggest you try Hap Chan

Nice Clean family restaurant With authentic Chinese Cuisine. 

Here is a menu from one of the Hap Chan restaurants in Manila

Quick clip of Jo koy to cheer you up if you didn't like this post..haha jk fuckers!=)