RED ONION

DEAR DREAMERS

In order to celebrate my quick recovery from dengue, I dined at Red Onion. I chose a Chinese restaurant because in my opinion, Chinese cuisine is generally a healthier option. That, and because my dad previously bought me a voucher for Red Onion Cafe. I had a stressful week during that time because I missed the first week of school so I could not help but find time to destress during my breaks.

Say hi to their noodle shaving robot chef, RoboChef!

You can check out their open kitchen while you wait for your food.

Once again, I wore my usual floral kimono from my Milanoo post as well as my floral top from my When I Met You in the Summer post.

Their Sichuan spicy mala 39 spices beef noodle is “simmered in Sichuan peppercorn, dried chilies and a variety of other fiery sauces, this broth brings a flavorful, numbing kick to those who love spices.”

The all meat beef noodle costs 258 pesos while the ½ meat and ½ tendon beef noodle costs 288 pesos (pesos). Aside from the beef, broth and noodles, it also had a few vegetables.

You can choose the level of spiciness, low, medium or high. According to the waiter, people usually order low which is mildly spicy. Customers usually request for additional spiciness if they feel that their order lacks spiciness. There are two kinds of noodles namely the thin and the shaved. The noodles are refillable but this dish is not for sharing.

The Lu Rou rice (88 pesos) is their “Taiwanese braised pork stew on rice. The single most popular dish in Taiwan.”

I really liked their Lu Rou or braised pork rice topping, the minced pork was deliciously tender. It came with two slices of daikon which really complemented the flavor. The rice was fragrant, it was probably Jasmine rice.

The Shi Lin night market pork chop with mustard greens (188 pesos) is their “reliable, tasty, full-bodied pork chop, served just like in the street markets of Taiwan. Pair with a Lu Rou rice for a complete meal.”

Their Shi Lin night market pork chop was scrumptious, it was my favorite among all our orders. It kind of bothered me why Shi Lin night market sounded familiar. If you are fond of Hot Star like I am then it makes perfect sense why it sounds familiar, it was because Hot Star started out in Shi Lin night market.

According to their menu, their double fried sweet and sour pork (228 pesos) offers an experience of sour, sweet and salty flavors. Originally invented in Canton, sweet and sour pork boasts of a crunchy skin and tender meat.

The double fried sweet and sour pork sounded appealing so I decided order it. It tasted okay but the thick batter kind of ruined it. I am not sure if they usually prepare this dish with such a thick batter but hopefully they cook it with a much thinner batter. The thick batter caused me to easily get tired of the taste, the first few bites were totally fine with me.

Their Taiwanese crispy dumplings (198 pesos) are “half pan fried and half boiled, our crispy dumplings are simultaneously chewy and crunchy, yet the savory filling complements [their] house sauce to complete the dish.”

The layer of batter makes consuming the dumplings a bit more complicated. Also, the elongated shape of the dumplings makes eating the dumplings with chopsticks a bit more complicated as well so I ended up using the spoon and fork to cut the dumplings into smaller pieces. I have no complaints with the taste though, the skin of the dumplings is notably delicious.

Location

Red Onion Cafe is located at the ground floor of UP Town Center, Katipunan.