Cycle 5 – Item 9

14 (Tue) January 2014

Peking Duck

2.5

at China Place

(Pan Pacific Manila)

-Malate, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

w SB, NB

Try Every Restaurant in New World, Pan-Pacific, Diamond Hotels (1 of 10) (see also TERNWPPD)

Eating my way through the restaurants in the 5-star hotels within walking distance of my apartment in Manila: New World (3), Pan-Pacific (5), Diamond (2).  In contrast to the crappy food in the neighborhood, hotels ought to do better, at least in terms of quality.

China Place is an aptly named Chinese restaurant.  Menu offers all the greatest hits.   Quite expensive by local standards, most seafood/meat main dishes hovering around 1,000 pesos.

Before his flight back to Philadelphia later tonight, I had a chance to break bread with SB one last time.  We were joined by NB, an advisor from WHO HQ who’s in town for the noncommunicable disease workshop at WPRO this week.

Because SB was feeling under the weather, we decided to stay in his hotel and eat somewhere within, so we ended up at China Place.

The food was a major disappointment.  Everything was not too bad, as good as I’d expect from a small neighborhood joint.  But this was in a hotel, where the high prices would seem to promise so much more.  For example, the Peking Duck was somewhat tasty but had obviously been frozen then thawed upon order; the pancakes, judging by how they turned hard after a few minutes, had likely been microwaved.  The plain white plates didn’t help.  Oh well.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN PHILIPPINES)