A few days ago, I read a horrifying tweet from the Boyfriend saying that he prefers Chowking over any other Chinese restaurants, even the fine dining ones. First thing that came to mind is that I must be doing something wrong. We haven't had the chance to dine in a lot of Chinese restaurants but heck, even Hap Chan has better food than Chowking. So because of that incident, I decided it was finally time to go to Causeway. Ever since college, I've wanted to try their dimsum, but I always thought their food was expensive. Apparently, it wasn't.
Ordering dimsum in Causeway was made fun by the waiters going around the restaurant with their carts full of steaming bamboo containers. For that night, we decided that we're only going to order rice and dimsum, so as to maximize our budget. We ordered their Yang Chow Fried Rice (175/small). It was ordinary but we had no complaints since it made our dimsum seem more special.
All orders of dimsum cost 68 pesos (except for the Hakaw). The Chicken Feet with Taosi has a good balance between sweet and salty with a nice spicy kick. It was very tender and the meat literally falls off the bone. Our second dimsum has a complicated name that I can't recall. It's a mixture of dory, kani, shrimps and mushrooms wrapped in lettuce and steamed with a nice seafood broth. The flavor of the mushrooms can be a little overpowering, but you can still distinguish the different flavors and textures of each component.
For our next round of dimsum, we ordered the Japanese Siomai and the Xiao Long Bao. The meat from the Japanese Siomai was a little mushy, but I enjoyed the added flavor brought about by the seaweed wrapper. As for the biggest disappointment of the night, Boyfriend and I agreed that it was definitely the Xiao Long Bao. From the minute I saw it, I almost immediately felt regret. It had absolutely no broth, and even the meat was dry.
These last three dimsum dishes are the reason why we came back to Causeway three days after our first visit. First is the Crab Roe Siomai - your regular siomai with ground pork and shrimp, topped with crab roe. Causeway's version is a hundred times better than Boyfriend's favorite Chowking soimai, even he had to agree with that. Next is the Sharksfin Dumpling which was perfect by itself but it's also great with soy sauce, chili and rice. We are Filipinos after all. And lastly, the Hakaw (88/4 pcs). I've tasted several versions of this dish but I was never able to appreciate it until I had a taste of Causeway's. The shrimp was plump and juicy and the translucent wrapper has a melt in your mouth consistency. Truly one of a kind.
We pass by Causeway Seafood Restaurant's branch in Libis almost everyday. If we only knew the food there would be this good, we would've driven there every chance we got. It's a great place with reasonably priced, yet delightfully tasty dimsum. It's perfect for couples on a budget. On our second visit, we actually just ordered five dimsum dishes and two cups of plain rice, and we paid less than 200 each. Causeway Seafood Restaurant has branches in Banawe, Congressional Avenue, Timog and Libis.
Seriously? He said CHOWKING is better than the fine dining ones?!? I will strangle him! LOL!
He's from the south. He's supposed to know about Bellevue's eat all you can dimsum. A bit pricey at 650 but it's WORTH IT!
Go to Phoenix Court in Bellevue.
(I also don't know why my name says "Bella C.")
Bella! :)) We'll try that next time!
This is a good common sense Blog. Very helpful to one who is just finding the resources about this part. It will certainly help educate me.
matry nga dito =)
Do try Peking Garden's Hakaw. They're to die for. :)
We'll try that next time! We've only tried their xiao long bao. :)