Whenever my relatives celebrate birthdays, more often than not, we are bound to try a buffet place.  This time they invited us to try Food Club.

Food Club is located at Blue Bay Walk.  The family likes it there because there's a lot of parking space.

I don't think you'll ever need reservations at Food Club.  I think they have more space than it can ever be occupied.

Food


Cooked Food
In terms of buffet choices, they have a lot!  There are many cooked dishes of international cuisine.  They also have dedicated stations for other food types.

Bread Station
I bet you can't try all their selection in one seating.

Salad Station
They have healthy options...

Appetizer Station

as well as not so healthy options such as Cold Cuts and Cheese.

Kiddie Station
There's also a kiddie station with kid friendly choices like Hotdog on a Stick and Marbles Potatoes.

Sushi and Sashimi Station
We were happy that they have Salmon Sashimi.  But as you can see,  it is not so fresh.

Miso Ramen Station
There's a Miso Ramen Station.  I like that it is served in small miso bowls so it isn't very heavy.

Grilling Station
There's also a Grilling Station with marinated meats, skewers and fresh seafood.
Fried Station
Forget about the other fried items, everyone kept coming back for the Shrimp Tempura.  Well, it was nothing special.  But, it runs out fast and they refill it quick too.  

Carving Station
For the price, I must say this item is a steal or perhaps... you get what you pay for.

Chinese Station

To our elderly Tsinoys delight, the most expansive cuisine at Food Club is Chinese Cuisine.   They even offer 2-way Duck which I indulged on.

Dimsum Station

Xiao Long Bao

In fairness to them, they are the only buffet I've been to that offers Xiao Long Bao as one of their special dishes.  But, it is the saddest one I've tried.  Can you tell just by the looks?

There are more dimsum choices... all of which could use some improvement. 

Pasta

Hot Pot Station

♥ Garlic Crabs

If there's one item that we would love Food Club for, it would be their Garlic Crabs!  Look at the size!  My aunt would be happy just eating this alone.

Dessert Station

Candy Buffet

There are lots of cakes.  Nothing really stood out for me.

Fruits

Because the cakes didn't suit to our  liking, we decided to go for the healthier option - Fruits.

Drinks
 They have lots of drink selections.  I highly suggest their Fresh Fruit Shakes.


And, end your meal with their Coffee.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Food Club doesn't offer selections that will leave a lasting impression.  But for the price, you get Roast Beef, Crabs, Xiao Long Bao, Tempura, Coffee and Fresh Fruit Shakes, that's tough to beat.

Tip: They offer discounts if you're an alumni of DLSU and UST because they say that the owner is an alumini.

Our Cloverleaf Northern Bite second stop which is also along Banawe is at Lam Tin Tea House. 

Don't be turned off when you see these boxes by the side of the store.  You see, we Tsinoys like to utilize every space we've got.  You know you're in a Tsinoy territory when you see some stuff scattered around the home and office. 


The first floor is a casual fast food dining area.  If you're looking for the usual red table cloth and big round dining table set up, they have those on the second floor.

Food

Dimsum
Since it's still early for lunch, our visit is a Yum Cha session - drinking tea and having dimsum.
 

Hakao (95 php)

Among all dimsum selections, hakaw is my favorite.  And, I'm really picky when it comes to it.  The Hakao of Lam Tin Tea is just the way I like it.  It has silky smooth skin and the shrimp is soft and tasty.

Taosi Spareribs (85 php)

The Taosi Spareribs is quite appetizing with its combination of light spiciness and savoriness.

Taro-Puff (95 php)

To be honest, a Taro Puff is not something I'd order. You see I love Purple Yam or Ube but I have a negative impartiality toward Taro except for Quickly Super Taro Ice.  My bias begun when I was little... You see in every burial, we would go to the temple to pray for the dead and then after, we have to eat the expensive vegan tasteless meals prepared by monks.  Most of them are made of taro and to me they had different forms and names but the same bland taro taste.  But when I tried these Taro Puffs, it's as if all the negativity flow out of me and I fully enjoyed and loved this!  I think the key is the ground pork mixed in.

Sea King Roll (90 php)

The Sea King Roll is one of the best seafood rolls I have tried yet.  The broccoli, lettuce, crab stick, shrimp and fish fillet chime well together.

Sharks Fin Dumpling (90 php)

Hold your horses folks before you hit me with comments on save sea life advocations.  You see this is a 4-piece order for only 90 php.  Do you think they'd really use real sharks fin for this Sharks Fin Dumpling for such a bargain price?  That point aside, this is delicious!

Short Order Meal

Lam Tin Fried Chicken (400 php/whole)

The Lam Tin Fried Chicken is served with sweet and sour sauce.  Everyone loved this!

So folks this is the Avida Towers Cloverleaf that is soon too rise on Avida Cloverleaf Balintawak.  If you'll be living in one of these residential towers, then Banawe food stops like Lam Tin Tea House will be very accessible as it is only 15 minutes away.


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Lam Tin Tea House serves affordable and delicious dimsum and more!  If you're in Banawe with a craving for dimsum, this is the place you're looking for.

It was January 2, 2015 and Mom had an epiphany to eat at Din Tai Fung (the only Michelin starred Taiwanese restaurant in the world) because she sensed that he queue wouldn't be long since it was the start of the year, people would be lazy to dine out.  Thus, because of this baseless hunch we went all the way to SM Megamall.  


On the way, we were observing the streets and MRT feeling that people prefer to be at their homes.  To our surprise, SM Megamall had an End of Season Sale so the parking was so loonnnnnnggggg.  And since the family had a tight-leash when it comes to patience and I had a beach camping trip to Layag-Layag Island the next day, I volunteered to be dropped off and get us a queue number at Din Tai Fung while they line up for the parking.



I got to the counter and was issued a queue number 5107 with a time stamp of 19:12:42 (7:12 pm).  Along with the queue number is their order slip so while waiting you can already decide what to order.  The family arrived the Din Tai Fung at around 7:25 pm.  (We had to be complete before we could enter otherwise, we'd forfeit our slot)

While waiting, we watched how the xiao long baos were made and we also watched the video where the employees of Din Tai Fung are interview on how much of a good boss the owner Mr. Yang is.  We also read the menu on the legend of Din Tai Fung which is a great story on the factor of resilience to success.

It's pretty cool that they have a stool step for kids.  There's also a photo spot (which that guy used as a watching spot) so you can have a souvenir.  

We also ordered in advance.  There's a list of items not available on the counter.  We were partly sad that the Stir-fried Organic Kale and all items with Pork Chop was not available but there's so many options to order instead anyway.  Upon giving the order slip at the counter, the staff confirmed each item with us by encircling them as she read them out.

At around 7:45 pm, we saw our queue number on their LCD display.  As we approached the counter, we saw our order slip being passed on to the kitchen an we were ushered to our round table.

No wonder the queue moves fast.  Aside from the efficient queuing system (where there are 4 categories: 2 persons, 3-4 persons, 5-6 persons and 7 persons and above), they have a lot of staff, big kitchen and tons of seating.  Upon seeing the high chairs, I also understood why they ask if you have kids when you get a queue number.  Aside from high chairs, they also provide bag holders which they cover with brown cloth.  Just like in abroad, you can pay your bill on the payment counter on your way to the exit.  They also sell there their merchandise like their chopsticks, x.o. sauce and soy sauce.

Food

Appetizers

♥ Din Tai Fung House Special (155 php)

We ordered the Taiwanese Kao Fu because it looked really good from the menu.  We were looking forward to it when a staff came with a tray with the Din Tai Fung House Special and Spicy Pickled Cucumber and informed us that the Taiwanese Kao Fu was unavailable.  (Great gesture of sincerity right?)  We chose the Din Tai Fung House Special and we are quite pleased with our decision.  It was so good!

♥ Cold Chicken with Scallions (200 php)

 We loved the Din Tai Fung House Special but it didn't feel filling enough for an appetizer so we ordered the Cold Chicken with Scallions.  Again, we were impressed!

Xiao Long Bao
Prior to serving our Xiao Long Bao, our server assisted us with our dipping sauce.  My brother wanted to confirm if our way of eating Xiao Long Bao is correct so he asked and we were given their "Guide to enjoy the Xiao Long Bao or Gabay sa pagkain ng Xiao Long Bao" (yes, it has a Tagalog translation).  Step 1 which involves preparing the dipping sauce is as you can see voluntarily done by our helpful server.

♥ Pork Xiao Long Bao (315 php/10 pcs)

 We've never encountered a restaurant with a menu section of Xiao Long Bao before so we had a difficult time deciding.  We had the classic Pork Xiao Long Bao so we could compare it with the other xiao long baos we've tried.  These beauties are the best we've had!  Perfectly thin shell and the broth is heavenly!

♥ Green Squash and Shrimp Xiao Long Bao (160 php/5 pcs)

Between the Pork Xiao Long Bao and the Green Squash and Shrimp Xiao Long Bao, it's really difficult to decide which is better because they are equally good!

♥ Truffle and Pork Xiao Long Bao (135 php/piece)

We had to follow up the Truffle and Pork Xiao Long Bao because it wasn't serve even when all our orders came in.  Before it was served, we were given a new set of spoon and small dipping sauce plate.  We were advised that we should cleanse our palate and not to use the dipping sauce so we could savor the truffle taste.  We delicately placed it on our spoon, slurped slowly and indulged on the truffle essence broth which is so heavenly!  Gosh! I want to have this again asap!

Pot Stickers & Snacks

♥ Shrimp and Pork Pot Stickers (220 php/6 pcs.)

Pot stickers or more locally known as fried dumplings are so common here in the Philippines but never have I seen it presented like DTF's Shrimp and Pork Pot Stickers.

♥ Shrimp and Pork Pot Stickers (220 php/6 pcs.)

These Shrimp and Pork Pot Stickers are superb.  With the bottom part thin and crisp, the rest delicately soft and tender and filled with tasty shrimp and pork, I'd say this is the best one I've had yet!

Featured Dishes

Salted Egg Yolk Prawns (375 php)

The Salted Egg Yolk Prawns is good but compared to the other dishes, for me this is the least impressive.  On my next visit, I'll skip this to try the other dishes and just go after the Golden Lava Salted Egg Yolk Bun for dessert.


Fried Rice

♥ Chicken Cutlet Fried Rice (285 php)

I was never one to be crazy for chicken chops.  I didn't even understand the craze before for Hot Star.  But, Din Tai Fung's Chicken Cutlet with flimsy thin batter coating, moist and tender chicken and subtle pepper seasoning got me hooked.

Soups & Noodle Soups

♥ Braised Beef Noodle Soup (295 php)

With the Braised Beef Noodle Soup, you can choose between: All Tendon, All Meat or Half Tendon Half Meat.  We chose the latter.  This is a bowl of perfection!  From the broth to the meat and the noodles, everything is A+!

Sauteed & Fried Noodles

♥ Noodles with Minced Pork Sauce (145 php)

The Noodles with Minced Pork Sauce is one of the best (if not the best) dry noodles I've encountered.  The noodles are consistently springy even long after it was served, the portion of sauce to noodles is precisely right!  I'd say this is the most sulit or bang for the buck item we've gotten.

Hot & Cold Desserts

♥ Chocolate Lava Xiao Long Bao (115 php/3 pieces)

The saying "Always save room for dessert" great applies here at Din Tai Fung.  My mother is not a fan of chocolate desserts.  While we were outside, adding this to the order slip, she declared she will not have one.  When I let her taste mine, she quickly called a waiter to order another one!  The fine, smooth and bitter-sweet dark chocolate filling is to die for!

♥ Golden Lava Salted Egg Yolk Bun (85 php/2 pcs.)

We all thought we were full by the time that this Golden Lava Salted Egg Yolk Bun arrived.  But, upon tasting this, we had to order more so we could have one each because no one wanted to share.  Be careful in being excited to eat this, mom was so excited that she bit this while it was steaming and smoking hot and squirted the filling all over her plate!

Drinks

♥ Lemongrass Juice (45 php)

We were a bit disappointed that the Iced Rose Tea was unavailable so we were all forced to order the same drink for all of us which was the Lemongrass Juice.  To our surprise, it was refreshingly good!  We're so used to the sweetened drinks here that we were pleasantly surprised that this isn't. 
 

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
We will definitely come back for more of Din Tai Fung's dishes.  In fact, I'm now imploring you for suggestions on what to try next!  I strongly agree that it deserves a michellin star or maybe even more stars in the future.  The service and food quality is superb.  With Din Tai Fung here, we can now enjoy Taiwanese Cuisine at its finest whenever we want.