It’s all rare at Hai Shin Lou
August 13, 2004 | 12:00am
That’s a sea mantis!" exclaimed Ben Chong, general manager of Hai Shin Lou, Seafood King Chinese restaurant, as I awkwardly inquired about this extremely odd-looking creature that was placed on a plate before me. I replied with a somber "Oh, how interesting!" in an attempt to hide my entomophobia (a general fear of insects). A larger and definitely more peculiar-looking praying mantis would probably be the best way to describe this creepy crustacean. "It comes from Palawan. We serve it fried with peppercorns. We are one of the very rare restaurants in the country to feature it in our menu," Chong adds.
Rare is one of the words that would definitely be used to define Hai Shin Lou — delightfully rare. Since this restaurant opened about five years ago, it has consistently drawn praise from many of its clients. The restaurant was originally called Hei Shin Rou. This was changed to its current name as many thought the former sounded too Japanese. Hai Shin Lou means seafood restaurant in Mandarin.
It was definitely high Chinese dining for me as I savored (perhaps devoured would be more apt) on roasted suckling pig, seaweed century egg salad and a very tasty bamboo pith soup with homemade special fish meat for starters. The main entrees were spicy shrimp, Szechuan style, which was very moist; diced fish and fried rice with kutchay and shrimp paste, the Chinese staple dish; sweet and sour pork; and my personal favorite, oil-simmered lapu lapu, a very tasty fresh fish fried to a crisp and simmered in a delicate oil sauce.
Excited to come back to try out other dishes, I inquired about the regular guests’ favorites. Ben Chong mentioned that they are proud to have, on a regular basis, a number of the country’s illustrious Chinese Taipans who take their dining to a very haute level. I promised not to mention their names but let’s just say that quite a number of major shopping mall deals were probably made over power lunches here. Chong replied that one of their Taipan patrons always makes sure that they have their large Palawan oysters before he comes for his meal. Other popular dishes are the prawn taro fried rice, roasted duck, pork asado, white chicken, pork brisket and lobster cooked in many different ways.
The restaurant also prides itself with its offerings of unique and tasty dishes. Their seafood shabu shabu is served in a pot that contains two freshly made soup stocks in different compartments where guests can cook their food. Chong says that this is the Hongkong style of shabu shabu. Most other restaurants in Manila that offer shabu shabu serve your food on a sizzling plate. Other items in the menu that piqued my curiosity included marinated pork intestine, steamed bakla crab with garlic (I wonder how one finds out how a crab is gay) and peppercorn boneless eel. Hai Shin Lou is also one of the very few Chinese restaurants that do not use MSG in their cooking. To make certain that repeat guests never tire of their menu, their three Hongkong Cantonese chefs regularly offer "The Chef’s Recommendations," a monthly special menu of special dishes not found in the regular a la carte menu.
Given this restaurant’s rare and divine offerings, one would think dining at Hai Shin Lou would be reserved for those with equally large pockets. I’m surprised that one would not need to spend a fortune to have a very satisfactory feast at this establishment. Starters average at P240 for small portions while main courses average at P280.
To meet its ever-growing number of patrons, Hai Shin Lou underwent major renovations late last year. The resulting look is pleasantly simple, modern, and streamlined, not your typical Chinese dining establishment with all the usual gold and porcelain accents. The place is large, considering that they can accommodate over 300 guests – 120 downstairs and about 200 guests upstairs. There are also 6 rooms for private functions or parties.
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