Hong Kong cuisine is one of my favorites.  In Manila, we have a lot of good Chinese restaurants. I classify them as either Filipinized Chinese or authentic Hong Kong standard Chinese.

Occasionally, I crave for both. Some of the authentic Hong Kong places are Shang Palace in Shangri-La Makati, Summer Palace in Shangri-La Edsa and Hai Shin Lu on Pasay Road.

A few months ago, I was in Hong Kong with friends and our culinary guide took us to places I had never been to before. The food was exceptional.

I discovered places that served outstanding roast goose for half the price than Yung Kee’s. Yung Kee is a Chinese restaurant on Wellington Street in Central, Hong Kong, known for its roast goose.

Other places served exceptional congee, butong pakwan, etc.

Recently I was informed of a new place that had opened on Connecticut Street in Greenhills and which reportedly served authentic Hong Kong Chinese food. Coming from my Hong Kong experience, I was going to compare for sure.

Must-try

Xiu is a few weeks old. It is the latest fine-dining Chinese restaurant to open in the country. It has eight Hong Kong chefs and each specializes in a certain type of cooking.

The house specialty? Roast pork or asado to us.

My gosh, Xiu is a must-try place. Each spoon full I took, I was just shaking my head in disbelief. Wow, Manila standards have gone way up.

We started with Char Siu pork, jellyfish and preserved egg in Szechuan sauce. Everything was great.

Then came wintermelon soup with crabmeat and dried scallops. Flavors were subtle and also delicious.

Then we had elephant tusk shells with vermicelli, prawns with special sauce, stewed beef short ribs, Chinese lettuce with shrimp paste in pot, steamed lapu-lapu, Hong Kong chicken in pot, Efu noodles with sea cucumber and mushrooms, and steamed suahe.

I loved each and every one of the dishes. And yes, the sweet and sour pork was exceptional.  If you’re like me, a Chinese meal is not complete without good ol’ sweet and sour pork.

The buchi for dessert was to die for!

On the menu, I saw roast goose, crispy pork belly, roasted suckling pig, deep-fried pigeon—all of which I will definitely try on my next visit.

I don’t need to go to Hong Kong to get my Chinese craving fix. It’s right here!

With the credentials of those eight chefs, Xiu is now the hottest fine-dining Chinese restaurant in Manila today. Check it out.

Happy eating!

Xiu Fine Cantonese Dining is at 115 Connecticut Street, Northeast Greenhills, San Juan. Call 6507189, 0947-7070228.