Metro Manila has turned into a veritable foodie capital. Famous food concepts from around the world have set up shop in the city. Meanwhile, local entrepreneurs are also busy busting out one new innovative joint after another. Last week, I was pleasantly surprised to get a chance to stick my head out of the whirlwind of new restaurants to delve back into a classic─ RED JADE at The Manila Hotel.
The restaurant itself is fairly new, having opened its doors only in 2017. However, The Manila Hotel is as old school as it gets. Not in a bad way, but more in a nostalgic and meaningful way. I initially thought I would be having a tried and tested but boring meal. However, I was shocked to find out that the ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT DIMSUM promo at RED JADE was anything but ordinary!
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| Ashamed (diet next time) and also slightly proud that our table looked like this. What a feast! |
The meal will set you back Php988.00 per head and it includes a choice of one main dish and however many orders of dimsum you can manage to stuff yourself with. Compared to the unlimited Korean barbecue trend, one would say this is pricey. However, let’s not forget that this is hotel dining. RED JADE will never let you forget the fact that you are dining in opulence right from the moment you step in the door.
The Yap family of Manila Bulletin fame, which now owns and manages the hotel, has made sure that RED JADE does not look like an old, sticky and run-down Chinese lauriat joint. You know what I’m talking about, the one that your Ang Kong and Ah Ma insist on visiting for every single family occasion.
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| Claassic red, black and gold interiors. |
RED JADE reminds me of the nouveau rich hotels and restaurants that I have recently visited in mainland China. The difference is, the riches here aren’t exactly nouveau. At the risk of sounding crass, I have to point out that the restaurant’s walls are decorated with an expansive jade relief mural. It obviously costs millions upon millions of pesos. We’re talking about hundreds of square feet of carved jade! The red, black and gold theme gives you the classic Shanghai nights feel without the tackiness.
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| One of the many carved jade murals inside the restaurant |
DUMPLINGS
Now that we’ve set the scene, let’s talk about what’s important: the food. As I said, this is an all-you-can eat dimsum lunch. How special can a siomai and hakaw really be? The ones served here are not adorned with gold leaf nor are they wrapped in fancy-colored dimsum wrappers. The first thing that stood out to me was the sheer size of the dumplings. For scale, see my photos trying to consume a hakaw and a siomai:
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| The giant hakaw |
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| I needed at least four bites to consume one siomai |
As you can see, each piece is impossible to consume in one bite. However, aside from the sheer size, I also want to speak about the taste and quality. It’s not only size that matters after all. Each hakaw is plump and filled with sweet, fresh shrimps. I know they are very fresh because I didn’t immediately double over with a negative reaction. I am very sensitive to seafood and some bad ones can make me lose my lunch in an instant. The translucent, sticky wrapper was clearly made by someone who has extensive experience in creating crystal shrimp dumplings. The ones here became an instant favorite!
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| Hakaw Crystal Shrimp Dumplings |
The pork and shrimp siomai are equally gigantic and flavorful. There are no extenders here. Each piece is packed full of top quality meat and seafood. The subtle flavors go perfectly well with just a quick dunk in soy sauce, calamansi and chili.
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| Pork and shrimp siomai |
Of all the dumplings we tried here, I really enjoyed the Chinese vinegar dumplings. Perhaps I was drawn to this because I love xiao long bao. The sweet, deep flavor of the Chinese black vinegar worked really well with the meaty dumplings served at RED JADE.
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| Chinese vinegar dumplings |
They also have a selection of other dimsum staples like spring rolls and wontons.
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| Vegetable Spring Rolls |
For something different, don’t miss the taro cakes and the Ham Sui Kok (fried pork puff). This one reminds me of a savory mochi or tikoy filled with an asado mix. I have never had this anywhere else so please try it!
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| Ham Sui Kok |
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| Taro Cakes |
COLD CUTS
What’s great about this offer is that the selection goes way beyond your usual dumplings. I loved the roasted pork barbecue, which can also be ordered on an unlimited basis.
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| Roasted Pork |
My favorite century egg with jellyfish is also on the menu! At this point, I was already wishing I had two or three extra stomachs.
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| Century Egg with Jellyfish |
STAPLES
As part of the offer, you can also order soup, rice and noodles. I had a hearty sweet corn and crabmeat soup to kick off my meal. We also sampled some stir-fried soya sauce egg noodles and the customary yang chow fried rice.
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| Stir-fried soya sauce egg noodles |
Everything was fantastic and I think those who can’t eat a meal without their carbs will surely have their fill. You can even have a congee or a noodle soup. Personally, I would like to have them all but where shall I put them? What a dilemma!
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| Yang Chow fried rice |
MAINS
Apart from everything that’s unlimited, each diner may order one serving of a main dish. Frankly, with all the unlimited options, you will really wonder how you can eat more. For the main dish, you can have sliced chicken in Szechuan chili sauce, Crispy fried pork ribs, Sweet and Sour fish fillet or go light with Stir-fried vegetables.
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| Sweet and sour fish fillet |
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| Sliced chicken with Szechuan chili sauce |
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| Crispy fried pork ribs |
DESSERTS
I had to really restrain myself just to make sure that I have some room left for dessert. The deep-fried chocolate buchi is a decadent treat that you can’t miss. Alternatively, I also enjoyed the cute little Piggy face lava buns. So adorable!
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| Chocolate Buchi |
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| Chocolate Buchi |
I can’t wait to come back so that I could try the other items. It was impossible to sample all of them in one sitting. Luckily, this offer is available daily from 11:00 am-2:30 pm.
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| Piggy face lava buns |
Visit Red Jade restaurant at The Manila Hotel and take advantage of this offer. I swear you will thank me for it!
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