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Showing posts with label tim ho wan sm megamall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tim ho wan sm megamall. Show all posts
Monday, September 15, 2014
WOK with JINLOVESTOEAT: MEGAFOODWOK


Lucky is as lucky gets. Not knowing what would happen, I joined and won a slot to SM MEGAMALL's MEGAFOODWOK. This particular food tour was curated by no less than pretty and famous food blogger Jin of JINLOVESTOEAT. I was seriously dumbfounded and my jaw dropped because this lady is not only awesome but she knows her food and is quite funny too.

I actually stumbled upon this contest of sorts through Jin's IG. You see I have been a secret stalker follower of Jin's Blog and IG for more than a year or two. If haven't checked it out, you would be in for a treat!
 SM MEGAMALL celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival through a lot of offerings and one of them is this awesome contest in the tune of a Food Tour.
Meeting place was smack in the middle of the new SM MEGAFASHION MALL. 1st stop was the impressive TIMHOWAN. I believe I have visited this place around 3-4 times already and this is by far the most impressive one.
Why? Well, 1st off we didn't need to line up and everything that was served was fresh off the bat. Comparing all of my visits, this seems to have the freshest and the awesomest food quality among all of them. I wonder why? It must have been through Jin's Magic.
The PORK BUNS were hot, crisp and cooked true to its form. Melts in your mouth.
I would have thought this was a scary veggie dish but thankfully, the SPINACH and SHRIMP DUMPLING didn't disappoint. Moist and believe it or not, the spinach were all imported.
Another of my favorites would be the WASABI SALAD PRAWN DUMPLING. The dressing wasn't hot and works well with the deep friend dumpling.
 A little trivia about TIMHOWAN: If you order everything off the menu, the bill would be less than 4,000 Php. Sulit!
The STEAM EGG CAKE was fluffy and normal. Not really my thing. 

To cleanse the palate, we headed on over to CHEZ KARINE. A favorite of mine in SERENDRA, this dessert place definitely knows how to treat its patrons.
 Jin knows what she is talking about. If you listen carefully, you get to learn about a lot of food trivia.
 We were able to try out the new BLACK SESAME MACARON ICE CREAM.
 Reminded me of DOJO ICE CREAM's (click here) version but a little sweater. The macaron shell gave this dessert a little more texture.

After this short dessert, we moved on up to a Chinese Foodie Heaven, LUGANG CAFE.  
Thankfully, one of the things they served us was coffee! ARABIAN COFFEE.
 
 Through the use of this Arabian contraption / siphon, coffee is made through vacuum. I am no scientist but to put it simple, the water goes back and forth to make one awesome pot of coffee.

Instead of the kimchi flavored, we had the CRAB ROE XIAO LONG BAO. 
 
 Warm broth gushed out of the dumpling! Proper way of eating is to mix this with the ginger laced sauced! Remember eat it while its hot.!
 We were also able to try 3 CUP CHICKEN. 1 part of everything man would need in their Chinese Dishes! SOY SAUCE, RICE WINE, SESAME OIL.
 
 The KUNG PAO TOFU was something I wasn't expecting. I was actually quite impressed with the sweet flavor. It wasn't too spicy but I liked it.
 A fresh take would be LUGANG'S CHOPPED SHRIMP IN LETTUCE CUPS.
 Crumchy yet you know that you are eating something healthy and yummy.

Although, not really Chinese themed, Jin figured that we should all try LINGUINI FINI.
 A farm to table concept out of Hongkong, this restaurant offers awesome Italian dishes that has a bit of local infusion. Only on its third day of operation, this place gives off a perky and steady chill vibe. Coming from The Moment Group, you definitely know you are in for a treat.

 With SO, Executive Chef Vinny Lauria, Jin, and me.

Being our last savory stop, we tried some of Jin's Favorite dishes. 
1st up was the PAPPARDELLE or the "Nose to tail" Bolo.
The pasta was cooked al-dente. It was cheesy while the meat sauce wasn't overpowering. I liked how it was simple yet delicious.
Sadly, the longganisa pizza wasn't available so we had to settle for PORCHETTA PIZZA. It wasn't anything to settle for as the crust was really chewy and crunchy at the same time. The toppings were fresh and gave you that awesome food high.
 and you know what their spicy home made sauce was incredible. It gave that punch you need that elevates the flavors.
So good that I went back... 
 and on to our last two dessert places. 
First one was MOCHICREAM CAFE.
 We were MATCHA OVERLOADED!
The MATCHA DACQUOISE is their take on meringue-like dessert. Layers are placed on top of one another with matching matcha flavor. Nuts were there to enjoy!
Crunch
To pair, we had the MATCHA LATTE ESPRESSO.

It ain't sweet but it is green tea goodness!
SO wanted to take some home just because.


 Our last and final stop led us to KOOL KIDS.
 Ice cream here are made to order and are KOOL!
 Uhm smokey magical stuff to mix in with the flavors and to make them hard as ice cream. (LIQUID NITROGEN)
 Through this process, we were served a lot of delicious flavors. 
Two stands outs.
FRODOUGH or ice cream placed in warm doughnut. Just like those "dirty" ice cream!
Yummy
and everyone's favorite, YUZU. Or Japanese Lime.
 Citrusy. Almost like a kalamsi sorbet to wipe all the flavors in your mouth.

 and with that, we ended everything with a bang!!
Can you see my face? Forgive me, that's the feeling of BUSOG creeping up. So Help Me God. 

 Visiting 6 restaurants in a little span of time was an amazing feat because of the time and the constraints we had. Foodies would definitely enjoy a tour such as this. The tour guide and the companionship definitely spur the light and fun tour. The food was chosen properly and they blended well with one another. Thank you so much Jin for letting us experience your favorites!



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SM MEGAMALL'S MEGAFOODWOK
with JINLOVESTOEAT.
PUBLIC TOUR.
DISCLAIMER: Won a pair of tickets through joining Sm Megamall's IG contest. Wrote this post based on my experience and opinion. Thank you very much Jin of Jinlovestoeat and Abigail and the rest of SM MEGAMALL's staff.
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Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Tim Ho Wan Manila: Experience

I had enough! I knew TimHoWan Manila was opening and I was supposed to go on opening day but I stopped myself to wait for a week or two to try it out.

So on a boring weekday lunch, mom, Earl and I went on over to Megamall and lined up at 10:05am. When we arrived, we were already 3rd in line. The first one was an old guy. The second one was a staff that seemingly lined up for his bosses and then us.
Read this and weep! So better get there and follow the rules. 
In case you don't know, the place opens at 12noon. So hello long lines and long wait!
At 11am, the line was really long already.
A few minutes before 12, a man came out and gave us order sheets. He also announced that the buns were limited to one order per person. Meaning it was 1x3pieces only.
When we were seated, we gave our sheet to the staff. She repeated the order and went to work.
What you see is what you get.
The sauces were straight forward. Yup no calamnsi for you!
She printed a long sheet and placed this on the table. I believe its where they counter check the orders.
Not even 4 minutes out, we were served the famous Baked Bun with BBQ Pork (145Php for 3 pieces)
As I said, they limit the orders of these buns to only 1 per person.
I was a bit disappointed with these. Yes, they were flaky and the breading collapses when touched.

Why was I disappointed? They were already cold. Yes, room temperature cold. Also, the pork filling was also a tad too sweet than normal. I wished they would limit the sugar in it. It was a little too sweet!

Next up was the Rice with Beef & Fried Egg (180Php)
The beef was actually normal and was cooked all right. Not anything special.
The next rice dish actually impressed me. The glutinous rice with lotus leaf (190Php)
When I opened the wrapper, the smoke and the smell just rushed out. It was amazing.
The sticky rice went well with the meat inside it. Plus the aroma just made everything great!

Served next were the dumplings. 
 
Prawn Dumplings (160Php) were cooked perfectly. Thin wrappers and the stuffing were really shirmpylicious!

We also had the Beancurd Skin Roll with Pork and Shrimp (120Php) It was all right.
One of my favorites that lunch was the Spring Roll with Egg White (120Php)
The filling was fluffy and I really can't stop getting a bite!
The Steam Egg Cake (85Php) was pretty normal
I wasn't also impressed with the Pan Fried Carrot Cake (145Php).
I think I liked the ones in Singapore Hawker Places more.
Although, you got to give them props as it was made with quality ingredients.
The wasabi salad prawn dumpling (140Php) was pretty normal too.
I did like the Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (150Php)
Pretty good. 
I also ordered 3 Vermicelli Roll. 
The texture were pretty much the same with all 3. The wrapper were soft to the point it be easily cut.
For liver lovers, they could get the Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver (150Php)
I wasn't really into the liver thingy so I tried their Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork (160Php)
Mom wanted to get the Vermicelli Roll with Shrimp (190Php)
My mom had a taste of this dish when she was in San Francisco.
She couldn't help but compare and said that the dish leaves her wanting.
It was pretty bland for her. 

For dessert, we had tried all that they offered.
The Tonic Medlar & Osmanthus Cake (90Php) was something to drool at.
The gelo cake was amazing and not to sweat. It was really something different and you don't see this too often with Chinese Restaurants in the metro. 
Unlike the cake, the Mango Pomelo Soup (90Php) was normal.
I wasn't even able to taste the pomelo. I scoop and I stopped.

When we left at around 1 pm, the long lines were still there at Tim Ho Wan.
Of course, I had to have some Food In The Bag!!! LoL!
Here are my takes and thoughts.

The service was quick and fast. Although, it seemed to me like they were rushing everything. They drop the dish on the table and run away.

For take out, you needed to dine in first. They don't have a take out counter as you can't directly order from. Also, one thing I didn't like was that, when we ordered take out, the servers gave us the food and plastic containers for them. We were the ones that had to do the packing ourselves. I guess they try to pass everything and import even that kind of "disservice" from HK. Yep.. You read that right, I packed the whole take out stuff even if we paid for the service charge. Talk about paying for service which you do yourself. Incredible. To think we ordered a lot..and I mean a lot.

The price tag which from the outside looks affordable with no dish more than 200Php seems a great marketing strategy and a deal to those who wanted to try this out. With the quantity and price ratio, a person should budget around 400-500 Php for a decent meal. Quality wise, it may be a hit or miss with some of the dishes as some of the Chinese Chef on loan were no longer there and only a 2-3 were left.  
Honestly, if you ask me, will I go back? Sure I will. The buns (hot ones of course) and the lotus rice is worth it. BUT! I won't be getting take out and I will definitely not wait for 2 hours again. 

Tip: Be there during dead hours like 4pm on a weekday. Go there with only a companion as they easily prioritize small groups dinners. Also, ask that the buns you get be freshly made and not those waiting on the counter. Yeah... they tend to stock up. It would be acceptable but they need to serve them hot and not room temp cold! Sayang eh.

They are also planning to open a branch in Makati and one in Mall of Asia.

Food In The Bag is now on Facebook. Like it HERE for updates.


Tim Ho Wan
Manila
Sm Megamall, Mandaluyong
Facebook

Disclaimer: Paid for our meal. I wasn't asked to write about my experience.
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