86 Ma. Clara St., Sto. Domingo, Q.C.
4151145
My DH and I are often strike by this question come Saturday and sometimes Friday when I go with him to his office. Often times we went toBanawe area to search and look for new restaurant to eat to. Recently, we have discovered Old Chinatown Kopitiam. We have been there three times since.
Claypot Beef Kienchi
The first one was for lunch on a Saturday. Upon entering, we notice that only a few vacant seat were left and that made me ask if there were any other seating area. The waitress told me that there is a room with I think 20 pax seating capacity- great for hosting a small party! We were quickly ushered to our seat, a hard-bound menu was readily given to both of us. As we waited, chopsticks and utensils warmed over hot water were placed on our table. Our orders were ready in less than 20 minutes. We had a good experience so we decided to celebrate mother's day in the same venue....We arrived before 7pm on May 11 and it was fully booked and will serve only on a first come first serve basis. We waited outside in a small table placed near the drinking/ juice bar. Good thing, we can place our orders in advance so they will be able to serve the food when our table is ready.
Since it was a full house, we waited a bit longer and our order was not delivered on time. In fact one order- Lorbak didn't come out until we were all done with our food. The bad thing was, they didn't accept their mistake and insist we get it even for take out as we were done eating already. A bit rude because we have already cancelled it and they just won't let us. Hmmmm... I think they must learn how to deal with their customers especially when they are full house. And even though it was raining really hard on that day. We were sweating inside their resto as their air condition system was malfunctioning at that time. And also only disposable chopsticks were available. The night was saved by having our dessert at another restaurant in Banawe called Cafe Monaco. Their halo halo is simply amazing- all ingredients are fresh and made as you order. Yum Yum!
But I haven't given up on Old Chinatown, not just yet. Yesterday as we were bugged yet again by the same question- where to eat?!? DH decided to go and check out Kopitiam again. It was almost 12nn when we arrive to a CLOSE sign hehe We asked the waiters if they were open and he was quick to answer YES! I told him the sign says CLOSE and nobody was dining. Good thing we asked hehe I noticed that the sign was placed on its right side facing up now as we seated in our table. We placed our orders of Spinach soup ( PhP 188), Gong Bao ( PHP 198), Kopi Spareribs (PhP188) and Jasmine rice ( PhP 32@).
Fresh Spinach with Scallop
The spinach soup was a repeat order from our second visit and it is still yum yum! The spareribs was too sweet even for my taste- I love sweets! With Gong Bao, you can notice the big slices of onions instead of the chicken meat. It has cashew nuts that tends to blend the taste well. Pardon me for not reviewing the food that we ordered on our first two visits as only the most recent one has stuck in my absent minded mind hehe
Overall, the food is good with average amount of serving. Definitely, they have to practice in dealing with a full house and handling of their diners. Oh... no appetizers were given on second and third visit.... hehe sarap pa naman nun!
