Wangfu Chinese Bistro has been in the business for three years now and has been a favorite go-to-place for authentic Chinese and Singaporean dishes in Tomas Morato. With the opening of a new branch in Serendra comes a partnership with Lee Kum Kee and bringing in the brand's consultant, Chef Pung Lu Tin.
Chef Pung has a 30-year career in the culinary industry and has numerous distinctions. It includes the International Master Chef of Chinese Cuisine award which was given to him by the World Association of Chinese Cuisine in 2006. Using Lee Kum Kee products, Chef Pung is creating new dishes to add to the Wangfu's already mouthwatering menu items.
Wangfu offers personal meal sets if you're dining alone but if you're with the family, order the 4 in 1 Cold Cuts Selection (P438) which includes slices of Century Egg, Jellyfish Salad, Pork Asado and Hainanese Chicken to start your meal. One of the best-sellers which is Richard Yap's favorite is the Salted Egg Fried Chicken (P288), tender chicken and has a coating of salted egg, adds texture with every bite into it. And since we're Asians, no meal is complete without rice and so the Seafood and Dried Scallop Fried Rice (P248) complements well with the dishes — it is fluffy rice with dried scallop floss on top.
Another best-seller is the Crunchy Sweet and Sour Pork with Lychee (P258) which although is lightly covered in its tangy sauce, the meat remains succulent and crunchy. The slightly spicy Mango Lapu-Lapu (P998) is a delight to the eyes and our tastebuds as it had ripe mango shreds on top of a deep-fried fresh Lapu-Lapu. For kids, the Cereal Prawns (P498 at 6pcs, P598 at 8pcs and P698 at 10pcs) would be a hit as it is slightly sweet, has a flaky texture and is sitting on a bed of cereals.
With all the celebrity sightings, what caught everyone's attention is the Crab in Honey Pepper Sauce which was prepared by the Singaporean Chef himself, Chef Pung Lu Tin. The chef's recipes are known for their straightforward style and distinctinve aroma which are made to suit the local taste. He actually said how Filipinos tend to go on the sweeter side when it comes to food choices.
The Crab in Honey Pepper Sauce is just one of the dishes Chef Pung Lu Tin will add to Wangfu's menu. It is a mixture of sweet and has the right amount of spiciness to it which helps awaken the tastebuds.
We got to sit down with two of the charming owners of Wangfu Chinese Bistro for a quick interview. Richard Yap, who is known for his character Sir Chief in the hit TV series, Be Careful With My Heart has always been a businessman, influenced by his father. Meanwhile, Lester Pimentel-Ong is a food entrepreneur who owns a couple of enterprises as well.
How is Wangfu in Serendra different?
Richard Yap: We are the only restaurant offering Singaporean-Chinese food here in the area. Actually, there’s another one there but they don’t offer Dim Sums.
Lester Pimentel-Ong: Our menu is different since we have items for lunch, merienda like the Dim Sum and noodles and then dinner. And then late night, there’s our dim sum again.
Before you put up a restaurant, do you research first?
RY: Of course. Sometimes we go with the gut-feel also.
LPO: Actually with this area, it was personally chosen by Richard.
RY: I was eye-ing this place for quite some time now.
Do you plan to expand after this?
RY: If we find another good location, we would still expand.
Were there any challenges while opening the restaurants?
LPO: There were a lot. When we opened, we had a really complex menu. With the complex menu, the food cost was high. There were a lot of waste so we learned a lot from the first two years of operation which was actually a good thing when we were in Morato since the customers were more forgiving. They gave us a chance to improve and learn everything before we infiltrated Ayala Malls.
Are dishes here different from other branches?
LPO: No, they're just the same but we are continually developing our menus. We have a Singaporean chef, for example, that has added a few new dishes and train our staff. And what we do constantly is that the dishes that aren't high-selling, we change it to a different kind of dish so that we have new dishes in the menu. But not to the point that we'll be adding a lot of dishes that would be hard for us also to maintain the quality.
If there's anything on the menu that you'd eat over and over, what would it be?
RY: My favorite here is the Salted Egg Fried Chicken.
LPO: We offer one of the best Sweet and Sour Pork, if I may say, it's crunchy and has a hint of Lychee in it. It's something special created by our chef.
What would a nice meal that's prepared by you under 30 minutes be like?
RY: The easiest one would be steak and pasta.
LPO: I'd prepare a good Chowfan Fried Rice and Green Leafy Vegetable.
Is there something that you can never eat?
LPO: Me, I eat anything that moves and grow.
RY: Yeah, me also. I've already eaten snake, even its blood.
If there would be a dish named after you, how would it taste?
LPO: Sweet and spicy since it's my favorite.
RY: I think mine would be salty. *laughs*
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The flagship Wangfu Chinese Bistro is located at Tomas Morato Plaza, Tomas Morato Avenue cor Don A. Roces Ave., Quezon City. Meanwhile, there are other branches at Il Terrazzo, UP Town Center and the newly-opened one in Serendra.
