Luckily for me, Tao Yuan Restaurant specializes in Singaporean cuisine, so the dishes are not at all like the usual fare you'd find in lauriats.
The first thing we ordered was Peking Duck served three ways (P750 for half, +P100 for being served three ways). The first way is pictured above left -- slices of tender Peking Duck with shiny crispy skin to be wrapped in thin and round pita-like bread with sticks of carrot, cucumber, and green onion. Alas, we should have been ordering the much talked about Hainanese Chicken of Tao Yuan Restaurant but the Peking Duck being served at the neighboring tables proved too hard to resist. The second way is pictured above right -- Peking Duck ribs fried with lots of crunchy minced garlic and chili peppers. The dish is similar to Salt and Pepper Spare Ribs, a popular short order in most Chinese places. The third way is the usual ground Peking Duck meat to be wrapped in cabbage leaves -- I neglected to take a photo.
Next up were the Singaporean Chili Crab (ordered by the grams, thus I have no idea how much it cost) and the Yang Chow Fried Rice (P198 for the small size). The Singaporean Chili Crab was basically one huge crab drenched in sweet spicy chili sauce then served with fried mantou bread on the side. It was delicious to say the least, even our 8-year old son loved it. The bread and the chili sauce go so well together. The Yang Chow Fried Rice "small" serving was big enough to feed 3 adults and 2 kids, so I'd say it's quite a steal for P198.
Lapu-Lapu with Mango Sauce (pictured above left) and Singaporean Spare Ribs (pictured above right) are both not found in the menu, thus I also have no idea how much they cost. Lapu-Lapu with Mango Sauce is a nice break from the usual Steamed Garoupa in Soy Sauce served by traditional Chinese restaurants. For starters the fish is deep fried to a crisp and then topped with fresh mango strips served salad style on a bed of tangy sweet sauce. The Singaporean Spare Ribs are actually cubes of pork basted in honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds. From experience, spare ribs are usually full of bones and hard to eat. The server assured me this is not the case with their Singaporean Spare Ribs and she was right. There weren't any bones and the meat was so tender our kids devoured them like there was no tomorrow.
Tao Yuan Restaurant provides complimentary dessert to patrons, in our case it was the Grass Jelly with Lychee (pictured above left). Grass Jelly, more commonly known as black gulaman here in the Philippines, is a hit-or-miss type of thing. Either you like it or you don't. I thought it was a good ending to a very flavorful meal since it was not sweet and it felt like a neutralizer for all the tasty dishes we had for dinner. The kids hated it though, so we took up the server's offer for a variety of cup desserts. She had a total of three types of cup desserts, all new and yet unnamed since they were in the process of testing them that night. My guess is the one pictured above right is Mango Mousse Cake. The cup desserts weren't really anything special but the kids liked them better than the Grass Jelly with Lychee.Never ever go to Tao Yuan Restaurant without a reservation or you'll have to stand at the door area and wait to be seated for a loooong time. There are hordes of Chinese nationals from other countries in this restaurant which is a good indication of how delicious and authentic the food is. As soon as a group leaves, another group replaces it so there is hardly an empty table in the house. Ambiance is typical of a Chinese restaurant -- crowded and boisterous. It's great for group dining since the servings are for sharing and the prices are very reasonable for the high quality of food you are getting.
Special thanks to our Ninang for introducing us to Tao Yuan Restaurant.
Tao Yuan Restaurant
508-512 Gen. Malvar cor. A. Mabini St., Malate, Manila
522-7009 or 10
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