Lugang Cafe: Deliciously made in China

MANILA, Philippines - Lugang Cafe, one of the few restaurants here that offer Taiwanese specialties , first came to the Philippines via Shanghai and Beijing, thanks to a serendipitous meal in Shanghai. Peter and Annabelle Chua were there to watch the Shanghai Open Tennis Tournament in 2009 when a friend brought them to Bellagio Cafe, a famous chain of restaurants with about 40 branches across the mainland.

The first thing that caught their attention was actually the interiors. It was contemporary, it was simple and not like your typical Chinese restaurant at all.

Then the food caught them by surprise. It was authentic Taiwanese, a cuisine that can be loosely described as Chinese since it’s an amalgamation of the different regional cuisines of the mainland. But even the treatment of the drinks and dessert menus was contemporary — with a flair that has captured Shanghai’s young market as well.

Called Bellagio Cafe in the mainland (the name cannot be used outside China because of the casino-hotel chain), the restaurant is now being franchised around the region, including Macau and Singapore, under the name Lugang Cafe, after the eponymous town in Taiwan. 

After that first meal, the Chuas were certain it would do well if they brought it to Manila, and so they searched for the owners to begin talks. A year later, in 2010, Lugang Cafe (pronounced Lukang) opened on Connecticut St. in Greenhills and at SM Mall of Asia in December 2011. 

They were right. Lugang Cafe in Greenhills became an instant hit, especially on Sundays when Chinese families come for lunch or dinner (and we are told they typically come in groups of 15 to 20 family members). Architect Avery Go designed a three-level glass-clad structure that at night you can stand across the street and fully appreciate the modern chandeliers of thin, pendant lamps that interior designer Christine Domingo created — a startling play of light, glass and metal.    

Lugang Cafe dining operations manager Katrina Chua, says, “A lot of the elements came from Shanghai, like the Buddha and the leaf wall, the glass and fresh flowers.” 

But what keeps people coming back to Lugang Cafe is the food. Its extensive menu of dim sum, roasted dishes, noodles, pot roast, and drinks and desserts will be hard to exhaust even after several visits. Which is why Citibank partnered with Lugang Cafe for its Citi Dining Series for two promotions. Started last June 15 and until June 15, 2013, diners get two free orders of fresh mango in glutinous rice wrap and coconut flakes (six pieces) worth P240 for a minimum bill of P1,500. There’ also a fall-off-your-seat offer for the weekdays of June 25 to 29 and July 2 to 6, where diners get 25 percent off for a minimum single-receipt purchase of P1,500. If your total Sunday lunch costs P3,000, you get to save P750.

Citibank PayLite and remote spend head Bam Cervantes says, “It is our pleasure to have Lugang Cafe as a Citibank Dining Privileges partner. We always strive to live up to our promise: to get the Best Dining Deals for our cardholders at their favorite restaurants. Should a customer find a higher discount at any of our partner restaurants nationwide, we are willing to reimburse them the difference in the cost”

Lugang Cafe has eight chefs who employed by Bellagio Cafe, each in charge of a specialty like roasting, dim sum, dessert, and noodles which are made fresh every day. 

During a degustacion lunch, Katrina serves us the bestsellers, starting with pork xiao long bao, and shows us how to eat it. First, bite a little into the wrapping to make a hole and then sip the hot soup inside, and then dip it in ginger-and-vinegar sauce. For vegetarians who just love this soup-in-a-dimsum, Lugang Cafe has taro xiao long bao, and also vegetarian dumplings with truffle oil, which announce their presence through the unmistakable smell of truffles wafting to your table even before the dim sum basket gets there. 

Taiwanese style of cooking has produced some interesting dishes. “Because Taiwanese is a mix of Chinese regional cuisines, it’s very hard to pinpoint a strictly Taiwanese dish. But they use a lot of basil and sweet sauces in cooking.”

Katrina says the Three-Cup Chicken represents Taiwanese cuisine best. It is one-part soy sauce, one-part sesame oil and one-part rice wine. For vegetarians, the chicken is substituted with mushroom.

Its take on Singapore’s classic Hainanese chicken is more flavorful than the original. Called Scallion Chicken, it is cooked the Hainanese way but instead of having the sauces on the side, it’s topped with scallions and infused with ginger oil, so no need for the sauces as the flavors are all in there.

Two other bestsellers are the Beijing shredded pork, which is eaten Peking duck style, wrapped in Chinese pancakes.

A new item on the menu is nori prawns, which are prawns fried with nori and crispy batter and served on skewers.

Then there are the desserts. Lugang Cafe has a separate menu for drinks and desserts — the choices are so extensive you’d have a hard time choosing. The bestselling sweet delights include flavored ice — so soft it literally melts in your mouth — with flavors such as peanut and black sesame, coconut, passion fruit and fresh fruits.

The flavored ice — pages and pages of mouthwatering choices on the menu — is stacked real high like halo-halo except the taste is in the ice itself.

On any given day, Lugang Cafe is filled with happy diners that are either just discovering Taiwanese cuisine or rediscovering dishes done in a different way. But for a number of them, the desserts — in a Taiwanese restaurant no less! — are just worth the trip. 

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The year-long Citi Dining Privileges promo started on June 15 and is until June 15, 2013, wherein diners get two free orders of fresh mango in glutinous rice wrap and coconut flakes (six pieces) for a minimum bill of P1,500. The fall-off-your-seat offer is for the weekdays of June 25 to 29 and July 2 to 6, where diners get 25 percent off for a minimum single-receipt purchase of P1,500.

The Citi promos are available only at Lugang Cafe at 115 Connecticut St., Northeast Greenhills (542-0196). Its other branch is located at SM Mall of Asia.