Chef Choi Bistro -- Manila's Cafe de Coral?

We don't normally go to Megamall to shop around. Out of convenience, Jojo and I often stick to malls found in the Makati, Taguig, and Pasay area. But because we had to meet up with somebody there, we thought it would be a great idea to stay a little longer and explore this mall.

It was lunch time and we wanted to try a restaurant that you could only find at Megamall. We walked around for quite a bit before finding a Chinese restaurant on the upper ground level called Chef Choi Bistro. It just opened and they were still on their soft opening. The restaurant caught our eye pretty fast because of the large pictures of succulent-looking Hainanese Chicken and stir fries and barbecued meat near the entrance. Whoever did the food styling of these pictures did an excellent job. After taking our seat, we saw a handful of other people who caught sight of the pictures and immediately had to stop. Just like in a trance, with their eyes still transfixed on the pictures, their feet quickly led them to the cashier to order. ;-)

Upon entering Chef Choi, the restaurant immediately reminded me of one place -- Hongkong's Cafe de Coral. It was like deja vu. When I worked in Hongkong, Cafe de Coral was a restaurant that I used to frequent. The sights and smells of both places were quite similar. In fact, the food that they served were similar too -- if not completely identical. Heck, they presented their menu the same way! In both places, they had a sort of placard for each menu item which they slid onto this clear plastic case placed against the wall. If they run out of the menu item, it's very easy to remove it on the list so as to not cause any confusion for the customers.

Jojo ordered the Baked Porkchop (P125) and I, the Four Treasures Roast Rice with Soup (P149). For our beverages, we both got the Hongkong Iced Lemon Tea (P40). Actually, I wanted bottled water. But when we were there, the cashier said that they were still waiting for the boxes of bottled water to be delivered. Oh yeah. They're still on a soft opening.

After about ten minutes, our food and drinks were served. The first thing that we noticed were the huge servings. There was a lot of rice to go with the viand. Definitely reminiscent of the food served at Cafe de Coral. I was a tiny bit disappointed though when I got my food. In the picture above the cashier, their Four Treasures Roast Rice came with four pieces of Bok Choy and not just one! ;-( Oh and the skin on the chicken looked crispy. Mine wasn't. ;-(

What Jojo and I liked about the food is its lack of MSG. The food might be a bit on the bland side but it's not anything that a bit of soy sauce can't fix. I had a bite of Jojo's Baked Porkchop order and I also liked how the meat retained its crispiness from its breading. Because the order came with a ton of sauce, you wouldn't expect the meat to be crispy still. But it was. And I really liked that. So much so that Jojo and I switched plates. I took his Baked Porkchop and Jojo ate what's left of my Four Treasures Roast Rice. He preferred my order, actually. Jojo doesn't like too much sauce on his food and he's a big fan of grilled and roasted food too. Everything worked out well for the both of us. ;-)

We were given such huge servings that we both didn't get to finish our food. But I always leave room for dessert and it's too bad that Chef Choi Bistro didn't serve any. ;-( Not even those bean balls rolled in sesame seeds (butchi). Oh well. Maybe soon they will offer them too.

Jojo and I just finished off our Hongkong Iced Lemon Tea before heading out. It didn't taste like Nestea, thank God. If they added more syrup or sugar to it though, it would taste exactly like the lemon teas sold in Hongkong. It wasn't bad. Close enough. And we really liked them. Loved the glasses that they were served in too. Sooo cool. Would love to buy a whole set of it for the house. Very Ikea-ish. ;-)

Not a bad restaurant at all -- especially considering they just opened. And we were, technically, like guinea pigs. ;-) Hahaha! ;-) Regardless, Jojo and I will definitely go back to this place again. The food is cheap, the servings are huge, the service is excellent, and the food reminds us of Hongkong. All our trips to Hongkong have been fun and truly memorable. Because of this, being at Chef Choi Bistro makes us really giddy. Oh yeah. We'll definitely be back...;-)