Ongpin Street in Sta Cruz was the famous city of Chinese's Hideaway with a lot of restaurant and herb shops. Recently, I visited one of the famous hotel there to try the underground restaurant - Lai Lai Restaurant of Chinese Lai Lai Hotel. They serve authentic Chinese dishes that are rich in flavor, colorful, aromatic, and has excellent taste between sweet and salty.
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| Spacious Dine -in Area for Customers | Fresh Seafoods from the Resto |
Lai Lai Restaurant started as a hotel resto that serves food for their customers who are staying within the hotel. They also offer some bento meals to an exclusive group they have by setting daily menu for the day, then collect orders for those who requested. But today, they wanted to expand their reach, and increase the foot traffic for their dine-in customers. So I'm one of their newest customer who discover them, and willing to give honest review from their menu, ambiance, and overall operation of their resto.
FOOD / MENU
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| Oyster Ball |
Spicy Chicken |
Soya Cake |
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| Sweet and Sour Pork |
Fish Fillet Tofu |
Sparerib Asado |
This is the first 6 dishes served. My personal favorite is the Soya Cake. The Soya was so smooth and tasty even the soup it has. If you tried shabu-shabu before, it somehow taste the same, when it comes to its sauce. The Spicy Chicken is indeed spicy but for a person like me, who enjoy eating spicy foods, It's tolerable and a bit different from the usual Pinoy style spiciness. It has a bit taste of sweetness and hot spice.
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3 Kind Mushroom |
Pork Tendon with Sea Cucumber |
Lai Lai Noodle Soup |
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| Mustasa Kiampong |
Kikiam |
Seafood Noodles |
If you're into vegetable dishes, their 3 kind mushroom is a must have. It is tasty, not too sweet nor salty. The vegetables are not overcooked so you can still crunchy when bite. If you want to try different kind of rice, their Mustasa Kiampong is also well-seasoned. The ingredients mixed with rice are in perfect combo. This type of rice can go alone already, and enjoy it a lot.
You have many options when it comes to their short orders. They serve pork, beef, chicken, seafoods, and vegetables which range from 400 to 1680 (seafoods) pesos. Its serving portion varies, but it can roughly serve 4 to 6 persons per platter. For the price, I think it is still budget-friendly especially for a typical restaurant and portion sizes.
LOCATION
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Ongpin Street has narrow road, and If you go to Lai Lai Hotel, it is located a far back from the Binondo Church. Walking is the best option to troll around the area. Since it is a Lai Lai Restaurant, the main entrance will be at the Lai Lai Hotel, and you just walk down the stairs behind the front desk. That's why it is called the Underground Chinese Food Restaurant. The interior of course is very Chinese theme and has a lot of antique furniture. The Lai Lai Restaurant is also partnered with Lai Lai Cafe, which will be serving you both hot and cold drinks.
Overall, Lai Lai Restaurant may be old, but still gold. I always enjoy Chinese food because of its controlled flavor of saltiness and sweetness. They are also rich in herbs and spices which makes their dishes a bit healthier and aromatic.
Lai Lai Restaurant is located at 801 Ongpin Street, Sta Cruz, Metro Manila. They are open from 9AM to 5PM. You can check their facebook page for more details.
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