TOPAZ HORIZON

The OK! staff loves to eat and when we have a particularly looooong meeting, we have to eat. And Chow Fun Modern Chinese Bistro in San Juan is our meeting place! I was supposed to blog about this fabulous Chinese restaurant months ago but, well, life got busy. But here it finally is!
My team. You all already met them a few posts back. But just to refresh your memory, that's (from left) Red, Elaine, Lana, Joanna, Sandra and Fran (read Frannywanny's review of Chow Fun). Not in photo are Kabbie and Mary Love. Oh, and me!

Here I am! This is really a long delayed post because look at the baby. Let's see, Iñigo is almost 3 months old here. You've seen this photo before, in my Photo Dump! post.

The rest of my photos are of a more recent trip. Here we are on our way to Chow Fun. It's best to arrive early so you can get parking, which is just on the street.

We arrived early! That's us reflected in the mirror.

Okay, I took photos of the food but I was really hungry (plus I had a baby in my arms) so my hand must've been shaking because all my photos were blurry! Sorry, hindi ako food blogger haha but let me make it up to you with my descriptions. I'm pretty good at describing taste!

Anyway, I grabbed photos from the Facebook page of Chow Fun—with permission! The photos are much better than my blurry, dark ones, which is good so you can better appreciate the super sarap menu!
First thing we ordered: the Chinese Fun-due. It's baby squid, radish cakes, fish balls all breaded or battered and served with bubbling hot dips of curry cream cheese (in photo) and sweet chili sauce. This really whets the appetite so if you're on a diet, beware!

Another item on the menu that will ruin your diet? The awesome Shanghai Duck Rolls! I can snack on these all day. Crispy, crunchy then really tasty fillings! And to add to what's already fantastic, the rolls come with the perfect dips of orange sauce, vinaigrette and hot sauce!

Okay, okay, it gets better. This here is the Sour Caramel Pork. Tender pork bites bathed in a crunchy sweet and sour marinade and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I just love the yin and yang of this dish—sweet and sour, tender and crispy, all delicious. I love this. I really truly do.

But I love this more: the Chow Fun Chicken Fry. Best fried chicken ever! Side story: When Vince and I started dating, I've never really gone out. House, school, church—that was my life. So when Vince took me to restaurants, I didn't know how to order! He gave me a really helpful tip, "If you don't know what to get, always get the house specialty. That's the one with the restaurant's name attached to it."

So when I saw that Chow Fun had Chow Fun Chicken Fry on their menu, I had to try it. And yes, their fried chicken does make chowing super fun! I know it's Chinese but I found it very Pinoy—crispy skin, juicy meat, and it's a mix of salty and sweet. Really good. Argh, I got hungry just remembering this chicken!!! Next dish!

I'm a veggie lover. I always try to have my meals with vegetables or else I won't be satisfied. The X.O. Vegetables dish happily satisfied me. The greens are succulent and fresh and there's a generous dollop of... I actually don't know what is that Chow Fun poured over the veggies but whatever it is, it sure added happiness!

Of course, since we're Pinoys, we never eat anything without rice. I'm a plain rice kinda gal but, upon Fran's enthusiastic recommendation, I tried the Duck Fried Rice. Grabe. Kanin pa lang, ulam na! It's generously tossed with lots of chopped up goodies and topped with minced duck sauce.

For the next stuff we ate, I have no photos (there are no pics on Chow Fun's Facebook page either!), which is such a big boo-boo, because much as I loved the kanin and ulam, it was dessert I enjoyed the most! When you eat at Chow Fun, make sure you finish off your meal with their Dark Chocolate Buchi and Reese's Pieces Buchi. OMG. OMG! One serving is three big balls of buchi, and inside awaits a rich hot chocolate sauce that spurts in your mouth when you bite into the chewy, sesame-smothered shell. Absolutely orgasmic! I swear, hindi enough ang one serving. I always order 2 or 3 servings of this!!!

I also order 2 servings of their special Haw Flakes Pastry. Okay, you guys, this Haw Flakes Pastry is the stuff dreams are made of. It's a big square of fluffy pastry filled with melted haw flakes. Then you dip this heavenly thing into a sauce made of five spices. The sauce surprised me because I use five spices for marinating meat. This dessert is just divine.

Sigh! I love eating at Chow Fun! I love their decor, too. I love the generous space and the chairs and upholstered booths. I usually just put Iñigo behind me (haha) so I can eat. Don't fret—I hold onto him!

I'm not posing—I'm holding on to Iñigo! Oh, see the brown bags? They're mine. Take out for Vince!

Bagong gising Iñigo! That's how comfy the seats are. He's almost 5 months old here.

(My outfit details here!)

You can tell from our photo that we love Chow Fun. So burpy busog!

Chow Fun is on Jose Abad Santos St. in Little Baguio, San Juan. You can see it from Wilson St., it's just right at the bungad. Enjoy!


*all food photos and Chow Fun door photo are from Chow Fun Facebook page, used with permission.