Celebrated Dad's birthday at, IMHO, the most underrated Chinese restaurant in the metro...
Mabuhay Palace at The Manila Hotel
The restaurant is tastefully designed, elegant, yet very relaxed and cozy.
I can admire the beautiful jade carvings lining the main dining room wall all night.
Most importantly, the food never disappoints and service is the best!
(See my previous Mabuhay Palace dinners here and here.)
We booked the private room tonight because we are a very noisy bunch
The young ones (that includes me!) sat together.
We strategically put all the seniors at the opposite end of the room (hee hee hee!)
Crispy Wonton Chips everyone could not get enough of.
Sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and drizzled with honey, this is truly addicting.
Mabuhay Palace Dimsum and Roast Combination
The chasiu is tender, the spring rolls crunchy and tasty, the giant pieces of siomai ooze
with homemade goodness
In the middle of the meal, the doors opened and the Manila Hotel staff surprised Dad with strings...
… and a birthday dessert tray from the hotel's Executive Pasty Chef, Chef Mac himself!
Thank you so much, Chef Mac, Chef Marco, and especially Chef Joie (you're awesome!)
for making Dads birthday truly memorable :)
Then the eating resumed…
Braised Fish Maw with Seafood and Dried Scallop Soup
Chicken Cooked in Two Ways
And I quote myself, "The Mabuhay Palace Chicken done Two Ways is pure genius.
Chef Joie explains that as more adults become more health-conscious, she sees more chicken
skin go to waste. Not wanting to throw away the most delicious organ of the bird, the sous chef
comes up with this brilliant idea of making different dishes of the meat and skin. The healthier part
is diced up and sautéed in a spicy gingery sauce that rapes my tastebuds (pleasure all mine).
The not-so-healthy-but-so-much-more-exciting part is used to create the pièce de résistance of
the meal – tasty shrimp mousse sandwiched between the thinnest, crispest layer of chicken skin,
and the nuttiest, crunchiest layer of roasted sesame seeds. It’s deadly, I tell you. If I die tomorrow,
I want 2 pieces of this as part of my very last supper."
One side crispy chicken skin, one side toasted sesame seeds. FTW!
Wok Fried Prawns glazed in Orange Sauce served with Crispy Fried Milk Roll
Fried Pork Spareribs wrapped in Pandan Leaves
Wok Fried Crab in Chili and Fragrant Salt
Steamed Live Lapu Lapu with Superior Light Soya Broth
Birthday Noodles
Salted Egg Yolk Black Sesame Ice Cream and Dark Chocolate Buchi
Red Iced Tea
Dad's birthday cakes (clockwise from top): Manila Hotel Chocolate Cake, Dulcelin Mango Torte,
Mocha Cake, Estrel's Caramel Cake
Us smiling sweetly for the camera...
… before violently attacking the cakes
Happy Birthday, Gwakong!
Mabuhay Palace: Ground Floor, Manila Hotel, One Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines.
Tel: +632-527-0011, local 1346
