Yoji and the Foodies

Living south of Metro Manila means having little to no access to the latest food craze or restaurants. Let’s face it, restaurateurs would rather take their chances in the posh Makati and Ortigas areas rather than set up shop in suburban south.  Although the Las Pinas-Paranaque-Muntinlupa areas are trailing behind Makati-Pasig-Quezon City triumvirate in terms of number of food establishments, it doesn’t mean that there are no efforts to catch up. It’s just that many have closed shop for lack of patronage. However, the Westgate Alabang area looks very promising and I consider it the best place for foodies to hangout; perhaps even better than Alabang Town Center.

What needs to be realised here is that, not everyone can be bothered to travel to Alabang area for just a quick lunch. Hence, residents of Las Pinas end up eating in SM Southmall or SM Center, which has more fast food establishments than restaurants. So, it’s a welcome surprise to see a Taiwanese restaurant just a block away from the Las Pinas City Hall.

I am not really into Chinese food but I’d gladly try a new restaurant especially if it’s only 15 mins away from where I live. The name of the restaurant is Lotte Seafood. If not for the “Taiwanese cuisine” tagline, I would have assumed it’s a Korean place (just because it’s called Lotte — says so much of what I know *lol*).

The place was empty and the lights were off when we got in at 5.30pm. Part of me wants to back out and just eat at McDonald’s, but that would mean going back 2 flights of stairs. Not really something I wanted to do. So, yes, we entered, we were seated, and we were served by an overly friendly waitress, who started to describe every item on the menu like a cheerleader rooting for her team. Goooo Lotte!  In the end, she recommended the bestselling group meal, which is a combination of 3 meals of your choice. We had:

Yang Chow Fried Rice

Crispy Fish Mango

Beef Taiwan Pechay

All for 299 Pesos

We also ordered Fried Seafood Noodles – 150 pesos

In all honesty, I could not distinguish Chinese food cooked in different regions. There are probably subtle differences in the ingredients used or cooking techniques applied. But what I can do is to distinguish them from 2 well-known Chinese restaurants we frequent — Hap Chan and North Park.

• The Yang Chow fried frice tasted as expected. No clear deviation from what we usually eat at other Chinese Restaurants.
• Crispy Fish Mango is basically a sweet and sour fish with mango cubes. It’s a rather odd combination of sweet-sour-sweet. It’s strange but the fish was crispy outside and tender inside. The meal could shine without the mango.
• Beef Taiwan Pechay is my favorite. Beef was tender and the sauce has a buttery taste. From what I’ve been taught in cooking school, butter is rarely (or never) used in Chinese cuisine. It tasted like a French-Spanish-Chinese cuisine fusion, which I enjoyed very much. I just wish they take it easy on the oil next time.
• The Fried Seafood Noodle tastes like chopsuey. I like it because they were generous with shrimps and squid tentacles. For 150 pesos, it’s good for 2 people.

The owner of the place gave us a complimentary fruit desset of cantaloupe, which was so sweet. We loved it.

The ultimate  question that we ask after we eat: “Will you come back?”

My answer: Yes, but I will go with a big group or very hungry friends (because of the huge serving)

Godfather’s answer: <long pause>

I’m a writer by profession. The starving kind. Oddly enough, I am also professionally trained in the ways of the kitchen. In fact, I have two Culinary Arts certificates gathering dust. Given that I write more than I cook, I can’t tell if I’m as good a cook as my brain likes to think. Feedback from friends don’t count. If they do, then I should be bragging about my gastronomic achievements and telling Gordon Ramsay to pack up his knives and go! But you see, that’s not gonna happen. Well, not yet.

So, perhaps, writing about food (or anything remotely related) can jumpstart my culinary career. Ah, I see it now…a lot of eating, drinking, and hopefully good cooking. I don’t need the excess poundage but as they say, “never trust a skinny chef”. I couldn’t agree more!