A Taste of Taiwanese Dishes at Shang Tsu

So after being idle for a while, I decided to keep myself busy again in writing posts here on my blog. Oh, during the past months I was so busy doing lots of things, most of the time I was online but can’t drop by on wordpress for I can’t think of anything to write. Yeah… can’t think. 😀

Two weeks ago, hubby and I, together with my youngest sissies, went to Shang Tsu. It’s a Taiwanese Restaurant located in Tomas Morato. It’s not that I like Taiwanese food, but since I was to able to get the deal from MetroDeal (yes, t’was my first time to buy online and guess what, I bought 8 vouchers!), there’s no turning back. Each voucher cost P80 only but its actual worth was P160. Great steal right?

It was stated in the fine print that only 4 vouchers can be used per table but when we get there, we were able to use all the vouchers. Another thing was, the lady staff never asked for my ID. Oh well, after signing 8x (I wasn’t even sure if my signature were all the same.), our orders had finally arrived. All of us ordered for a set meal plus some appetizers and drinks.

Complimentary Tea

Fried Chicken Leg with authentic Taiwanese sides; bestseller (P165)

Crispy Porkchop Rice with authentic Taiwanese sides; bestseller (P165)

Stir Fried Beef w/ Black Pepper & Onion with side dishes (P165)

Sweet and Sour Fish with side dishes (P165)

Authentic Taiwanese Sides: century egg, bean curd and mixed veggies

Shredded Beef Noodle Soup (P165)

A piece of cake? Nah, it’s a tofu… (P65)

Homemade Sweet Potato Fries (P65)

Jumbo Sour Plum Juice (P90) and Taiwanese Milk Tea with ice cream (P70)

It’s my first to drink in a huge glass like this, which I believe is a vase. Sour Plum was of course, sour! The taste was too strong… Hubby had only a few sips to think he was too excited to have the jumbo drink. 😉 I hope they could make it a bit sweeter. While for my sisters who ordered for a milk tea (which has no milk literally) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (I guess) were kinda disappointed. Perhaps they were used to the taste of the commercialized milk teas which are more extravagant than this one which was plain and simple. As for me, I am not a tea lover that’s why I have no time checking out the new tea places like Happy Lemon and Cha time.

Picture.. picture!

Of course, my sissies were too busy taking pictures. Can you see the bowl of noodle soup? Hubby was so shocked upon seeing the BIG bowl. heheh.. It’s bigger than my head huh! In fact, it can by shared by four, promise! Apparently, the soup was absolutely delicious and I loved it! It has a generous amount of meat and veggies. Perfect for those who are in a diet. 🙂

I have read from other blogs that the chicken leg is a must try because of its distinct taste. Uhm… actually, I was not that satisfied (same feling when I tried Bonchon Chicken but different reasons, of course). The chicken was a bit dry. I was expecting it to be juicy but it’s not. The only thing I like about the chicken leg was the meat. It was so tasty even without the covering! No need for any sauces.  😀

A feast on our table *winks

Of course, we can’t leave the place without a group pic. That’s why I approached one of the kitchen staff to take a shot of us but a young and cute gentleman volunteered and insisted that he would take our pic istead. According to him he’s the acting manager of the restaurant and drop by there to help at times. Oh by the way, he was with his wife and new born child. 😀 That’s why I didn’t bother to ask for his name. lol

Leaving Shang Tsu

We were so full that we were not able to ingest all the foods in our table. So we had the noodles, sweet potato fries and tofu for take out. They were all placed in a paper bag. Eco-friendly resto huh! Nice. 🙂 Since 10pm was their closing time, we decided to left immediately. All in all, our dining experience here was a great one. It’s like having dinner at home. Why? Because the place is quite small and can only accommodate 20-30 persons. Ooops, I super love the homemade fries! New favorite of mine. 😀

How to get there:

From Cubao, take the jeepney bound to Quiapo then get off in Tomas Morato. Petron Station is the landmark. From the gasoline station, turn right. Keep walking until you see the Creekside Square, before the bridge. Minimum fare only.

From Quaipo, take the jeepney bound to E.Rod/St. Lukes/Cubao then get off in Tomas Morato. Petron Station is the landmark. From the gasoline station, turn left. Keep walking until you see the Creekside Square, before the bridge. Minimum fare only.

SHANG TSU: Unit 5, Creekside Square
74 Tomas Morato Ave., Barangay Kristong Hari, District 4
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Breakfast at Pan de Amerikana in Marikina

Pan de Amerikana has been the talk of the town for years now… It was been featured on Mel & Joey as far as I can remember for their life size chess pieces (Marikina) and upside down car as well as tables and chairs (Katipunan). Best pandesal, great food and nice ambiance… those were the magic words that you can hear from those people who have been there.

Since I have been hearing a lot about this place, I asked hubby to go there one Sunday for breakfast. It is an hour away from Cubao (with not so heavy traffic) and located in SSS Village in Concepcion, Marikina. A hidden paradise as what others describe it. We took a jeepney with SSS Village signboard and asked the driver to drop us off at Bay Tree. As we paid P17/head for the fare, I already thought how long it would take us to go there. Then the jeepney driver dropped us off in front of Puregold before he turned right. Based on the directions (taken from the blog of a female blogger who also went there), we were supposed to take a tricycle. We were about to take the trike when the trike driver blurted out that Pan de Amerikana was just a few steps away! Oh… how nice of him huh! 🙂

There were so many cars in front of PDA when we got there. It was only 8:30 then but it seemed that many have been there as the bakery opened at 7:00am. As we came in, there were only a few people on queue at the counter which was just across the entrance. It’s a self-service restaurant like Chowking. Pay for your order then wait for it to be served on your table. We only paid P205! Wow, it’s so cheap… 😉

PDA Menu

PDA Counter

Inside Pan de Amerikana

Hubby and I were really hungry at that time and what made us starve more were the list of foods on their menu. Hubby ordered for Tosilog and pandesal with corned beef while I ordered for Tapsilog and pandesal with tuna (bestseller). For our drinks, I opted to order for watermelon shake over iced tea which hubby ordered for.

Our table number 😉

Tosilog for P55 only

Tapsilog for P55 only

Giant pandesal with corned beef, P25

Giant pandesal with tuna (bestseller), P25

Red Iced Tea (homemade), P15/ Watermelon Shake, P30

I think the food in PDA is overrated. Why? Well… we were not quite happy and satisfied with our breakfast. According to hubby, the meat used for tocino has lots of “gatil” and it didn’t even taste good. Same with the tapa… it’s taste was far from the real tapa.  The homemade one was better than theirs, if I might say. 😦 The red iced tea made our day though! Ooops, what about the infamous pandesal of PDA? Nothing extraordinary… I hope the owner would do something to improve the taste of the foods so that the customers would keep on coming back for their delicious treats at an affordable price.

cute windmill inside PDA

CR for boys

life size chess pieces

 

chess board or chess table?

several chess collections

hanging bridge

The place is really beautiful, captivating and relaxing for it has a nice ambiance that would make your dining experience one of a kind. You can have coffee (3 in 1 @ P15) and pandesal (P7/pc) while enjoying the free wifi on your visit here early in the morning. I really love the place but not the food…

 

How to get there:

Ride a jeepney or fx with SSS Village signboard (Cubao and Stop & Shop) then ask the driver to drop you off at Bay Tree. The drop off point is Puregold Supermarket. Walk straight along the highway until you see the big windmill of Pan de Amerikana. It is around 5 minutes of walking. 😉