Perhaps, it's because we're from Manila so we've never heard of Xin Tian Di until they had a discount for BDO card holders (Thanks Achi Rowena of Animetric.Net for the tip!)

One random weekend, we reserved a table just to try it out.


It is a bit more modern the traditional Chinese restaurant.  It has tea displays.  


And, there's a cold cut station and a chiller of fruits.


I initially thought that the dining area was small...


that was before we were ushered to the function room which I'm guessing is allocated for those who will avail of the discount.

Being in the function room made it difficult to call the attention of the staffs.  Good thing Kate was kind enough to be attentive to us.  We are almost invisible to the other servers.

Food 

Complimentary Peanut

Barbecue Corner

BBQ 3 Combination (Pecking Duck, Jelly Fish and Drunken Chicken) Small (540 php)

 Clear Soup

♥ Double-Boiled Black Chicken Soup with Oriental Herbs (250 php)

Thick Soup

♥ Dried Scallop Soup with Sea Cucumber and Fish Lip (200 php)

Live Seafood

♥ Steamed Cod with Wild Mushrooms

The Steamed Cod with Wild Mushrooms is not on the menu.  It was suggested by Kate which we approved.  Indeed, it is a must try!  It's the highlight of our meal.


Southern and Northern Cuisine

Sauteed Diced Chicken with Dried Chili Szchuan Style Small (450 php)

Pork

♥ Pork Spareribs with Honey Small (480 php)

Beancurd and Vegetables 

♥ Beancurd and Scallop in Celery Sauce

The Beancurd and Scallop in Celery Sauce is also not on the menu but suggested.  This is the first time I've encountered such a dish and we loved it!


Rice

♥ Fried Rice with Fresh and Dried Scallops Small (480 php)

 Dessert

♥ Ampalaya Buchi (100 php)

Don't let the appearance of the Ampalaya Buchi fool you.  It actually contained melted dark chocolate inside.  We enjoyed it so much we ordered one for each!

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Xin Tian Di just needs to work on their marketing because the food here is really good.  The pricing is also reasonable yet I hardly encounter any Chinese occasion being celebrated here.

We used to frequent Aloha Hotel during our childhood days because it has Sze-Chuan House on the first floor and our favorite Korean restaurant on the second floor.  I guess the closing of the Korean restaurant really saddened my mom so we didn't visit the area until recently. 

Sze-Chuan House has a very humble facade.



But upon entering, you'd see how spacious the place is .  There many traditional chinese tables covered in linen and paper sheets.  It's crowded with Chinese diners.  I just love to hear the loud familiar and homey chattering noise.  And, it's no surprise that we saw some friends dining there too.

Food
Sze-Chuan House specializes in Sze-Chuan cuisine from the province of Sichuan in China.  Most of the Chinese here in the Philippines like us are from Fukien in China or Canton in Hongkong.  So we don't have knowledge on cooking Sze-Chuan cuisine and encounter their dishes only in restaurants.  I recently watched an episode of "Yan Can Cook" Sze-Chuan special where he shared that in Sze-Chuan there are more than 20 kinds of chili peppers of various color and sizes so you can presume that they really like spicy dishes. 

Appetizers

♥ Lucky Five Kinds Cold Cuts M (525 php)

For appetizers, we ordered the Lucky Five Kinds Cold Cuts.  As the name implies, it has five kinds of cold cuts: Jelly Fish, Century Egg, Sliced Pork with Garlic Sauce (it's sliced braised pork with garlic Kaman soy sauce), Shredded Chicken with Peanut Pepper Sauce (it;s braised shredded chicken with celery bits, peanut butter, sesame seed and thick pepper sauce) and Savory Sliced Beef Shank (it's sliced beef shank braised in soy sauce, star anise, onions and leeks).  You can already infer just from the cold cuts that Sze Chuan cuisine are fond of sauces.  The selection are all very delicious and tasty!

Soup

♥ Hot & Sour Soup M (360 php)

The Hot & Sour Soup of Sze-Chuan House is one of the best in the Metro!  You can see by the looks of it that they don't scrimp on ingredients.  These soup is loaded with a variety of spices.


Squid & Frog Leg

♥ Fried Frog Legs w/ Salt & Pepper S (225 php)

Never ever dine at Sze-Chuan House without ordering their Fried Frog Legs w/ Salt & Pepper!  It's frog legs covered in flour and egg dashed with salt, pepper and diced spring onions.  This is my favorite since childhood.  I'm glad it's still as perfect as before.

Duck, Pigeon & Chicken

♥ Diced Chicken w/ Hot Pepper M (380 php)

The Diced Chicken w/ Hot Pepper also known as the Kung Pao Chicken is our family's favorite Sze Chuan dish.  We always order this whenever it is available.  The diced chicken used to be served with cashew nuts but I guess to lower the cost, it's now served with peanuts, celery and dried chili.  I still say it's better with cashew!

Vegetables & Beancurd

♥ Fried String Beans S (195 php)

It's still a mystery how they are able to cook their Fried String Beans.  It's additively crunchy.  I can't describe it with much particularity so I insist that you have to try it!

♥ Mapo Tofu S (170 php)

The Mapo Tofu is another good dish to order.  The tofu is cooked delicately so it's silky smooth in every bite.  The sauce is as you can see, rich in spices too.

Hot Pot & Casserole

First Class Mixed Seafood S (295 php)

The First Class Mixed Seafood has fish fillet, cuttlefish, sea cucumber, abalone, shrimp, fat choy (the black hairlike moss which represents wealth in Chinese) and carrots.  This is not only first class in terms of ingredients but also in terms of taste too.


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Sze Chuan dining at Sze-Chuan House never disappoints.  This is one of the best Sze-Chuan restaurants in the Metro!  The price is very reasonable too.  Bring lots of company to maximize on their serving portions and variety.  If you're not fond of spicy dishes, ask if the dish is spicy while ordering and request them to tone it down.  They also sell frozen dimsum.