Taiwan in Ortigas: Fat Fook Manila ~ Simple Delicious Food Recipes

I love how my favorite restaurants are opening branches closer to home. One of my favorites to date is Fat Fook, a Taiwanese restaurant in SM North Edsa. And after more than a year, it finally opened its second branch in Robinsons Galleria.

Hello, Fat Fook.

Located at the newly renovated wing of Robinsons Galleria, Fat Fook retained its glass facade and quirky ceramic plates accents.

I got there a bit past 12 on a Saturday and the place only had a few occupied seats. Diners started to come in a couple of minutes later.

For this visit, we ordered Pork Xiao Long Bao (PHP148, 5 pieces | PHP238, 8 pieces), Salted Egg Xiao Long Bao (PHP148, 5 pieces| PHP238, 8 pieces), Giant Xiao Long Bao (PHP188), Taiwan Style Fried Noodles (PHP228), Taiwanese Sausages (PHP328), Kiampong (PHP358), Salt and Pepper Chicken Cubes (PHP268), Pork Chop Rice Set (PHP328), Spicy Beef Set (PHP348) and Chicken Chop Noodle Set (PHP298). The set menus are available with rice or noodles for carbs. I also got my favorite Wintermelon Tea (PHP98) while my other foodie friends went with Flavored Milk Tea (ranges from PHP118 to PHP138).

First dishes served were the baskets of xiao long bao and I immediately took some as soon as everyone was done taking photos.

I was looking forward to the lovely salted egg taste of the Salted Egg Xiao Long Bao but the taste was very faint. I then remembered that its North Edsa branch gave us an extra serving of salted egg sauce. I guess it was really light to begin with but I just overloaded mine with sauce before.

Its Pork Xiao Long Bao was great. I loved that the grounded pork was flavorful and the broth was held well by the wrapper.

I wasn't able to sample the Giant Xiao Long Bao but I was told that it tasted just like its smaller counterpart.

I was so giddy to feast on my favorite Taiwanese Sausages with raw garlic slices. It is one of dishes I always order at Fat Fook. Its snappy texture, sweet yet savory flavor and garlicky taste are always spot on and never fails to bring me back to my first visit to Taiwan.

I had mixed feelings about the Salt and Pepper Chicken Cubes. Just like the Taiwanese Sausages, I always get this quick snack from Fat Fook but this time around, it was rather bland. I was told though by some of my companions that the chunks they got were seasoned well. Perhaps it was just not mixed well? Maybe I should make it a habit to shake the whole basket before indulging in it.

An alternative to white rice is Kiampong, Asian rice dish. Though more flavorful than plain rice, I was hoping to get more nutty taste from it. But this one was light in flavor.

It was my first time to try Fat Fook's Taiwan Style Fried Noodles and I liked it. Though the taste was also on the light side, I loved its slightly crunchy texture that went well with some of the dishes we ordered.

The highlight of our visit was Fat Fook's new set menus particularly its Spicy Beef Set.

I was iffy at first to try it out given that I have low tolerance for spicy dishes. And true enough, it was spicy! But it was the addicting kind of heat. I couldn't stop myself from eating more despite gasping for water. The succulent beef chunks with that divine sweet yet spicy flavor reminded me of hot mechado for some reason.

We also tried the Pork Chop and Chicken Chop sets and both were bang for the buck too for its serving size. Though both also had problem with seasoning, this is something Fat Fook can easily resolve. I was impressed too with how its Area Manager took note of all of our comments.

Before heading out, we sampled Fat Fook's latest To Go food concept. We tried Taro Fish Balls (PHP128), Sea Urchin Balls (PHP148) and Crab Roe Buns (PHP158).

All had this delectable slight chewy texture making it fun to eat. And true to its Taiwanese street food concept, these food items are served on a lined paper bag and some tall sticks you could use to eat it with.

One thing to keep in mind is that these dishes may look small (and cute), it tends to be heavy too. I wasn't able to enjoy much of these as I had a severe cough and I was not allowed to eat oily dishes. But I'll try it again soon.