I've been dreaming of having Hainanese Chicken Rice since October... I started this craving when Chuvaness revealed that a branch is opening here in Manila... But I couldn't find the time to check it out because I've been busy social mountaineering... Haha, yeah, attending parties here and there... I'm a socialite (dream on)!
Anyway, since it's the first day of the work week, and my calendar isn't "loaded" yet, I asked my eating buddies if they're in the mood for Hainanese... Of course I got the answer I needed... So we all went...
We arrived at 6:45pm. The place is packed. People are queuing up behind the podium, and I can see the receptionist not so pleased... She gave us our #, which is 43, and were told to wait... We asked, how long is the burden time, and she said, "it depends". So I played Angry Birds...
We just stayed in front of the restaurant and decided to wait until we hear our number called. I noticed some people decided not to wait anymore and left the place. Time check: 7:45pm. We stood outside, fronting the gardens of the Ayala Triangle. Bitten by mosquitoes.
At last, we were seated. No not yet inside... But on the waiting area... The waiting area has few chairs, that is why the front part of the restaurant looks very crowded. I think they should at least provide more seats for the waiting patrons since the mosquitoes are already a burden... Since the restaurant next door is still under construction, I believe they could at least ask permission to the management or whoever, and provide benches or plastic chairs for their waiting customers.
Time check, 8:00pm. Still on the waiting area, watching people ask the receptionist how long is the waiting time... Hearing the receptionist saying "it depends"... I really wanted to tell them that we've been waiting for 2 hours already... But I saw that the people were already pissed at the receptionist... It is because, when a lady customer approached her and had herself listed, I heard the receptionist say, Ma'am, you're already at #46... Her tone was undeniably annoying. It's as if she is warning her that it'll be hours before your number be called... Then the customer asked, how long is the waiting time? Then she said, Ma'am, it depends... The customer felt unsatisfied, she wanted to ask more, but the receptionist entertained other customer's inquiries... The lady customer got fusing mad and told her to respect her time because she queued properly and patiently waited in line just for an inquiry and all she gets is, "it depends"??? She said Thank You sarcastically, then left the podium...
Oh well... I can't blame both of them... The receptionist looked so tired already, and the lady customer looked hungry too....
I went back to check my Angry Birds...
At 8:20, finally.... We got our seats.... We were all ready for our orders, a combination of Roast and Steamed Chicken, Cereal Prawns, Sizzling Squid, and Crispy Pork (Lechon Kawali), and of course, lotsa Hainanese Rice... Unfortunately, we were informed that Cereal Prawns and Sizzling Squid are not available for almost a week already... So, we ended up with Salt and Pepper Squid and Kailan Veggies to match our chicken and Lechon...
The service was, so-so... We asked for water several times... We were supposed to have 5 bowls of soup, but gave us only 4, no tissue or napkin at the table... And, lastly, or probably the worst, we had to follow up to the waiters to serve our orders, or else, our food will be sitting on the kitchen counter for minutes...
Since we've been starving for more than 2 hours, we failed to take pictures of our food... We shamefully dug in as soon as the food started coming in...
These are the only ones that made it...
The food was great... My favorite is the Steamed Chicken... With it's ginger sauce that is so juicy and flavorful and not oily at all... Super love!!! And of course, the Hainanese Rice... I wouldn't dare tell you how much rice I ate... No no no...
Food wise, I think my palate was well satisfied... My craving was nourished and I am not disappointed at all with the food....
But the restaurant, I think it is too early to rate the performance... I could see the owners and managers last night, and undoubtedly, they were doing their best to serve their customers...
I wish them luck and hopefully, I could come back next month and expect to be served better...
