Chinese Royalty: LiLi Yum Cha Buffet, Hyatt Manila

A panel decorating the wall at Li Li

A few months ago, maybe in August, R and I went to the Hyatt Hotel Manila for the Yum Cha Sunday brunch buffet at Li Li, the hotel's Chinese restaurant. We were supposed to have gone in July, for my birthday, but we couldn't find the time to go until weeks later.

I like dim sum, though I wouldn't say I'm crazy about it. I eat it when it's there, and I do like it. I'd experienced an enjoyable and filling all-you-can eat dim sum lunch a couple of times, and if someone were to take me to another, I'd very much look forward to it. But if I were hungry, or if someone were to ask me what I wanted to eat, dim sum would not be the first (or second, or third) thing to cross my mind.

R is even less into dim sum than I am. He doesn't dislike it, but like me, he wouldn't even think of it when trying to decide on what to eat. He's also had far less exposure to dim sum than me: probably just the usual siomai (meat and/or shrimp dumpling, steamed or fried), siopao (steamed BBQ pork or meatball bun), and hakaw (steamed prawn dumpling).

I figured it was time to change that. He is dating a (1/4) Chinese girl after all, and I thought it was about time he was introduced to the world of dim sum. As luck would have it, a few weeks before my birthday, DealGrocer offered a voucher for 26% off on the Sunday Yum Cha buffet (PhP 1,150 [~USD 27] instead of the usual PhP 1,550 [~USD 37]). I know the discount isn't tremendous (DealGrocer seems to more carefully pick their merchants but offer smaller discounts than other group buying sites), and more than PhP 1,000 per head is still a rather expensive meal. But based on the quantity and quality of food that we anticipated, the numerous positive reviews, and the restaurant's award-winning status, we decided it was worth a shot. It was, after all, for a special occasion, so we could afford to splurge a little.

And boy, was it worth it. R and I were among the first to arrive, since we wanted to get a good table and eat at a relaxed, comfortable pace. The place was gorgeous: what I imagine Chinese opulence looks like. It looked oriental, expensive, but still cultured/sophisticated. The staff were welcoming, warm, and polite. They were pleasant throughout the entire brunch: from the moment they welcomed us and led us to our table, while they took our orders and served our food and refilled our drinks, and all the way until we left the restaurant. They were quick, careful, and attentive.

The food, of course, was the star of the show. While waiting for our dim sum to arrive (they cook it to order, so it's fresh), we got some food from the starter/live cooking station. I got a bowl of hot and sour soup (my favorite), some jellyfish (also my favorite), barbecued pork belly with mustard sauce on the side (flavorful and perfectly balanced!), and the most divine tea egg! I don't even like boiled egg all that much, but this was sublime, the best egg I've had, ever. R had congee and some of the other starters. We agreed: not a single dud in that spread.

Hot and sour soup

Before we even finished with our starters, our dim sum started to arrive. I won't go through this in detail because with all the food we ordered, it would take too long, and honestly, it was all kind of a blur as one dim sum dish after another arrived--a completely happy, hedonistic blur. Glutinous (gluttonous!) roll, steamed squid, puff pastry with barbecued pork, chicken feet, ham shui kok (deep-fried sticky dumpling with minced meat filling), egg custard balls, and more... there wasn't a single bite that didn't delight the palate. The house guava iced tea (bottomless, included in buffet price) was as good as advertised. I'm not big on beverages--I usually just stick to water or tea and have trouble finishing one glass of juice or iced tea--but I had a few glasses of their iced tea.

Chicken feet

Ham shui kok

Egg custard balls

Some of our starters and dim sum

The one thing we did wrong was that we ordered main courses (included in the buffet). We had shrimp and chicken salad, Fookien fried rice, fried pork ribs, braised chicken with basil, and beef tenderloin in Mandarin sauce. Although they were pretty good, they weren't amazing. We could've done without them and instead focused more on the starters and the dim sum, which were absolutely magical.

The Yum Cha buffet also includes a dessert spread. We were already seriously stuffed from all the food we'd had, so we went easy on the dessert. I had a fluffy marshmallow-like thing, creme brulee, some sort of coconut milk and bean custard, and two servings of mango pudding topped with tiny cubes of fresh mango and a bit of cream/milk, which to me was the best of the lot. (I know I said we went easy... this is going easy, for me and my massive sweet tooth.) I like that their desserts come in small portions, allowing one to get a taste of everything without burdening the stomach. We had some hot tea to go along with dessert (also included in the buffet price) to help us digest everything we ate.

Some of the dessert offerings

Tea cup and utensil cradles

And thus ended what has to be one of my very best culinary experiences, ever. The service was impeccable, the food was spectacular, the place was beautiful and set the right ambiance. They got everything right, down to the details: the table setting, the plates and glasses, and especially those little cradles where you can lay down your utensils and chopsticks when they're not in use or on a plate--every restaurant should have those!  Even the the restrooms were nice, which always gets bonus points from me.

For giving me a few hours of feeling like Chinese royalty, Li Li's Yum Cha brunch gets an unequivocal 5 stars from me. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday lunch date, and there couldn't have been a better introduction to dim sum for R.

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Li Li at the Hyatt Hotel Manila
1588 Pedro Gil corner MH Del Pilar
Malate, Manila
+63 02 245 1234
http://manila.casino.hyatt.com

Daily all-you-can-eat dim sum (PhP 788 nett [~USD 19]): 12 nn - 3 pm
Sunday Yum Cha buffet (PhP 1,550 nett [~USD 37]: 11:30 am - 3 pm
   --dim sum plus starters, main courses, dessert, and free-flowing drinks (iced tea, soda, beer)