Tuantuan Chinese Brasserie: A fresh take on familiar classics

The ultimate compliment that a new restaurant can receive is if the customers come back. Even better if said customers come back again and again and again. Becoming the instinctive answer to the question “Where do I want to eat?” is something only a handful of restaurants can claim.

The current Metro Manila food scene is as bustling as it is cutthroat. It takes a special kind of restaurant that can connect with its patrons not only on a gustatory degree but on a more intimate metaphysical and emotional level.

Such is the challenge for newcomer Tuantuan, a first-of-its-kind Chinese brasserie serving Hong Kong comfort food with a French flair.

First things first. Leave the usual thoughts and images of traditional Chinese restaurants behind. There are no large aquariums housing live lapu-lapu, swahe or spiny lobsters. None of the tables are round but instead have four corners (gasp!). Chandeliers and French-inspired design adorn the kitchen, dining and even washroom areas.

The ambience is bright and lively. Customers would surely get a complete Paris dining experience had accordion-based French music played throughout the dining area. These aesthetics please the eyes but the real quest is in satisfying hungry mouths and grumbling stomachs.

Snow Buns confusion

The first dish served to us was a three-piece set of Crispy Pineapple Snow Buns. Sweet but not too sweet, the crust has a nice crunch and also crumbly at the same time. The pineapple filling is not too sour or tart. It’s actually more suited to eat after the main meal, only this time served as an appetizer.

The better starter is actually the Crispy Barbecue Pork Snow Buns. Same light and crumbly crust as the pineapple buns, only with Chinese-style barbecued pork filling.

There must have been some sort of confusion in distinguishing the savory from the sweet buns. The usual pineapple snow buns have yellow swirls or lines of pineapple sauce on top of them. The set given to us did not have said indicators. In a (possible) case of honest mistake, the sweet pineapple buns were served first instead of the barbecued pork buns.

Main courses

Two Macanese dishes were made available to us. The Cajun Chicken on top of white rice came first. The chicken itself is quite nice. The meat is moist, juicy and with just the right amount of secret blend of spices. The steamed white rice for me was the weak link in the dish as it was bland. The mild taste of the chicken and sauce were unable to carry over their flavors to the rice. In my opinion, using stir-fried rice with items such as scrambled egg, carrots and peas can further elevate this dish.

The other dish that traces its origins to Macau is the House Trio (Baked Seafood, Wild Mushroom, and Pork Chop) on Rice. It is rich and hearty with a color pattern similar to the red, white and green Italian flag. The pork chop is tender while the wild mushrooms go well together with the herb sauce. Substituting the kani (imitation crab stick) with real crab meat in the seafood part of the dish may be a bit of a stretch cost-wise, but will be very appreciated by food lovers alike.

Served along with the Macanese rice courses were the Honey Garlic Spareribs. This was easily my favorite item of the evening. The use of honey gives a new twist to the usual Chinese fried spareribs while the garlic gives just the right amount of savoriness, not overpowering the honey or the pork.

Last item on the main course was the US Premium Beef Rib & Tendon Curry. Tuantuan beams with pride with regard to its Mui Garden curry—decadent and rich with a blend of 20 spices and ingredients together with coconut milk.

I must agree that the multi-awarded curry is indeed delicious and can be served with a variety of protein from chicken, fish, lamb, pork or beef. It was in the beef pieces that I found the dish wanting. The premium rib cuts were soft and easily melt in the mouth. However, as I am not a big fan of tendon, I left the gelatin-looking pieces in the serving bowl, untouched.

This curry dish can use some culinary addition by subtraction. Remove the tendon, lessen the potatoes or substitute other root vegetables and add more premium beef rib.

Leave room for dessert

Head of marketing and dining operations Katrina K. Chua was not kidding when she uttered: “Leave room for dessert.” The Warm Banana Bread Pudding with Kahlua Creme Anglaise hits all the spots. I know the term “foodgasm” is easily blurted out by a lot of people to describe what they are eating nowadays, but on that first bite of the pudding, I actually felt some sort of tingling sensation.

The crunchy outer bread layer meets the soft and warm banana and bread pudding. It was that good. The Kahlua creme anglaise (light custard used as a dessert cream or sauce) only adds to the richness and creaminess of the dessert.

I would generally say that the dining experience definitely had more hits than misses. The taste and flavors are clean. Nothing like the kind from so-so “Chinese” restaurants that features oily, very salty and MSG-laden dishes.

The pineapple snow bun, honey garlic spareribs and banana bread pudding will forever be etched in my mind and will evoke happy memories.

The concept is surely as unique as far as restaurants come. Cantonese fare as its base genre, French inspired decors and desserts originating from the West. The different cuisines, cultures and flavors should normally not work, but as with the English translation of Tuan (round; gathering things together), Tuantuan, the brasserie makes every borrowed influence come together.

It all comes back to the challenge to new restaurants I posted at the beginning of this piece. Will I come back to Tuantuan? Yes. Will I come back again and again and again? Ask me again after my second visit. — BM, GMA News

Tuantuan Chinese Brasserie is on the third level of SM Megamall's Fashion Hall, Building D.