*Jozzua Notes from a Business and Marketing Strategist/Tactician

Chinatown’s Best in Banawe, Quezon City

My friend, Chrisbert Go, just passed the medical board exams and we had dinner at a fabulous restaurant called "Chinatown's Best." The oddly-named eating place could be found along Banawe Street, Quezon City. It's popular among families and birthday-celebrants.

We went to a big building in 589 Banawe Street at around 6pm. I could see that the first floor is where Ala-Carte food was served. As we arrived, another big group just came in. There were young ladies dressed in gowns and gentlement in barong tagalog. I figured that someone either had a wedding or a debut party. The 3rd floor, it seems, was the area for big events such events. We saw most of them climb up the stairs.

We went to the 2nd floor via elevator. A buffet table was set up here where all the chinese food were displayed. We had a reservation and promptly sat down in one big round table.

The place was eat-all-you-can. I was happily browsing the food while admiring the simple chinese/asian furnishings around. The room had a bright yellow hue surrounding it. There were indoor plants scattered about and many lucky chinese symbols adorned the area. It was air-conditioned and appeared pretty clean.

My first plate included pork liempo bits, calamares, chinese chicken, oysters, clams, pork roast, yang chao rice, and a bit of chinese noodles. I also grabbed a small bowl of corn soup. As I returned to our table, a waiter came by and asked me what would I like to drink. The drinks were bottomless (drink-all-you-can) too! Aside from Iced tea, ,there were various other soda choices available. I got a rootbeer.

On my second plate, I tried an Oyster cake (an oyster omelette), vegetables in oyster sauce, siomai, sweet and sour pork, and sukiyaki. Then I realized there were tempura and peking duck among the choices. Crabs were also available.

By the third serving, I had already an appetite for dessert. I tried the leche flan and my friend gave me some of the ice cream. I could have gone for halu-halo (a popular filipino dessert composed of ice-shavings, fruits and gelatin) but opted to hold off on it.

I didn't make it to a fourth plate. I was so full I just wanted to sit back, relax and chat with the people there. For 430 pesos per person, this was sure cheaper than Dad's (another eat-all-you-can restaurant found in Megamall). This restaurant, however, accepted cash payments only.

All in all, a pretty decent food place. I look forward to going back here. Thanks to Chrisbert and Tita Ting for introducing me to this place.