Author: Rochelle Sy Chua

It’s pretty obvious that I love eating out.  One thing you have to know is that my ultimate favorite Filipino restaurant is Barrio Fiesta.  It has been my favorite since I was a ‘lil kid.  This is mainly because of their mouth-watering dishes like Crispy Pata and Adobong Kangkong.

A few days ago, a Facebook friend posted a picture of Heart Evangelista with a big sign of Barrio Fiesta Greenhills at her back.  Heart is a famous celebrity here in the Philippines and she’s part of the family who owns the Barrio Fiesta franchise.  Seeing that picture immediately made me wanna go straight to Barrio Fiesta and sample their awesome food.  However, I had to wait for dinner time.  I called up a friend and we went to Barrio Fiesta Greenhills for a delicious dinner.

It didn’t take long for us to find the place.  It was a bit ironic that Barrio Fiesta is located beside its direct competitor.  The competitor’s entrance is located at EDSA side while Barrio Fiesta’s entrance is at the back street.  I only have eyes for Barrio Fiesta.  No other restaurant have stolen that ultimate favorite Filipino restaurant title from Barrio Fiesta in my eyes yet.

The ambiance of the Greenhills branch is far from my impression of Barrio Fiesta.  It looked like they applied the accepted design for modern restaurants.  The place was well-lighted and well-designed.  The art work displayed on the walls gives that distinction to Barrio Fiesta.

If you go to Barrio Fiesta’s Makati branch, you can see the difference when it comes to interior design.  The Makati branch has the Filipino ambiance with their tables and seats designed as a Jeepney (Philippines’ famous transportation vehicle).

No matter how different the restaurant design between Barrio Fiesta branches are, their food is just the same (even from 10-20 years ago!).  I always have the same food order whenever I visit Barrio Fiesta.  However, I wasn’t able to order everything during our visit [missed Buko Juice (Php 65) and Sinigang na Hipon (Php 356)].  I’m really in a tight budget right now but next time, I’ll be back to getting all my original favorite dishes.

• Crispy Pata – Large (Php 587)

Anyone in their right state of mind will order Crispy Pata in Barrio Fiesta.  The dish is what made the restaurant famous.  Barrio Fiesta now offers their crispy pata in three sizes, small (Php 487), medium (Php 550) and large (Php 587).  I don’t care if there was only two of us dining but large size was our order.  It was as crispy as ever!  The meat didn’t feel dry at all.  Gee, just writing this entry makes me wanna go back there again.  I must resist!

• Adobong Kangkong – Half (Php 134)

Another must-order in Barrio Fiesta is their Adobong Kangkong.  Available in different sizes: Half (Php 134) and Medium (Php 253).  What I like about this dish is that the meat and vegetables are swimming in tasty sauce.  Every spoonful was so heavenly especially when you pair it with rice.  You should try it out if you haven’t.

• Garlic Rice – Family (Php 129)

Last, but definitely not the least, Barrio Fiesta’s Garlic Rice/Sinangag.  I know this is weird but there’s just one distinct taste in this dish.  Maybe, they put a secret ingredient in the rice or they just perfected the recipe of garlic rice.  I just couldn’t get enough of it!  We even ordered their family size which is good for 4 people!  The server was recommending the cup size (Php 36) but he didn’t know that we could finish the bigger size.  It’s that good!

You have to note that I’m not in any way related to Barrio Fiesta and I paid for our own food.  I really just love Barrio Fiesta and it will always be my ultimate favorite Filipino restaurant.  Whenever I go to this restaurant, I always have this huge smile on my face.

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Barrio Fiesta
Edsa Cor. Rochester St., Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 726-7836

I always had this impression that Feng Wei Wee serves delicious food.  So when my friends asked where we can eat for dinner at Greenhills area, I recommended Feng Wei Wee.  I noticed that it was newly opened and it looked high-end, definitely a very upgraded version of their Banawe, QC branch.

As we entered the place, we immediately noticed the bakery inside the restaurant.  We initially thought that the bakery is part of the restaurant but it’s not.  It’s actually Formosa Bakery.  What’s really interesting is that the owners of Formosa Bakery and Feng Wei Wee doesn’t know each other but they share the same space.

We went there for Feng Wei Wee so we continued on and searched for seats.  We loved the ambiance!  Feng Wei Wee was well-lighted and the chairs were pretty comfortable to sit in too!  I also appreciate good customer service.  The server was ready to recommend dishes and explain what they are.  It didn’t take a long time for us to order.  I was sure that based on my previous experience with the restaurant, the food will be good.  There’s a huge difference between the 2 branches though as I remember the Banawe branch to have a canteen setup.  I wonder if they changed their style there.

Without further ado, here’s a list of our orders:

• Kong Pao Chicken (Php 250)

I was expecting something different so I was a bit disappointed when I saw the dish.  When I got to taste it, I realized I didn’t like the taste either 🙁  Don’t get me wrong.  My friends loved it!  I guess the different flavors put into Feng Wei Wee’s version of Kong Pao Chicken wasn’t something I would like.  I initially thought that the dish would have so much spice & nuts plus the chicken would be fried & crispy but I was wrong.  Oh well.

• Salt & Pepper Spareribs (Php 250)

There isn’t much difference with this dish compared to other restaurants’ version but I must say that Feng Wei Wee cooked it perfectly.  It has the perfect combination of spices.  The pork was crispy too!  The important thing for me is that the meat wasn’t chewy like a bubble gum (I’m very particular with that).

• Cuchay Tokwa (Php 200)

I’m delighted that we followed the server’s advice for us to order Cuchay Tokwa.  Cuchay is basically a type of vegetable and tofu is obviously tofu 😛  I loved the combination of the two.  I wish we could have more but the serving is only good for 2-3 persons.

• Taiwan Fried Rice (Php 250)

Most of the fried rice dishes in the menu is good for one.  As for sharing, we had a choice between Yang Chow and Taiwan fried rice.  Taiwan fried rice was recommended.  The rice was definitely a tasty one.  It had so many ingredients in it, like chinese sausage, onions, eggs and some other stuff I can’t name anymore.  I do admit that I love to share my foodie experience through this blog but I’m really not an expert with food and worse, I can’t even cook.  So I hope you don’t expect too much from me.

• Jasmine Tea (free)

Last, but definitely not the least, the Jasmine Tea.  Yes, it was a service tea and freely served.  But the jasmine tea was just too good!  Even if we were just 6, we requested for two tea pots in our table.

You see, even my friends readily posed for the camera with the Jasmine tea!  This picture should pass as a marketing material hahaha!

I’m just glad Feng Wei Wee has turned into an established restaurant.  Good job to the owners!  Before I forget, it’s Feng Wei Wee and not Feng Wei Wei (I had it misspelled for the longest time!  just check my previous post) 😛

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Feng Wei Wee
Unit 2, Madison Square, 229 Wilson St., Greenhills, San Juan City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 571-8955