My siblings and I are so giddy and excited to eat at Chowking again after four years. Although, I don't remember eating here in 2019 during our wedding vacation in the Philippines.
Anyway, I ordered a 1-entrée Lauriat with Chinese BBQ Pork as requested by my husband. While I got a 2-entrée Lauriat with 2 pieces of Chinese-style fried chicken and Lumpiang Shanghai. The Lauriat comes with steamed rice, Pancit Canton, and a 1-piece Buchi (a golden brown gelatinous dough ball coated with sesame seeds and filled with sweetened red bean paste). I also ordered a 4-piece siomai and halo-halo.
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2-piece Chinese-style Fried Chicken + Lumpiang Shanghai Lauriat 2-piece Chinese-style Fried Chicken, 5-piece Lumpiang Shanghai, steamed rice, half-serving of Pancit Canton, and 1-piece Buchi |
Let's start with the neutral. The experience feels like being in the Philippines. The crowd - there's a long line both in Jollibee and Chowking - is available just as you would experience back in Manila. Sticky and dirty floors are also present. "Ah. Just like back home."
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Chinese BBQ Pork Lauriat Chinese BBQ Pork served with steamed rice, half-serving of Pancit Canton, and 1-piece Buchi. |
The good - the Pancit Canton, Buchi, fried chicken, and Lumpiang Shanghai tastes like the one in the Philippines.
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4-piece Siomai 4 pieces steamed open-faced dim sum made of savoury pork filling in a special flour-based yellow wrapper |
The bad - that Chinese BBQ Pork is a weird mess. It's bad. Don't order it. While the siomai tasted different. My younger sister agreed that it's unlike what we remember from the Philippines. It's possible that we've had better dumplings; that's why our expectations are higher.
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Halo-Halo Sweet shaved ice dessert topped with a mixture of sweetened preserved fruit and beans, ube jam, tapioca pearl, caramel flan, and ube ice cream. |
Lastly, the halo-halo is disappointing. It has the usual shaved ice, a spoonful of leche flan (caramel custard), a scoop of ube ice cream, and evaporated milk. However, there's barely any of the sweetened beans or jelly. There needs to be something more inside to be worth the USD 6.00. I guess this is the fast food halo-halo experience. If you're trying halo-halo for the first time, go elsewhere.
