David's Tea House

It’s finally in Cebu. The taste gives me the nostalgia of the Binondo restos. Kinda pricey, but they serve proper chinese food. This is my go to place for anything Dimsum...they serve the right condiment to compliment the dimsum (Finally a siopao sauce and Not Ketchup!!!) unlike any other dimsum places in the City. The congee, noodles and lechon macau is also my favorite and they’re pretty consistent with the food quality over the years too, and regardless of location.

Ever since this restaurant had opened, it kept ringing in my mind the same tea house when I was a kid visiting & dining in Manila & indeed they are somewhat related because of the service & the wide variety of Chinese dishes.😊 It feels like I'm back to what I've experienced; while waiting for the food to arrive, you are served with tea & peanuts. In just a few minutes (probably less than 10), yummy dishes arrives & you can't help hurriedly grabbing a bite with a happy face.. Hehe!😁

First of all, the name of the restaurant can be a bit misleading. It is not a place for your “High Noon Tea” parties or should you crave for TWG’s and French macarons. They serve complimentary Jasmine teas and peanuts though.

They are apparently a Chinese-Dimsum restaurant. Perhaps how the place got its tea house name is because that’s how they do in Hong Kong?

Its location is very strategic, being in City Time Square wherein there is enough parking space for everyone, all the time. Moreover, upon getting into the arcade, one will notice this restaurant right away from its classic oriental theme with colors of black and red, and also because it is the first restaurant you see when driving along the whole complex. When inside the restaurant, it would feel that the place has been there for quite some time. A bit worn-out.

As with the food, we ordered:

1.) Polonchay with Garlic - It is Chinese Spinach (Kangkong, Chinese Watercress) sautéed with garlic. It is delicious, with just the right stir-frying and garlic taste that wasn’t very overpowering. It will set you back for Php 225, but the amount is good for sharing for 3-4 people.

2.) Lemon Chicken (Php 270) - My favorite dish from this restaurant so far. It won’t disappoint you. I loved how the lemon glaze complemented the tender and boneless batter-fried chicken.

3.) David’s Fried Rice Platter (Php 300) – The taste was on point. It had some hint of an herb flavor from one of the ingredients.

4.) David’s Assorted Dimsum Platter (Php 250) - Composed of six pairs of Dimsum treats. My favorite was the Hakaw Shrimp. The rest didn’t look very appetizing, nor tasted excellent.

5.) Shabu-Shabu Set (Php 1,188) - It was the set good for 4-5 persons. They have a smaller version at Php 888 which is for 2-3 persons. The hotpot was divided into two to make way for two kinds of soup bases. The half of it was the one with the Satay (or Sate, made from ground roasted or fried peanuts) base, and the other was the plain one. I liked the latter because it wasn’t too overpowering and it didn’t mask the flavors from the boiled ingredients. As with the taste, the plain one had a taste of a bit less to almost equal quality to the kind you get from Red House Taiwan Shabu-Shabu (This reference because it is the more popular choice to get a shabu-shabu fix, for me). Should they have included shrimps in their basic set, it would have tasted much better. Nevertheless, single orders of Shabu-Shabu items are possible upon request, but with extra cost of course. What makes the hotpot experience at David’s Tea House much better than Red House Taiwan is the service. At David’s you get to have your own shabu-shabu server who will mix and prepare everything for you. Great for beginners.

As a whole, the dining experience here was a good one. I can possibly come back to try out their other dishes.

David's Tea House is another Chinese restaurant favorite of mine. I like how the dishes are really fit for the family. One particular dish that I like is the Sweet and Sour Pork that tasted really great. Also, the seafood are freshly served. I like how the seafood are cooked from the pond to a beautiful dish. The place is also very refined and elegant.