Li Garden Sharks Fin Seafood Restaurant

Turns out that the day wasn’t so bad after all.  But it gets even better.  My uncle read about this promo about a new Chinese restaurant along Macapagal Ave. and we heard it was actually pretty good.  Now if there are a bunch of harsher food critics (especially of Chinese food), it would definitely be my family on my mother’s side.

We went for the Sharks Fin Seafood Set (P18,8000 or $400.00).  Wait, I know what you’re thinking.  ”18 thousand bucks??!! Did I read that right?”  Yeah, you did.  But before you completely stop reading this post, know that it’s an 11-course meal good for up to 12 people.  Now, there was a promo until that day that brought the price down to a still-whopping P11,800.00 (or $262.00), but let me tell you it’s not your ordinary Chinese set meal.

First up, peanuts while you wait.  I think I’ll be using the phrase “better than most places” a number of times today and the peanuts as appetizers were really better than most.Try to ask for XO sauce if you like it.  Since XO sauce is made with scallops, you know that shit ain’t cheap.  But as haggling Chinese folks, we ask for a dish for free.  They almost charged us 200 bucks for that small dish.  I’d call them bastards, but they did give in eventually.

Now to the actual meal.  The Chilled Sea Mantis was weird at first.  It looked raw, it was served cold with ice shavings at the bottom.  It looked completely unappetizing!  That said, it tasted really good.  It’s a cousin of the lobster, not as good, but definitely something to try.  It’s served with a peanut-based sauce that works well.

The Roasting Combination is a fairly typical plate in any Chinese set meal.  Check that.  It’s always been there in every Chinese set meal that I’ve ever had¹.  I usually go for the meat and I must say that it was easily one of the best I’ve had.  I’m not the biggest fan of roasted pork in Manila because of the (usually) tough and dry meat, but Li Garden’s looked great, was fatty, moist, and really flavorful.

And the soy chicken was excellent!  I really mean that.

Before sharks fin is completely banned, I’m glad I got to try their Shark’s Fin with Fresh Crab Roe.  Let me just say: F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C!  Definitely better than most places. Usually you get sharks fin with minced chicken in this brown-ish soup.  This was with crab roe² in a reddish hunk of soup!  Do I really need to say anything else?  Oh, ask for red vinegar!  Black vinegar is for the brown soup.

The Sliced Abalone with Mushroom was probably the most common dish in any set menu (aside from the Roasted Combo).  Nothing mind blowing³.

The Braised Lapu-Lapu Hong Kong Style was something different.  Usually you get the steamed fish with light soy sauce⁴.  If you didn’t derive it from the dish’s name, this was a braised variety with pork belly.  They wanted to infuse the flavor from the fat of the pork with the fish you see.  It was good, but I like my steamed fish with light soy sauce.  Most of us felt the same way.

Probably my favorite dish of the night was the Pan Fried Fillet of Beef.  I love beef and I love the fattiness and the flavor of this dish.  I really couldn’t get enough of this.

Pair that shit up with the Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf and you’ve really got a winner.  But the beef was really good that plain rice would do.

The Baked Crab with Butter in Hot Pot was something else.  Usually it’s a steamed version of crabs in set menus that’s why I stay away from them.  I mean seriously.  Steamed crabs.  Not even steamed with garlic or soy sauce.  Chinese restaurants really need some infusion of creativity.  I mean, haven’t we graduated with steaming fucking up things like burgers?  Unless it’s deep fried with a shitload of garlic and chili, I leave it the fuck alone!  This variety, though, is something I’d chomp on these all day.  I was really full at this point but it’s baked with butter!  Butter is like bacon.  It makes things taste a lot better.

When they say “Special Dessert,” it’s actually not that special.  It looked like a red bean soup, but I think it’s kind of like a red / black rice type of thing.  Either way, it’s impossible to hate this dish (or love it for that matter) because it doesn’t taste like anything.  Seriously.  It’s like eating edible paper — it wasn’t even bland; it had no taste at all.

The Two Pastries were simply an almond jelly like dish and a buchi like dish served with hot pumpkin inside.  The jelly was OK and I have to say that I love the pumpkin pastry.  I hate eating pumpkin, but this one was really nice.

Overall, it was a really interesting and satisfying meal.  It’s a bit more expensive that the usual set menu, but if there’s anything to be said, it’s that it’s not your usual Chinese set either.

Li Garden Sharks Fin Seafood Restaurant 2012-02-24

urns out that the day wasn’t so bad after all.  But it gets even better.  My uncle read about this promo about a new Chinese restaurant along Macapagal Ave. and we heard it was actually pretty good.  Now if there are a bunch of harsher food critics (especially of Chinese food), it would definitely be …