Da Tang Dream Grilled Fish

Hanny Zulfina

1.0

This place was horrible food. Fusion of bad ingredients = bad food. Service was pleasant and the interior was not so pleasant due to the swarm of flies inside. I don't understand why there were so many flies in a new restaurant.

Jaime Antonio Lopez

3.0

Derived its name from Tang dynasty, a glistening historic period in China's history, Da Tang Jardin has set itself to be the go-to place for a new Chinese food experience in Forbes Town, Taguig, with Chef William Liu, a multi-awarded and famous chef in Taiwan at the helm of its kitchen.Positioning itself as an Asian Tapas, Da Tang Jardin most of its dishes are served in small plates where they focus on the visual beauty of the dishes that helps heighten the titillation of your taste buds with the flavors of their dishes on each bite than satisfying your tummy’s growls. So be forewarned, if you are famished, this may not be a good place for you. The place is also a bit small with most of its seats can be found in its second floor loft but its ambiance is pleasantly nice like one is dining in an exclusive indoor garden.The highlights of the night were dishes that I enjoyed the most:- Pan-fried Sliced Scallops with Milk and Egg Whites in Truffle Sauce (Php420) – Served in what looks like tarts or quiche, this is an impressive dish that showcase the skill of its chef/kitchen. The strong flavor of truffles interplays with the delicacy of flavors of scallops, milk curds and egg whites that elevates the flavor of each ingredient than overpowers it.  - Dong Po Pork (Php200) – The dish lived up to its name which is derived from the name of a famous chinese poet. It was poetry in the mouth. The pork belly was cooked perfectly with its amber-gold like color sitting in on a pool of delicate thick golden brown sauce. Pork belly used has enough fat in it that lends to the melt-in-your-mouth experience together with its fork-tender lean meat and balance sweetness and saltiness of the sauce.- Grilled Pork Neck with Garlic Sauce (Php280) – the dish may not have a wow factor, but I like how they the thinly sliced pork neck was tender and grilled to perfection which complements perfectly with the garlic sauce.- Steamed Shrimp with Asparagus in Crab Egg Sauce (Php220) – “It’s all in the sauce” as they say, which they dish perfectly delivers. Everyone can’t get enough of the crab egg sauce which is made from real crab roe. Sad to say while, the shrimp was cooked perfectly, it was not able to stand on its own against the sauce.- Seafood and Vegetable Thick Soup (Php260) – usually this soup has the spinach blended into puree to give a green color to the soup. Da Tang Jardin’s while chopped finely, still leave texture of the vegetable which you can still chew and serve generous amount of seafood together with it.Almond and Tofu with Mixed Fruit (Php130) – The smoothness silkiness of the Almond is like tofu or taho which it should be but unusually to find here as most almond served as desserts here has more of a jelly texture than tofu. Some of the dishes I felt not as inspiring:- Sweet and Sour Pork (Php150) – the sweet and sour pork itself was done beautifully with the glazed orange color, crunchy skin and soft meat inside. And its flavor was on point with sweet and sour balance. Each piece was serves in a wonton wrapper shape as tart cups, totaling 6 cups in a dish. Like a bite-sized hors d’oeuvres, you expect that you can eat the wonton tart cups. But it was too hard even teeth cannot break it. If it was not meant to be eaten, better not to use it.- Griddle Cooked Shrimp with Garlic and Pepper (Php620) – Placed inside a big claypot are 8 big shrimps/prawns that seems to be smoked inside the pot with garlic and pepper which you can really taste the smokiness in the shrimps/prawns. I just find it a bit too expensive for it.Other dishes that we have tried which taste good and cooked well but nothing extraordinary:Steamed Chicken with Scallions (Php280), Steamed Chicken with Chili (Php280), Deep-Fried Shrimp and Purple Yam served with Fresh Lettuce (Php360), Mango, Pomelo and Sago Sweet Soup (Php150), Milk Taro with Sago (Php130).Is Da Tang Jardin worth the try? – Yes, they know their stuff and cooked it well and the ambiance is pleasant and inviting. But the place is a bit overpriced for the quantity that they serve where you can find food of comparable quality with more generous serving or better priced. It is a place you would not go often but might choose maybe for special business meetings with some important guests who you want to enjoy Chinese food while not messing your poise when eating.

Merrynsia Limas

4.0

This place has some of the best and most authentic Chinese food in the Metro. We sampled several items on the menu and the flavours were very pronounced in each dish.The sweet and sour pork was one of the best sweet and sour pork dishes I've had in a long while. Another winning dish was their pan-fried scallops with milk and egg whites in truffle sauce. The sauce was the perfect mixture of salty and savoury and paired perfectly with the delicate slices of scallops.We also tried their seafood and vegetable soup and much to my surprise, I greatly enjoyed it. It was basically a thicker version of the egg drop soup with spinach, bits of winter melon, and shrimp. I normally turn down egg drop soups because most of the times they have consistency issues or have been watered down but Da Tang Jardin's soups were just perfect.The griddle cooked shrimp with garlic and pepper was a bit dry but still very tasty. The steamed chicken with scallions definitely made a lasting impression. It may look like a very ordinary dish but it's actually packed with lots of great flavours.I was very happy with everything we ordered and loved that there was a sense of pride in every dish that was served. I'm glad I got the chance to visit this location. I'm sure I will be back very soon.