Mandarin Tea Garden: Unpretentious Chinese Fastfood

I've been lucky to stay  at a place so accessible to food places. A street across the place I'm staying are two of the big"fast food" Chinese restaurants in Davao: Dimsum Diner and Mandarin Tea Garden. I prefer the latter for its home-made, no-nonsense approach to Chinese food. It felt like eating at one of Binondo's eateries. 

I've tried a few of their rice toppings and they don't taste like Chowking to me (don't get me wrong, I do love Chowking's halo-halo). I'd skip the Pork Asado and head off their Taosi Sparibs (seen below). Tender, tasty and flavorful- try it with the plain rice though. 

Fried Ravioli, while far from one of Friuli's special (and I do hate the banana ketsup/sweet&sour sauce); this one's filling and passable.

 Skip the pork asado, I find the meat a bit overcooked and the sauce unimpressive. You are better off with the other rice toppings on the menu :)

This one's a must-try. True to "fall of the bone" phrases, not at all gummy and hard to chew; just well-seasoned and steamed just enough to truly get the goof stuff there. Mind you, I've never been a fan of chicken feet (I find it hard to eat and the texture of the meat quite disgusting in most Chinese restos).

This one's a killer. I normally don't eat fruit salad, let alone adore watermelons. Oddly enough, it works (or heavy cream just goes perfectly with every dessert).

Get ready for Davao's sudden downpour though (and always bring a handy umbrella and never wear your favorite flats at night). Davao do have this sudden heavy rains that cause this part of the city to flood heavily. Don't ruin a good night's meal with getting your favorite outfit soaked.

Cecil's: Davao Veteran

One has to admire a restaurant's longevity. With multiple branches all over the metro, singularly run. Consistent, with loyal followers throughout- I admire this restaurant's staying power. With new competitors coming in, its amazing how they've maintained their quality and prices. For P60 you can indulge yourself with a slice of their moist chocolate cake or at P88 you can satisfy your merienda cravings (Batchoy+brownie+glass of Coke). 

My favorites are their moist chocolate cake and egg pie. Egg pie reminds me so much of eating leche fan with a crust. The choco moist is true to its name; would've preferred if it had the cream in the middle.

Surprisingly, good egg pie.

Fried Lumpia (an upgraded version of the cafeteria lumpiang ubod I usually eat for merienda before).  Would've love to try their fresh lumpia.

Moist Chocolate Cake

I usually have my batchoy with the egg included (Batchoy special). I don't know if its just me but I prefer the food prepared in their original branch. I keep on imagining that the serving's a bit bigger. Anyway, both are equally good.

 

Downtown branch (Batchoy Special):

I have mixed feelings towards palabok. My only memory of it growing up was Jollibee's version of it. Chicharon bits and shrimp- I find it a bit nakakaumay for a time. Cecil's version of the dish is better. Minus the shrimp part, I loved how the sauce goes perfectly well with their noodles and chicharon (no pretentious gourmet treats here..just your neighborhood palabok done good consistently).

Downtown branch (Luglug):

The brazo de mercedez was a bit of a letdown. Plus you can't order yours in slices, either you have to get the whole thing or half of it. We divided the half into three for us to share. While it had crisp edges, I find it a bit bland. Don't get me wrong. I do hate those overpoweringly sweet desserts, but this one was like eating egg whites...just soft, fluffy egg whites. :)

Now, I have yet try their carrot cake. Heard so many great things about it. Leaving you off with a photo taken from last year's visit to Davao. Here's an almost complete photo of my officemates for food service :)