Dimsum Lunch at Lili

Li Li, at the Hyatt, can probably be considered the best dimsum place in all of Metro Manila. Every time I go to dine at Li Li, there's a certain anticipation. I can already taste the heavenly Baked Barbecued Puff Pastry in my fantasies. Yes, that IS my ulterior motive for going to Li Li's, to taste that sublime Baked Barbecued Puff Pastry. There it is, just slightly below the center of the menu. That, my dear friends, is heaven in a bite.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Li Li's dimsum lunch is available from Monday-Saturday from 12:00nn-5:00pm at P670/person. On Sundays, they have an even grander spread with more desserts and non-dimsum dishes available, which costs more at P1,350/person. Having been to both, the one for P670 is a less expensive way to satisfy any onset of intense cravings for Baked Barbecued Puff Pastry. If money was not a consideration, I would still go for the Sunday Brunch, even though I always leave it way too full to do anything more than lie down in peace with a smile on my face.


What else do I love about Li Li? I love their plates. Their patterns add a touch of whimsy to an otherwise austere and formal dining area. They are Raynaud Villeroy Fruits and every time the waitress changes our plates I wonder what the next fruit is going to be. The collection just reminds me of the painting in the Thomas Crown Affair (Son of Man by Rene Magritte). I also love it that they set out silver spoons. No metallic aftertaste to mess with the food!

First, we were served some lightly pickled vegetables and boiled peanuts as appetizers. The boyfriend loves the pickles. If it was available for sale at a reasonable price (we didn't ask), the boyfriend would have bought a jar of it home to papak. The pickles were not too vinegary, not too salty, not too sweet. Just perfect and light. The peanuts.. how do they do that? Such a light touch with the seasoning yet so flavorful. The seasoning was not overwhelming, though I am sure there was a little soy sauce involved somewhere. You could just taste the peanuts and they were wonderful.

Our orders were brought out not soon after we ate up all the appetizers. First was the Deep-Fried Glutinous Dumpling with Assorted Meat, then my raison d'etre, the Baked Barbecued Puff Pastry. Think of biting into  honey-glazed crisp yet tender pastry layers and finding sweet honeyed barbecued pork in the middle. I could wax poetic about this all day. Calling the barbecued pork "asado" would never do it justice. It's just worlds higher than what we normally think of when we think of the pork "asado" filling in asado siopao.

Deep-Fried Glutinous Dumpling with Assorted Meat

Baked Barbecued Puff Pastry

Ha Kao - the boyfriend's favorite. Oh, look at that skin!

Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce - this was good but unfortunately was overshadowed by my other favorites.

Honey Roasted Barbecued Pork - if I wasn't so full I would have asked for another order of this. Yes, it's good. The meat was perfectly cooked. And yes, I hate poorly cooked meat (overcooking perfectly good meat is sacrilege). The flavor was also like a perfect blending of tastes and spices, and nothing overpowered.

Deep-Fried Vegetarian Spring Roll and the Crispy Pancake are just okay.

The Xiao Long Pao was up to expectations though not mind-blowing. The Sauteed Seasonal Vegetables in Garlic - now that is just fresh. That's all I can say. Why is it always the simplest of dishes that has me stumped? The cabbage tasted so fresh every bite, yet light and not greasy nor soupy. Oh, if I only knew the technique of how to cook it so perfectly!

Finally, dessert. Fried Buns with Egg Custard Cream. Look at that custard!

And here's the Chocolate Masachi. I was expecting the usual brown chocolate so I was pleasantly surprised to bite into creamy, tangy white chocolate! I asked for another serving of this. Who would have thought white chocolate and buchi would be so good together?

Li Li is at the 5th floor of the Hyatt Hotel and Casino.  If you're driving there, note that looking for the Hyatt's parking entrance can get a little confusing. Anyway, just ask the guards and they will tell you the way.

Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila

1588 Pedro Gil cor M.H. Del Pilar, Malate,
Manila, Philippines 1004 
Tel: +63 2 245 1234