I can’t remember being in a Le Ching Tea House before, but my friends tell me it is one of the oldest and most popular restaurants before tracing its roots to its first location in Greenhills Shopping Complex, Shoppesville Arcade in Ortigas Avenue. It was there way before any of the other Chinese restaurants like North Park and Mann Hann popped up. Since then, Le Ching has branched out to three other locations in Quezon City
One weekend, we decided to go Le Ching in UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub in Commonwealth as my love got the spareribs cravings that time. She proudly exclaimed that they had the best spareribs in town with a very affordable price.
The UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub was brimming with life as voices of all tones and genders were heard all over. Children were happily skating, rollerblading or riding their scooters around the spacious central area. People were eating, or just strolling around and admiring the sights of the glowing balls and the water fountain in the middle. It was indeed, dinner time, a time of gathering, a time to be with your family and closest friends. |
| Outside Le Ching |
Le Ching was full when we got there for dinner. Luckily, a group left just a few minutes after we entered through the door. The ambience felt like a cafeteria where there are square white tables that can easily be moved, metal pitchers and containers and glass condiment holders. It was upgraded though due to the walls lined with food-themed colored wallpaper and the long sofa-like seating at one side of the venue.
Despite the obvious fact that there will be a crowd during dinner time, Le Ching strangely had only two waiters scurrying around to attend to all their customers in the restaurant. It took quite a while before we got our orders taken by a waiter despite a number of attempts hailing one of them. My love and her sis ordered the spareribs rice (Php 128) while I picked their chicken mushroom rice (Php 128) as I usually prefer chicken over pork. We also asked for house tea and water.
Good thing their service was pretty fast as all our orders arrived around ten minutes after. They were all served in metal cups filled with rice and overflowing toppings. I could instantly smell the spiciness of the spareribs as our waiter placed all the orders in the middle of the table. Perhaps, due to the lack of presentation, they looked quite ordinary.
They also provided small containers of chili sauce along with sliced pieces of calamansi. They also placed a bottle of soy sauce on the table as well so we could mix and match it along with their Le Ching chili sauce with calamansi to our own tastes.
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| The metal serving cups scream classic Chinese Restaurant |
I ate a spoonful worth of chicken and mushroom rice to taste it first without any condiments. It was slightly covered in a clear sauce that reminded me of oyster but am not fully sure. The chicken pieces were tender, and the few mushroom pieces that can be found were firm. Overall, it is only a light tasting dish that is best paired with the chili, soy sauce and calamansi mixture for a better and experience. However, what I did not like is the amount of bone found in all of the chicken pieces. I spent a good time either separating them from the meat or spitting them out. I actually was the last to finish my order due to this.
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| Spareribs rice - Le Ching's specialty |
Since there were leftover spareribs from my love due to the large servings, I got to taste Le Ching’s specialty. Even without the chili, the spareribs were spicy enough to make me sweat, but not to the extent of me gulping down glasses of water afterwards. Every bite was filled with a savory flavor that kept me wanting for more. Perhaps, the tausi sauce used to provide extra flavor to the spareribs gave the dish the balance it needed to be a unified product. If I did not have a bowlful of chicken mushroom rice earlier, I probably would’ve ordered another bowl of spareribs rice. It’s also a plus that the pieces provided only had little pork fat.
The house tea provided was your everyday, ordinary black tea. However, it provided the perfect ending as it mellowed the taste buds down after an extremely flavor-filled dinner.
Le Ching may not have the nicest-looking restaurants around, but if you are looking for great tasting food with affordable prices, this is the Chinese place to go to. I’d love to go back again due to the spareribs rice alone.
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| A huge selection of Chinese cuisine waiting for you |
Le Ching Tea House
Greenhills Shopping Complex, Shoppesville Arcade Ortigas Ave , San Juan
Trinoma Mall, Level 2, EDSA corner North Avenue , Quezon City
Del Monte corner ---------------------------------
* Captured with a Nokia N82
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