Tong Yang Hot Pot at Malate

We went to Tong Yang at Pan Pacific to have dinner as it has been a long time since we last visited Tong Yang. They offer the best catch of the day, eat-all-you-can for P450 per person. Diners can cook their food either by grilling it or by cooking it in the hot pot. I choose thinly cut marinated beef strips, chicken wings, lamb chops -even amusing us by stashing a handful of hotdogs and meat loaf, stoking it over the smokeless grill with volcanic rocks as coal. Joni says that these rocks particularly conserve energy and heat while cooking the food in a matter of minutes. As for the hot pot, I put in some fresh seafood (clams, fishballs, crab, squid) along with other ingredients such as abalone, beef tripe and mushroom. The trick is to cook first the ingredients that take a lot of time to get tender like beef or chicken. Then you put in the vegetables. We all know that you shouldn't overcook vegetables so as not to lose their nutritional value. The clincher in every hot pot meal is the special sauces. I tried dipping a fishball into the sate sauce (or the Chinese's version of curry) and it was the best sauce that went well with the hot pot extenders. It's like appreciating fishballs in a different way because of that unique sauce. The grilled foodstuff also tasted incredibly delightful as they had been marinated for a considerable amount of time. Its just a nice experience to dine at Tong Yang. Tong Yang Hotpot 3rd Level, Adriatico Square, Pan Pacific Hotel Adriatico St., Malate Manila Tel. 536-8392, 536-8393, 536-8394 Open for lunch and dinner Open everyday for lunch at 11am to 2:30pm and dinner at 5:30pm to 10:30pm Rating : 3 star Value for Money : 3 star