FOODIE FRIDAY : Tim Ho Wan

TIM HO WAN literally means "add good luck" but if you are anything like me and my cousin Ken: equally curious to experience how it is like to eat at presumably the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant, you probably need to "add patience" too, because we had to wait for exactly 2 hours and 19 minutes to be seated and served. 

Tim Ho Wan opened its first branch in the Philippines at the newest wing ( I think it is named Fashion Hall) of SM Megamall. Operations starts at 12:00 noon. Last Sunday, me, Ken and Jem decided to try it before watching a volleyball game.  When we arrived at 10:27 am, there was already a group of people lining up. I was secretly hoping that the long queue would somewhat be a cause for concern for the mall management and that would eventually pressure Tim Ho Wan to accept customers earlier than their posted schedule. I was wrong. 

We were ushered to our table at around 12:46 pm. Too bad we were seated outside, I wanted to check on their interiors. From the outside, I saw that their lighting fixtures were decorated with wooden steamers. Since we already have a copy of their liners that also serves as their menu, ordering came easy. Besides, they only have a few items on their menu to choose from. 

Ordering is pretty straightforward, just write down the quantity next to the item that you would like to have. After submitting your order sheet, a summary of the items ordered will be placed on your table which will later serve as a reference for them to check if they have already served the items you have ordered. As the food items arrive, they will cross it out from the list. 

Service was really fast, considering that there were plenty of people to serve. There was a staff standing by our table named Jen was very pleasing and readily acknowledged our requests. Empty plates and steamers were immediately cleared.  

Top on our list is their Big four heavenly Kings:

1. Baked Buns with BBQ Pork - PHP 145.00 for 3 pieces 

I am not surprised that this is the very first thing listed on their menu. I LOVED IT! This was definitely worth the 2-hour wait. Seriously. I have never tasted anything quite like it before. Buns were soft, I don't know but to me it felt like it melted in my mouth. was it crunchy? No, it felt more like it was crusty with just the right sweetness. The pork inside didn't taste anything like savory BBQ, I think it was more asado-ish. 

2. Pan Fried Carrot Cake - PHP 145.00 for 3 pieces

For me cake = dessert. Much like the raddish cake that I am familiar with, this carrot cake was not in any way a "cake". It tasted like vermicelli with bits of meat which to me seemed like chorizo ( which at first I thought was carrots).  It tasted good though, after I dipped it in soy sauce. I wonder now if this is the proper way of eating it. 

3. Steamed egg cake - PHP 85.00

I honestly thought it is just puto (our local rice cake), but it was different. It was softer and fluffier. It tasted like a reduced-sweetness Kopiroti bun. I liked it too, but not half as much as I liked the baked buns.

4. Vermicelli roll with Pig's liver - PHP 150.00 for 3 pieces

When Ken told me that we were going to order everything categorized as Heavenly King, I wanted to object. Because I did not want to spend on something I know I will not be eating with much gusto, after all I am not really very fond of pig's liver. But I gave in and ended up swallowing huge chunks of this pig's liver roll, followed by a huge gulp of jasmine tea. And Ken did not eat it either. 

We stood for more than 2 hours so we needed more sustenance. Good marketing strategy Tim Ho Wan, you successfully made us order more than what we intentionally wanted to try. We also ordered prawn dumpling, spinach dumpling with shrimp , Glutinous rice with lotus leaf ( i think this is what we call ma tsang), vermicelli roll with beef and rice with beef and fried egg.  Nothing spectacular really. After all it is dim sum. A dash of soy sauce, a dollop of chili oil and everything should be fine.  It took us less than an hour to finish everything.  Add 2 glasses of iced tea and a pot of jasmine tea,we paid a total of PHP 1,786.00.

 

Maybe my tastebuds have not yet fully upgraded, maybe I am not yet ready for Michelin-star standard restaurant food. Because honestly, the only silver lining from the "2-hour-OMG-this-is-the-most-poorly-managed-queue-I-have-ever-endured" was the yummy pork bun. That and nothing else. 

FOODIE FRIDAY : Falling Madly In Love with Mad Mark's

I am carnivorous. I love meat so it goes without saying that a place that serves reasonably priced steak is somewhere I feel most at home. 

My cousin Ken has raved about Mad Mark's so when he got his first salary, the whole family grabbed dinner at their branch in Glorietta 5. The second time I ate at Glorietta was after a so-so gym session at Gold's Gym, and the third time was special... because we ate for free!!!

Ken won GC's from pepper.ph

We were there a little before 11 am, place was pretty isolated save for a couple dining at one corner. We had time to take photos of the place without feeling embarrassed. Place was decorated with framed photos with trivia information on items on their menu and its ingredients. The place was small, could probably seat not more than 40 people comfortably but it was cozy and well-lit.

ohh that huge Nutella jar!

A clipboard holds their menu, the first couple of times we were here, their menu was nothing fancy, black and white on a bond paper. But they have since upgraded. The menu now is colored and laminated. 

 

STEP 1. Choose a dish & serving size

We each ordered a regular steak. 

STEP 2. State your preferred doneness

We both wanted our steak to be medium well

STEP 3. Choose a sauce

We are in love with the Bootstrap steak sauce

STEP 4. Finish it with side dishes

Mine had smashed potato and house salad  while Ken chose rice and bacon potato salad.

Since we still have money to spare, we also ordered a happy camper sandwich, cajun fries and a pitcher of Iced tea.

First to be served was the iced tea. I like their iced tea. I know that it is not just Nestea jazzed up with calamansi. It was a bit too sweet though... but I'm okay with sweet. 

Did we really order food enough for 3 people?
I think they were right to assume. 

Service was relatively fast, but maybe because there was no one else to attend to. Next came our Happy Camper sandwich (it was HUGE!!!) and cajun fries.

this is just my portion of the sandwich.
Ken got the other half.

Figured I can not just stuff this in my mouth.
Enter fork and knife.

salty carbs! complimented our sandwich well. 

I am not sure what their dressing is for the Happy Camper Sandwich, but I did taste a hint of curry. The crunchy roll was generously stuffed with diced chicken pieces and smothered with caramelized onion and slices of bell pepper. The half sandwich that I ate was enough to make me full. I did not eat much of the fries because I know I have to save some tummy room for my steak. 

For the main event... Drum roll please. 

My steak! That thing wrapped in foil is my smashed potato. I have expected my steak a little less done than this, but it was still ok. I did not have to use an awful lot of force to cut it. I requested for additional sauce since they used to give like a quarter of a jigger for free upon request. But now they charge ( i think it was 15 pesos) for half a jigger. I am not one to risk experiencing any sauce-related unhappiness for a minimal amount so I paid for my sauce. 

and this is Ken's steak:

I remember them being more generous with bacon for the potato salad. 

I was not able to finish my smashed potato because I was already feeling nauseous. But Mad Mark's boasts of its home made ice cream and that is something that I will not let pass. 

Double scoop ice cream cost 160 pesos, but you can choose different flavors.  I took Madagascar Vanilla Bean and Strawberries and cream. I think Ken chose the half baked madagascar and another flavor that was not on the menu. I think their Ice cream flavors vary from day to day. So it is best to check the menu board. 

I have forgotten how the ice cream tastes though, I guess it is time to pay them a visit again. But maybe this time, I will drop by their Kapitolyo branch. Because I heard the prices are cheaper there... now that we really need to pay for everything. Except probably when Ken gets to win more vouchers.