Author: Rochelle Sy Chua

I’ve been bugging my mom and her friends for us to have dinner at Suzhou Dimsum.  I remember when we went to Sky Dragon to celebrate mooncake festival, I was even saying that we should have after dinner at Suzhou Dimsum (it was just in the same street).  They didn’t give in to my request but promised me that we would have dinner soon at Suzhou Dimsum.  We finally did last weekend, wheeee!!!!!!!

I was really was so excited and I think my mom was too!  I guess my excitement was contagious? hahaha!  Anyhow, we ordered a lot, as in a lot!  Well, it was a party of 8 and everyone was hungry that time.  With the menu price of Suzhou dimsum, we didn’t have to worry about having a huge bill.  Ended up, my mom’s friend who owns the place treated us.  He wasn’t there but he told his manager to let him take care of the bill… awww.. My thanks to you if you read this 🙂

Here are the yummy dishes that we ordered, there were some that needed 2nd rounds, it was that good (i.e., onion pancake & xiao long pao):

• Xiao Long Pao (Php 80)

One of the best mini siopao being served in the Philippines.  Pretty cheap too!  Why did I say so?  It’s because it’s close to the real thing (the ones being sold in Beijing, China).  Of course, nothing beats the original but Suzhou Dimsum’s version is pretty good already.  I suggest you use your spoon when getting it coz you might break the covering and all the sauce will spill out.

• Shallot Oiled Pan Cake (Php 80)

This is a must order!!!  You should not miss this super delicious chinese-style pan cake.  I’m not sure what made it so delicious, maybe the onion leeks?  I’m not really sure, I just know that I cannot get enough of it.  We finished one order but we ordered another round of it.

• Spicy Chicken Feet (Php 120)

I got scared when this dish arrived in our table.  I was so used to seeing chicken feet that is colored orange and there I saw color white!   Yaiks!  I did try to taste, it actually tasted okay but my fear just didn’t subside hahaha!  My mom loved this though.

• Homey toufu (Php 40)

Tofu with pork with Suzhou Dimsum’s special sauce poured on top.  With such a treat, I believe Php40 is just wayyy to cheap for the homey toufu.  The dish felt like tofu dumpling hahaha, uhmm, instead of having a wanton wrapper, the pork was wrapped with tofu.  Am I making sense? 😛

• Fried Fish (Php 80)

Pampano is the fish they used.  Not really a fan of this dish.  It’s basically fried fish with sauce drizzled on top.  The fish is not really one of my favorites to eat, but the sauce was okay.

• Fried Spareribs w/ Salty Spicy (Php 220)

A tasty dish that was presented in a rather simple manner, which made it perfect actually. I loved it!  What I especially like in this dish was that the meat they used wasn’t fatty.  I love the perfect amounts of seasoning that went into this dish.  Other restaurants usually put the fatty parts of the meat in this dish.  Just glad Suzhou Dimsum didn’t follow suit.

• Bamboo Spicy Shredded Pork (Php 180)

Not a fan of bamboo shoots but this one did taste good.  One warning though, it’s a bit spicy.  If you love spicy food, you might want to consider ordering this one.  The spices actually make this dish very complex and tasty if you like this type of dish.  Overall, it was a successful and appetizing dish, just too bad that I don’t like bamboo shoots altogether.

• Mustard Vegetable Fried Rice (Php 120)

I don’t understand why this dish wasn’t a favorite among the group.  Come to think of it, I think I was the only one who enjoyed this fried rice.  My mom complained that it was too oily.  I felt it tasted good and having those veggies cooked together with rice was a great idea.. I believe it was a delish creation.  Oh well, we can’t please everybody.  As for me, this dish was a winner!

• Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup (Php 130)

I remember that noodle soup had always been a favorite snack whenever in Taiwan.  Having this soup brings me back to Taiwan (not literally but it tasted like it was from there).  I asked my mom’s friend if this was just instant noodles then meat & veggies was just added.  They told me that no, it was really made by the chef.  I then concluded that Taiwan instant noodle makers are geniuses, sometimes I can’t distinguish anymore the difference between an authentic and processed one.

• Golden Corn Biscuit (Php 140)

The most unique menu item in Suzhou Dimsum.  When I saw the picture posted on the wall, I just cannot help but wonder what it looks and tastes like.  I love corn and this is something I wouldn’t wanna miss trying out.  When it came, I was in awe.  I wonder how they were able to bind all the corn kernels into triangular shaped slices.  Maybe it was starch? glucose? glue? hahaha!  Whatever it was, I liked the dish.  Best if eaten quickly when served because it tends to be very sticky after a short while.

• Fried Banana Cake (Php 90)

Another unique dish.  I remember my fiance really loving banana, to the point that he has eaten so much banana bread when we were at Plantation Bay.  I’m pretty sure he would love Suzhou’s banana cake too.  It’s basically like a banana tempura.  When I took a bite, I can just feel the aroma of banana.  We concluded they probably added banana essence into the dish.  Best to eat as dessert.

• Soya Milk (Php 35)/Wong Lo Kat Herbal Tea (Php 40)

Just listing down my recommended drinks to order when you’re at Suzhou dimsum 🙂

Wow!  We were able to eat so much that day.  I’m also very happy that they finally gave in to my long, long request of having dinner at Suzhou Dimsum.  It takes a bit of effort on my part as Manila is far away from home plus I hate the traffic and lack of parking in the small town of Manila.  Just one of my happy pleasures in life.  Hope to go back soon.

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Suzhou Dimsum
807 Sabino B, Padilla Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila, Metro Manila
(02) 309-7302

I do think that I had an overdose of Hossein’s Restaurant last week.  I went to the restaurant twice and just right after I visited a gym :O  How ironic, but how could I resist a restaurant which serves awesome beef kebabs?  Yes, it’s their beef kebabs that keeps me going back to Hossein’s (not to mention their saffron rice too!).

When you enter, you also feel the Persian vibe.  The interior design matched the overall theme of the restaurant perfectly.  I also love the great details they’ve put into each and every furniture and accessory.  What a great sight.  It’s as if you get transported to a whole new country or even new era too.

I do have a certain complaint though.  Since they’re using table cloth, it does get dirty easily.  During my 1st visit, I saw some booger (‘kulangot’ in tagalog) in the table cloth.  It was just too yucky!  I wonder how many more kinds of bacteria are in those.. I really just can’t imagine.  So I hope they could maintain it  better.  Good thing, we just transferred  and I was still craving so badly for their kebabs!

Here is what we had during my last 2 visits at Hossein’s:

• Roti Channai (Php 120)

I loved this!!  Basically a puffed bread (I bet fried), served with channai sauce blended with Indian spices.  We don’t need anything else to mix this with.  Just the bread with the sauce will already satisfy your taste buds.

• Lassie (Php 120)

Lassie is always a drink that is usually recommended to you if you go to a Persian restaurant.  A Lassie basically is a yoghurt drink that is both a bit salty and sweet.  My mom ordered this and told me she liked it.  I’m not a fan of yoghurt that’s why I never dare try it and if you noticed, I haven’t featured any yogurt places yet in this blog.

• Beef Kebab Kubideh (Php 315)

Hossein’s Beef Kebab Kubideh is my main reason why I keep going back to the restaurant.  No matter if I feel it’s too expensive, just being able to eat this dish makes it really worth it.  It’s 2 sticks of juicy grilled ground beef seasoned with Hossein’s special seasoning.  You can eat it together with the white & chili sauce & tomatoes but I can eat it without the sauce.  It still tasted so perfect!  I usually forget my diet whenever I have this dish in front of me.  It’s just too good to pass up.

• Mixed Kebab II (Php 620)

If this is your 1st time to dine at Hossein’s, I would suggest you order their mixed kebabs.  This at least would give you an idea which kebab to order when you do decide to go back.  I wanted my mom and my best friend to try the different kebabs that Hossein’s offer so I opted for Mixed Kebab II.  This dish consist of ground beef, tenderloin & chicken kebabs.  The winner for this dish is the ground beef but chicken is a near 2nd place.  The tenderloin was not our type, the meat was too dry and hard for us.

• Fish Dopiaza (Php 530)

I did not like this dish.  I guess partly because I’m not a fan of curry but mostly because the fish wasn’t fresh in my opinion.  My friend liked it though.  Fish, pepper & onions are the main ingredients in this dish cooked in a thick curry sauce.

• Saffron Rice (Php 168)

Another favorite of mine.  I believe they use basmati rice for this dish.  Basmati is a famous rice from India, basically long-grained and fragrant 🙂  They cooked this together with saffron & butter.  Truly perfect, I can totally eat this alone.  It was that delicious!

• Baclava (Php 80)

When my friend saw this in the menu, she said she would order this for dessert.  She said she tried it in 2 other restaurants and it was good.  She was curious to find out if Hossein’s version was good too.  Baclava is a mid-eastern dessert made of pistachios, Filo pastry and sprinkled with rose syrup.  I took a bite and felt it was basically a cinnamon pastry.  I asked my friend what her verdict was, which of the 3 restaurants serve the best baclava and she told me, “Hossein’s”.

This is not the first time that I’ve blogged about Hossein’s restaurant.  If I remember it correctly, I blogged about it twice (Hossein’s in Makati & Shomal in Trinoma).  One in each year hahaha!  Just goes to show how how addicted I am with their beef kebabs!  I don’t think there’s a cure for it or If I ever want to be cured for my never-ending craving for awesome kebabs.

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Hossein’s Restaurant
2nd Level C-201 Serendra, Bonifacio High Street, in front of fully book, Global City, Taguig, Philippines.
(02) 856-06-32

We usually welcome our new hires through a free lunch subsidized by the company.  Last week, we treated our new colleague to a restaurant near our office named Malcolm’s Place.  I’ve eaten quite a few times at the restaurant and I’ve always had this impression that it serves good food but waiting for our order to arrive takes really long, like ages.  Since it has been a long time since I last visited, I assumed that their service may have improved.

When you enter Malcolm’s Place, the open kitchen is just right there occupying most of the 1st floor.  There are only a few seats in the 1st floor that we always tend to go up to dine.

I was so excited to try out Malcolm’s Place again.  If ever you do come across the restaurant, don’t forget to order their wagyu dishes as it’s their specialty.  No matter if it’s their wagyu sandwiches, pasta, burger or salisbury steak, you’ll never go wrong.

While we waited for our orders, we were given free snacks to chew on.  I love this but it was extremely oily.  I guess they didn’t have time to drain the oil.  It was done perfectly before though when we last dined there.  I wish they would work on this.  Even though it’s given for free, it’s best that they also provide a good appetizer.  It also makes up for the whole customer dining experience.

The ff. are what we ordered:

• Grape Escape (Php 110)

What a nice name, Grape Escape.  Maybe it means escaping the world by drinking grape juice hehehe.  It’s basically it, a grape shake.  Freshly made, as expected 🙂

• Beef Stroganoff (Php 390)

Their specialty wagyu beef cooked with mushrooms, red wine-cream sauce & pasta.  Served with toasted bread.  Presentation was so nice that my colleague hesitated for a moment before he started eating.

• Steamed John Dory Fillet (Php 290)

When you’re on a healthy diet, fish is usually the meat of choice when it comes to ordering.  As much as wagyu is a preferred order in Malcolm’s, their fish also tastes really good.  Cooked with onion & leeks, with butter sauce & garlic rice on a side.  It’s a pretty simple, light, yet substantial dish.  Steamed fish has always seemed to pair well with some sort of butter sauce, and having the leeks incorporated in the dish also gives it that added touch of flavor not normally found in many steamed fish dishes.   Malcom’s steamed fish fillet is truly a simple but very tasty dish.

• Wasabi Steak Sandwich (Php 350)

You love wagyu but you also love wasabi?  Then this sandwich is for you as it has both of your faves 😛  A sandwich with wagyu beef, grilled onions, wasabi, mayonnaise & lettuce served with french fries.  This is definitely a dish that will satisfy.  I didn’t order this but just by looking at it, I could already imagine just how delicious it probably was.  And once again, presentation is key as this sandwich is made on a panini style ciabatta bread.  Just that extra touch which makes this sandwich stand out from the ordinary, every day sandwich.

• Wagyu Cheesesteak (Php 350)

Just the same as the previous item above, it’s wagyu beef, grilled onions, bell peppers, mozarella cheese & cheddar cheese.  I bet this is their most-ordered dish.  In our table alone, there were 3 people who ordered Wagyu cheesesteak.  After we finished eating (well, them, I didn’t get to eat, I’ll go into detail at the later part of this post), I checked, no leftover from either one of them.  What can I say?  Must be a very delicious & yummy dish!

• Salisbury Steak (Php 345)

Malcolm’s own version of salisbury steak.  I was able to take a bite, boy, it was sooooooooo good!  Well, what can I say?  It was a wagyu beef patty cooked with mushroom sauce.  Perfect, this is my favorite among their wagyu specialty dishes.  Very tasty & sinfully yummy!

• Grilled Sausage (Php 360)

Last but not the least, my order of grilled sausage.  It’s really saddening as I try to remember my experience with it.  Anyway, let me describe the food first and narrate later of my experience.  This was basically 2 pieces of italian sausage fried.  Not sure if the sausage was home-made but anyhow, it tasted good.  I wish there wasn’t too much oil but I think boiling sausage won’t taste as good as frying it.

Now, it’s time for me to share my disappointing experience with the service of Malcolm’s Place.  When I ordered the Grilled sausage, the waiter asked me what side dish I wanted to go with it.  I answered mashed potato.  After an hour, my order still hadn’t arrived.  I also noticed the other guests in a separate table following up with their order and also saw their disappointed faces wasting so much time waiting for their order.  I also remembered that it was also our complaint before with the restaurant but I never thought that after 2 years, they would still not have changed that aspect of their restaurant experience. 🙁

I waited still but after an hour, my order still hadn’t arrived.  My colleagues were done with theirs and was already planning to go back to the office.  We called for the bill and followed up with my order.  The waiter went back and apologized that he forgot my order.  They had already started cooking the sausage and said that they would serve shortly.  I asked them to pack it instead, since I decided to just have it as a take it out.  When I saw my order, they gave me the wrong side dish, I asked for mashed potato but I was given garlic rice.  I didn’t complain anymore as the damage had already been done.

• My order was forgotten
• waited for an hour and
• when my order came, I was given a wrong side dish.

I love their takeout packing though.  It makes you feel that you had a premium meal.  Simple but very elegant.

When we went down, we also heard another customer fuming mad about the service.  Complained that it took forever for her order to arrive.  I share her sentiments but I was just too tired to raise my concerns.  It was an old complaint.  We experienced it 2 years ago.

This reminds me of Shakey’s which has the best tasty food but awful customer service.  I wish Malcolm’s would work on their service, I guess maybe make it more efficient.  Their food is awesome but if they don’t improve on their service, they might lose some customers, or maybe they already have.  I will still go back but will make sure that I have lots of time to kill when I go back to Malcolm’s Place & enjoy their yummy wagyu dishes (especially salisbury steak, yumyum!).  Great food, oftentimes though will not be enough for the success of a restaurant.  Keep it up, and not even their Wagyu beef will save them.

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Malcom’s Place
108 H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 844-0000