One morning during breakfast, mom randomly talked about her hunger for Chinese food. Out of nowhere, she said, “Tara, let’s go to Binondo!” I know my mom very well. When she wants something, you have to take note of  that. She won’t say it without any reason. She says it because she means it. Her urge to go to Binondo was for real. I know what she wanted at that time, to go on a food trip at Chinese restaurants situated in that area. Our place is not a neighborhood to Binondo. Thus, it takes effort for her to drive a long way to that area.

O and I discussed about heading to Binondo for our own food trip before mom mentioned that urge to me. So when I got back to O about that topic, he didn’t hesitate to take it any longer but to plan it right away for our trip to Binondo.

I gave the floor to mom to choose where to eat. Based on what she wants, we all decided to reserve one  Sunday lunch at President Grand Palace Restaurant.

We can never miss ordering this dish. Reine’s face will be grumpy the whole time if we let Sweet & Sour Pork pass. It’s not only a Chinese favorite but a Filipino favorite. Maybe because of the sweet blend that captures the taste-buds of Filipinos.

This version of President classifies it under the classic sweet & sour pork I know.

I’m a lady with lots of favorites. Haha! In every restaurant I go to, I try to find my favorites and take note of it to share them with you foodies. At President Grand Palace, this dish is my number 1 favorite. Green and brown, veggie and meat together make you guilt-free when eating. Even though I know I felt vetsin was basically the key ingredient to this plate. I still adore the final product of minced pork & string beans together.

I’m not the type who enjoys fried pork meat. Giving you my review about this Fried Spareribs will be bias towards what I think it is for me. I asked my sister who consumes more pork than I do to give you feedback on what we had at President. According to Reine, pork meat used was lean, with less fat. It didn’t taste dry, only looks like it. Sliced bits of chili gave the pork dish a kick of spicy taste.

I’d have to say the this Yang Chow Fried Rice can stand alone without other meat nor seafood dish added. It occupied my mouth with flavors leaving no room for other dishes.

But of course, it won’t get any worse to partner your chosen main course dishes at President’s menu.

This was a little bit disappointing based on how it looks. The fish looks malnourished to me. Judge it by its taste, I won’t say the fish killed me. In fact, it’s actually a fine Steamed Lapu-Lapu to me. Inside, the meat seemed it was freshly caught by a fisherman rushed to the cooking pan for us to eat. I just wish it gained more weight before I ate it.

The plate of Sauteed Shrimps took more than 20 minutes before it came out. Sunday lunch was quite packed for President Grand Palace. All other dishes were 75% finished before this came. It was a little long wait for us but it was worth it. I love the juiciness of these shrimps. Just like the fish, the shrimps are so fresh as well. I guess we were lucky that day. Our visit at President had good quality stocks of seafood.

After all plates were on the table, we all wondered why they were all bigger than what we ordered. Mom only ordered Small sizes of every dish for the 5 of us. Those plates looked Medium to us.

I asked the waiter if they got our orders correctly. Surprisingly they did! Serving sizes were bigger than expected. Lovely!!

For its cost, we were all so pleased and satisfied.

Reine and I didn’t regret stuffing ourselves. Our visit to Binondo gave us a touch of mainland China.

Sunday family day seemed like the best business day for President Grand Palace. The time we went, every round table was occupied with Filipino and Chinese families. The restaurant is an ideal venue for traditional Chinese dining, gatherings, special occasions or any event you have. They have a big room for any occasion you have. That time we had lunch, there was a Christening that occurred on the other side of President.

President Grand Palace gave us reason to walk around Binondo to burn out those calories.

Meet my tourist sister walking around Lucky Chinatown Mall. It’s her first time to visit Binondo.

The family passed by Eng Bee Tin before heading back to our territory. We hoarded those Chinese delicacies we saw at the store. At Eng Bee Tin, don’t miss out on their hopia. One of the best hopias in Metro Manila can be found in Eng Bee Tin.

That Sunday afternoon, I appreciated more of what Metro Manila has to offer. I felt like on a different side of Metro Manila. Seemed like I was in Hong Kong with all the Chinese culture I was immersed for a while at Binondo. Especially at President Grand Palace, I was hooked for a while with the food, it was strictly Chinese and no fusion involved. If there’s one word to fit the description of President Grand Palace, it would be “authentic”.

Cheers,