My knowledge when it comes to Japanese cuisine is limited to tempura, maki, sushi (which I don’t even eat), tonkatsu, and Nissin’s Ramen. Kidding on that last part. I’m not really that familiar with anything Japanese, except for those that I get to try at the popular fastfood joint, Tokyo Tokyo. I actually go there before because I wanted to practice using chopsticks, lol. A weekend or so ago, before our actual trip to Japan, we were invited by the guys from Herald Suites in Chino Roces to try their in-house Japanese restaurant, Hatsu Hana-Tei.

HERALD SUITES’ LOBBY

Located right in front of the famous Little Tokyo in Makati, Herald Suites—sister hotel of Herald Suites Polaris—sports a very turn-of-the-century Filipiniana look—intricate Machuca tiles, faux Amorsolo paintings, classic wooden furniture. You’ll never guess that they’d have a legit Japanese restaurant at the second floor. The only inkling you’d have, if ever you notice it at all, are the Japanese businessmen lounging about the lobby.

Customized Machuca tiles spread across the floor while wrought iron railings flourish along the interior balconies overlooking the central atrium of the lobby. On hand-crafted wooden tables, metal sculptures sit, looking eternally at guests making their way to and fro. Entering Herald Suites Polaris, it was as if we were transported to a time past when arts and crafts were all the rage and things were a lot more elegant than the ascetic modern times that we were in.

HERALD SUITES POLARIS IN POBLACION, MAKATI

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon when we headed out—first to binge on authentic Japanese cuisine at Hatsu Hana Tei in Makati, and second, for a staycation at the newest hotel this side of Poblacion, Herald Suites Polaris.

Chinese cuisine has always been integral to Filipino festivities. From birthday staples like lumpiang shanghai, siomai dumplings, siopao, and to everyone’s favorite, the ubiquitous pancit canton. Filipinos indeed love their Chinese food. But that usually doesn’t translate to pinoys trooping to serious Chinese restaurants, most being content with the popular fast food chows, thinking most of the legit ones can only be found in Binondo—the oldest Chinatown in the world.

LIDO COCINA TSINA AT LA FUERZA, MAKATI

Unbeknownst to many though, there are quite a few restaurants around the metro where you can actually get your legit Chinese fix without traveling all the way to Manila’s Chinatown. And one of these is at Lido Cocina Tsina. With roots all the way from 1930’s Binondo, Lido has been serving their Chinese specialties for 80 years now. And as a testament to this, their newest branch, located at La Fuerza in Makati, is already their 15th store.

DRAGON DANCE AT THE OPENING OF LIDO COCINA TSINA MAKATI

Tucked on a quiet sidestreet along Chino Roces Avenue, we visited the restaurant on their opening day. It was drizzling a bit, but that didn’t stop their traditional Chinese dragon dancers from blessing the restaurant with luck and prosperity.

THE RESTAURANT CAN SEAT UP TO 90 PERSONS

The ninety-seater interiors, set with Lido’s history and photos of their mouth-watering specialties, were packed to the rafters with guests. We sat on one corner and waited with excitement for Lido’s famous pugon-roasted asado.

MANCHURIAN WINGS ~ PHP285.00

Soon enough plates of Drunken Lechon Macau, Manchurian Wings, 16-Spiced Shantung Pork and their Chinese Pugon-Roasted Asado were slid down our table. Everything looked delicious and very Binondo.

DRUNKEN LECHON MACAU ~ PHP290.00

The Drunken Lechon Macau is quite interesting, think pork liempo, except it’s marinated in premium wine and spices for sixty freakin’ hours before being fried. The Manchurian chicken wings, on the other hand, looks very tempting with gingery oriental sauce glazing its outer layer, covering the succulently tender meat inside.

16-SPICED SHANTUNG PORK ~ PHP275.00

Our favorites, however, hovered between Lido’s 16-Spiced Shantung Pork and their Chinese Pugon-Roasted Asado. The former, fancily named after Shantung’s cooking tradition, looks like pork chop. And indeed, it is! The difference is that each slice is peppered with 16 kinds of spices. It is, indeed, quite flavorful, very tender, and mildly spicy!

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From the quaint streets of Binondo, Panciteria Lido's signature pugon roasted asado now makes its way to the busy roads of Makati. #LidoLFMgo2016 #LakadPilipinas

A post shared by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on Jul 8, 2016 at 1:18am PDT

The latter, Lido’s ultimate dish, is what people really come to their restaurant for. The Chinese Pugon-Roasted Asado is what established Lido from its humble roots in Binondo to the pantheon of Chinese restaurants in the Philippines. The dish is simple enough, sliced pork loins roasted in a traditional brick or oven. But what sets it apart are the secret spices infused within the meat, a family recipe going back 70 years to the quaint streets of Manila’s Chinatown. And the taste? Definitely Binondo legit.

~ OUR FRIENDS FROM LIDO COCINA TSINA INVITED US TO THEIR RESTAURANT OPENING. ALL VIEWS & OPINIONS ARE MINE.

Lido Cocina Tsina
Address: Unit 6 & 7, La Fuerza Plaza 2, Chino Roces cor. Sabio St., Makati City, Metro Manila
Contact No: (0927) 226-4940 | (0917) 843-9083
info@panciterialido.com | Facebook | Menu
Opening Hours: 7:00AM to 11:00PM
GPS Coordinates Map: 14.544529, 121.016963

• BOOK DISCOUNTED FOOD TOURS IN METRO MANILA •

I’m no expert when it comes to Japanese food but I’ve always been fond of it—the cooked ones particularly. And even though I have visited Tokyo before, I am ashamed to say that my experience with this cuisine is quite limited to ramens, tonkatsus, gyozas, and tempuras from a popular Japanese fast food here in Manila. I was quite excited then to try out Saboten’s offerings, it’s not everyday that I get to pig out on legit Japanese dishes.

►SEE: SEDA BGC STAYCATION

SABOTEN GLORIETTA’S VERY JAPANESE INTERIORS

The restaurant is located at the ground floor of Ayala Center’s Greenbelt 5 in Makati. It has another branch in BGC, but I haven’t visited that one yet. Saboten originated from Japan, you might say that it is the Jollibee of Japan when it comes to tonkatsus. They have numerous branches at every corner and malls of Japan, not to mention the 500 branches all around the globe. This is a popular place to have your tonkatsu fix indeed.

►PART OF OUR AYALA FOOD TOUR: KABILA RESTAURANT MAKATI

Two slabs of mouthwatering deep fried pork bagnet greeted us as we moved from our breakfast table at Ayala’s M Café, to its north wing—which was really just ten steps away from us—where lunch awaited us. Aptly dubbed, Kabila, this is where we’re gonna have our next meal. Yes, we’re insatiable like that.

MODERN MINIMALIST INTERIORS OF KABILA AND M CAFE

MOBILE INSTALLATION AT KABILA FILIPINO BISTRO

Located on the ground floor of the famed Ayala Museum, a building designed by none other than National Artist for Architecture, Leandro V. Locsin, M Café and Kabila Filipino Bistro shares a very modern interior all set in white. The whole floor is decorated by various paintings, mobiles, and sculptures. Although I haven’t been inside the museum itself, I guess it somehow reflect the artsy nature of the place.

With a two-day food-tasting and restaurant-hopping activity looming in Makati, we were desperate to find a nearby bed to crash into after filling our bellies silly. Going back home at the end of the day and inching our way back through EDSA’s horrendous traffic the next day wasn’t an option we were entertaining—we would sleep in Makati for the night. And that’s that.

YOU HAVE TO CLIMB ONE STORY UP TO THE MAIN LOBBY

Luckily, we found out about Red Planet. Tucked along a relatively quiet street near the bustling central business district in Makati, this red and white building became our refuge for the weekend. It was so conveniently located for our food stops that we decided to extend our stay for one more night.

What can you expect from a restaurant with a name like Simplé Lang? You’d think it’d be a pretty simple affair, as their moniker suggests, but just look at the é at the end of the first word and you’d probably have a rethink coming. As one of the outside graffiti boldly states on one of their glass walls, Simple and yet so arte! Well, that’s a dead giveaway that we’re probably dealing with a conyo restaurant right here.

SIMPLE RED AND WHITE INTERIORS

As I flipped through their menu, it quickly became apparent that that é has everything to do with what Simplé Lang stands for. The restaurant serves classic Filipino comfort food, but with not-so-very-slight twists that makes them more interesting than say, finding them on your favorite carinderia or gotohan. Take their pancit tinola for example. If I had to guess what the following hour would be from that alone, I would surmise we’re gonna be in for a surprisingly good food session.

Budget hostels, those usually preferred by budget-conscious backpackers, don’t usually equate to good food. At worst, they serve zero food, and at best, their servings are set to simply fill your stomach. But check in at Junction Hostel Makati, one of the newest and trendiest hostels that have sprung up along Makati’s Poblacion backpacker district (right along Z Hostel) and you’d be surprised how good their dishes are.

JUNCTION HOSTEL’S FUNKY LOBBY IS WHERE THE ACTION’S AT

THE CHEF AND HIS BOYS BUSY PREPARING OUR FOOD