Guangda Restaurant offers a different outlook – and taste – on what an authentic Chinese restaurant can serve at affordable prices.
Guangda (pronounced as gwang-da) is a Fookien word meaning "with strong foundation" or matatag in Filipino. The owners of the restaurant believe that serving authentic, delicious, nutritious but affordable food will be their strong foundation.
And what sets Guangda apart from other Chinese restaurants? Simply put by owners, its one-of-a-kind magic menu – the soup.
Guangda is the only Chinese restaurant in the country, which offers high-protein, low-fat soup using traditional Chinese processes, which were used 2,000 years ago.
Owner Carolyn Estopa says this simmering special herbal soup can replenish one’s strength, slow down the aging process and raise one’s sexual appetite without any side effect.
Guangda’s specialty soups, namely raddish spareribs soup, taro pork tito duckmeat soup, beef sibut soup and kou ji pig’s ear soup, among others, are cooked in a specially-crafted clay pot for eight hours to ensure that all the ingredients are well-blended and their taste sealed.
An instant favorite of Guangda’s early customers is its Soup No. 708. Soup No. 708 is also called by most of the customers as Soup No. 5 or Viagra Soup. Customers swear it really gives them "vigor and vitality," allowing them to be up all night.
If Soup No. 708 is an instant hit among men, female customers, on the other hand, choose Soup No. 710, which includes winter melon, which, according to old Chinese beliefs, helps people lose pounds and makes them youthful-looking.
Other soup varieties help one cleanse the blood, replenish the strength, slow down the aging process and promote a healthier and better individual. Guangda’s waiters are more than willing to help diners choose what soup would suit their needs and taste. Just feel free to ask them when you come and visit its branches along Banawe St., Quezon City and at the corner of Santolan St. and Ortigas Ave.
Estopa says there are over 60 different kinds of soup in China and most of them can only be found in Guangda’s restaurants.
"We never serve old soup. Our soups are guaranteed fresh and cooked to perfection," she adds.
Aside from the soup, Guangda offers rice toppings priced at P75, which are an instant hit for students and those on a tight budget. In case you want to add soup to your rice topping order, the set menu is just right and is priced at P89.
Another favorite is the glutinous rice with spareribs, which is wrapped in banana leaves, and uses a special malagkit-like rice. Most of the servings are generous and can be shared by two.
Apart from using authentic Chinese herbs and spices, Guangda uses specially-crafted utensils that follow traditional Chinese ways of cooking and preparing food. For example, the steamed spareribs in bamboo are cooked and served in a specially-crafted bamboo container and taste really special with their spicy-sweet taste.
Also highly recommended is the three-cup chicken in hot pot, a Chinese version of the Filipino adobo, which is served in a mini-clay stove, that is kept steaming hot to keep the chicken perfectly cooked while you eat.
Guangda is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, from Monday to Sunday. It can seat 70 to 100 people at its outlet at 218 Banawe St. corner Quezon Ave., Quezon City. It is open for special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc. It also delivers within the vicinity. For reservations or delivery, call 414-22-63.
The newly opened branch is at the corner of Santolan St. and Ortigas Ave., with tel. nos. 721-60-90 or 722-74-86.