It has almost been a month since our trip to Hong Kong and while viewing our photos, I'm just missing it more and more. Admittedly, our trip was very short and if given the chance, we would probably have just extended it to a week to be able to visit more interesting food and shopping spots. While roaming around SM Megamall one weeknight, I saw a newly-opened restaurant at the Ground Floor beside Powerbooks and Kaya Korean Restaurant named Chef Choi. The interior was painted oriental red and the first thing you'll notice is the photo strip that features various mouthwatering dishes which I guess the restaurant specializes on.
Entering the restaurant, you'll see the menu board with yellow dish tags. This immediately reminded me of Hong Kong's popular fast food chains such as Cafe de Coral and Maxim's MX. Looking at the menu then at the photo strip then back to the menu, I really had a hard time choosing which one to order. Luckily, my server suggested one that looks really good. So, I took his advice and ordered the Four Treasures Roast Rice with Soup (Php. 149). Of course, to complete my Hong Kong-inspired meal, I also got the Hong Kong Iced Lemon Tea (Php. 45).
My rice bowl consists of strips of Pork Asado, four pieces of Soy Chicken, Adobo Egg and Tofu. I was shocked that one serving is actually big enough to share! The rice was very soft and fragrant however I feel that they went a little overboard in adding the sauce. The meat was tender although it still lacks in flavor. What impressed me though was the ambiance. This is a fun casual dining place with pop Chinese songs playing in the background. I even noticed that the chef is Chinese and after chatting with the server, I found out that he actually came from..where else?!..Hong Kong!
Dining at Chef Choi brought back a lot of fun memories of our trip and it even made me more determined to plan my return soon. I will definitely be back this time to try their baked rice or perhaps the spareribs this time.
Chef Choi is located at the Ground Floor of SM Megamall Building A.
