It’s been awhile since Ken and I last ate at a Chinese restaurant together. I think the last time was when we went on our DIY Binondo food tour (which we’ll be blogging about very soon!) last year. So when we were invited to check out Xin Tian Di restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, we gladly accepted.
Located on the fourth floor of the hotel, Xin Tian Di is Crowne Plaza’s signature Chinese restaurant. Aside from a menu of Chinese dishes, they also offer various Asian cuisines such as Indonesian, Singaporean, Szechuan and Nonya (Peranakan). Upon entering the restaurant, you’d feel the welcoming ambiance of the whole place, from their friendly staff up until their comfy chairs and tables.
I love the colors and the interiors altogether, offering a very warm atmosphere and good acoustics, making Xin Tian Di a perfect venue for business meetings or get-together with your friends or family.
Xin Tian Di Dim Sum Unlimited and Yum Cha
Before we go to what we had for dinner, let me tell you first about one of their famous offerings: unlimited dim sum.
Xin Tian Di’s Dim Sum Unlimited is available now during lunch (11:30am-2:30pm) where you get to choose from over fifty (50) dim sum for only Php 1,188 nett per person. The Dim Sum Unlimited menu includes appetizers, entrees and desserts, so you can enjoy a complete meal for that price.
And good news for all you morning people! Starting on July 14, 2013, that’s this Sunday, Xin Tian Di will start offering a breakfast edition of their unlimited dim sum – their Yum Cha promo, which will be available from 7am til 10am. For the price of Php 588++, you’d get to choose among 36 varieties of dim sum, and even includes rice, congee, noodle, dessert and house tea.
These are awesome deals you shouldn’t miss, especially if you feel like hoarding some dim sum over breakfast or lunch. 😉 Oh, and make sure to check out Deal Grocer since I’ve seen them offering deals there. A few months ago, I bought vouchers for dinner at 7 Corners (will blog soon!), Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila’s other restaurant.
Dinner at Xin Tian Di
Back to our dinner. We both took a long time deciding on what we’d like to try. So we went for their recommendations, expecting to have a lovely meal. 🙂 We started off with these complimentary boiled peanuts. I’ve read reviews of Xin Tian Di and almost everyone was raving about them. They were good, a nice touch while you wait for your orders to be served.
For our appetizers, we started with their thick soups. Ken ordered their Wintermelon with Mixed Seafood Soup (Php 180) since he was intrigued by how it’ll taste. It had mellow flavors, just giving you a hint that it’s a wintermelon soup.
Our dinner companion that night, Andrea (she’s part of Crowne Plaza’s sales and marketing team), picked the Hot & Sour with Seafood Soup, Szechuan Style (Php 180). Ken and I both had a taste and it had the right amount of spiciness to whet one’s appetite. On the other hand, I ordered their Minced Beef with Egg White Soup (Php 170), which was delicious! I couldn’t stop eating it. 😀
For our entrees, one of our choices was their Suckling Pig combination. The roasted pork was flavorful and had a very nice crisp to it. I can even hear Ken as he munched on the pork skin. Yum! The slices of pork asado that came with the platter were also tasty.
We ordered their Beef Tenderloin with Goose Liver in A1 Sauce. I forgot what A1 Sauce was til I remembered it being a steak sauce a few minutes later. We almost polished this plate clean, only we were already starting to get full. We had to save some space for the rest of the meal. 😀
By the way, we ordered some refreshing beverages too and we were offered a pot of hot tea.
We picked the Rose tea since it was highly recommended. It was then that I realized I was okay with the smell of rose on my tea over jasmine. So aside from that realization, I fully enjoyed the tea.
We also ordered their Yang Chow Rice, which was our safest bet since some of their rice selections might have actual crab in them (I’m allergic).
My favorite dish of the night was definitely Xin Tian Di’s Deep-Fried Boneless Chicken in Coffee Sauce. This was the dish that I was looking forward to trying, and I wasn’t disappointed.
The bitterness of the coffee and the subtle sweetness from the caramelization that wrapped the chicken was simply delightful! The chicken was juicy and oh-so flavorful. I think I ate half of the servings. 😀 This is definitely a must-try.
Aside from beef, pork and chicken dishes, Xin Tian Di also offers fresh seafood dishes and classic Chinese dishes like Roasted Duck, Sweet and Sour Pork, and hot pot.
Now, on to desserts! We were served these bite-sized Egg Tarts. I didn’t get to enjoy these completely since they were too small. 😉
But, then we were offered to try their Ampalaya Buchi (Php 100), which is really just a tricky name for their chocolate-filled buchi that is made to look like an ampalaya (bitter melon). 😉
Our dinner at Xin Tian Di was quite gratifying. We’ll definitely come back to try their dim sum and the roasted duck, among other things. 🙂
Again, don’t miss their Dim Sum Unlimited promo for lunch and breakfast (starting July 14th!).
P.S. We didn’t get to take decent photos of Xin Tian Di’s menu, but you can find it on Zomato (except for the drinks and tea).
Xin Tian Di
4F Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, Ortigas Ave., Cor. Asian Development Bank, Mandaluyong City
Contact #: (02) 633-7222 loc. 7240
Facebook: Crowne Plaza Manila