6.232 The New Spread – Pilot

6.232

25 (Tue) August 2015

The New Spread – Pilot

3.25

at Golden Fortune

-Ermita, Manila-

with various K staff and guests

Always a highlight of the meal, the Minced Pork & Eggplant in Hotpot (4.0) here is excellent.  Though I’m generally not a fan of eggplant, which can get mushy if not prepared properly, the strips here are cooked to firm perfection.  And though I’m generally not a fan of minced pork, which usually just gets in the way without contributing much, the bits here provide a nice textural contrast to the eggplant and add substance to the dish.  The thick brown sauce is amazing with rice.  One of this restaurant’s best dishes.

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While the restaurant isn’t equipped with shot glasses — beer being the only booze on the menu — the small condiment dishes work.  

Following the boss’s recent decision to cease hosting dinners at Seafood Market (see most recently 6.198 Jumbo Prawns with Broccoli…), the new venue has been tentatively selected as Golden Fortune (see most recently 6.030 Sauteed Croco Meat).

Designed by the boss himself, the new spread features many dishes that we are already familiar with, plus a few more.

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Steamed Suahe (2.0) — personally, I don’t like peeling shrimp at the table, but this is the boss’s favorite, so it’ll remain a mandatory item.
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Shark’s Fin Soup (1.0) — the sustainability and ethical issues aside, the soup was bland and fishy, the one clear miss of the meal.
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Shrimp Balls (3.0) — nice, if unremarkable.
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Bamboo Shells in Taosi (3.0) — aka “razor clams” (English) or “mat jogae (맛조개)” (Korean).
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Scallops with Broccoli (3.0) — not as good as Maria Orosa (see generally 6.200 Scallops with Broccoli) or Li Li (see generally 6.211 Scallops with Broccoli), but good enough.
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Squid with Salt & Pepper (3.5) — personally, I’d prefer this over the shrimp balls above, both being deep-fried, but the boss loves both, so both will probably remain on the rotation.
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Soya Cake with Three Kinds Mushroom (4.0) — the perennial favorite.
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Sauteed Asparagus with Garlic (3.0) — simple, classic.
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Steamed Garoupa with Soy Sauce (3.0) — the Cantonese banquet staple.
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Yeung Chow Fried Rice (2.0) + Garlic Rice (3.25)
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Dessert (3.0) — on the house.

Tonight’s pilot implementation received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the food itself, though perhaps we’d ordered too much.  We will continue to improve and expand upon the selection, and adjust the amounts accordingly.

Beyond taste, quality, and variety, which I find to be superior overall to that of Seafood Market (see generally 4.263 Parros Clams…), I am most looking forward to the consistency that the menu here has to offer.

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