Lugang Café beyond the 'xiao long bao'

I first heard about Lugang Café from my sister a couple of years ago, when she told me about this restaurant in Greenhills that always has a long queue of diners. Food lovers apparently go there for the xiao long bao (which some spell sialompao), that dumpling with soup inside.  

Fast forward to sometime last month, when I found myself with a media group straining our necks to see just how the xiao long bao is made.

Three chefs with dough-covered hands demonstrated how it’s done: first, the dough was cut into small pieces and flattened almost paper-thin, then filled with either chicken or ground pork – somewhat like siomai – and jellified stock. The ends of the dumpling were twisted into 18 perfect pleats and gathered into a cone.   “Yes, there are 18 pleats because 18 is a lucky number. The pleats have to be perfectly aligned after steaming,” said Karen Tiu, who handles the operations at Lugang Café.   After steaming in bamboo baskets, the dumplings are served, with the jellified stock transformed into a tasty broth. How to eat it? “Bite and sip,” advised Reena Arnaldo, human resources manager of the café.   Xiao long bao has become the specialty of the house such that last month alone, 4,300 baskets (mostly pork, although they also have chicken and vegetarian dumplings) were served to the café customers. And with eight pieces per basket, that makes for a whole lot of xiao long bao.  

But there is more to the Lugang Café than xiao long bao. During a press briefing early November at their Greenhills outlet, Katrina K. Chua, daughter of owners Peter and Annabelle Chua, and head of dining operations, introduced new dishes in time for the Chinese-Taiwanese restaurant’s second anniversary on Nov. 22.

One of the new dishes is the Black Pepper Premium Beef Ribs, a flavorful dish that should go well with the light Chicken Topped with Scallion and Ginger Oil. I prefer putting a generous serving of ginger oil on top of the cold chicken slices for a more pronounced taste.   The Dong-Bo Pork Belly with Steamed Buns is like pata tim on cuapao, with the meat so tender to the bite. The Steamed Scallops with Garlic Vermicelli (bihon) can be addictive, as you can pop these in your mouth in between bites of the other dishes. The Mayonnaise Prawns are like big-sized popcorn shrimps with a gentle hint of wasabi topped with some mayo, a sure hit among kids and kids at heart. And for veggies, there's the new Fookien dish Pumpkin Seafood Rice Souffle—this has fish fillet mixed in, and is a meal in itself.  

These new dishes complement the xiao long bao and other best-selling dishes they have, such as the Steamed Fish Head with Pickled Red Peppers, Three Cup Chicken, Stir-Fried Beef with Chili Peppers, and Soft Tofu and Mushrooms in Abalone Sauce. They also go well with their trademark dessert—the humongous (12 inches) and definitely meant-to-be-shared Bellagio Breeze, a tall halo-halo with red and green mung beans, taro, tapioca balls, and candied pineapple over shaved ice and flavored with condensed milk.

Katrina said about 80 percent of the café's dishes are from Bellagio Café in Shanghai. Lugang Café, after all, is a franchise of Bellagio Café, and is the first store of Bellagio outside China. The Chuas just changed the name to “lugang,” which means small alley or town in Chinese, to give a more Chinese ring to it. They also added more dishes to the new menu to cater to the tastes of the Filipino palate.   Although there are numerous Chinese restaurants in the country, Katrina said their food sets them apart from the rest. “The food is different. The taste is modern with a hint of traditional,” she said. Sweet and spicy are the main flavors of the dishes, with a subtle hint of ginger. The ingredients are imported from China and Taiwan, and Chinese chefs lead the kitchen operations.   The same modern-and-traditional theme is carried over in the Greenhills outlet's interiors which incorporate metal (steel), fire (lighting), and earth (flowers) elements. Their Mall of Asia branch, opened in 2011, is more traditional, said Katrina. Opening this month is their new branch at SM City North EDSA's The Block, and next year, they're going to be in Fort Bonifacio as well, no doubt covering all areas to satisfy xiao long bao fans in the metro.   Whatever it is you order, though, make sure to get the Aloe Jelly in Honey Lemon Juice as your drink. Now that to me is a winner. – YA, GMA News   Lugang Café is at 115 Connecticut Street, Northeast Greenhills, San Juan City, with tel. no. (02) 775-7599.