ASIDE from the Philippines getting blacklisted by the international community as a safe destination?no thanks to the botched rescue attempt in that hostage taking last August 23?there?s bound to be fresh discrimination against Filipinos going to Hong Kong. This will be painful for OFWs who already live and work there, and regrettable for Filipino tourists who frequent Hong Kong for the fashion, the books, and most of all, the culinary pleasures it offers.

Fortunately, there are some chefs who have moved here from Hong Kong and don?t mind staying. Among them is Chef Choi Wai Por who was flown in by restaurateur John Ocampo for his restaurant on Escolta near Chinatown.
Chef Choi does not speak a word of English but cooks excellent Chinese cuisine. His specialty though is not the kind of dishes we are used to. Not Cantonese, Mandarin or Schezuan but another type called Chiu Chow cuisine (other spellings include Chiuchow, Teochew, Chaozhou). It?s the cuisine in the Guangdong province near China?s southern coast. Since it?s near the coastline, the cuisine is well known for its seafood.
Since some of the Teochew natives have settled in other Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Singaporean influences may also be found in this cuisine, which explains the serving of Hainanese chicken at this restaurant.

In an interview, Ocampo shared that what differentiates this kind of cuisine from others is its healthier cooking style. On a separate visit, away from the generosity of the owners, one confirmed this to be true. The evidence is in the non-seafood menu of duck, chicken and pork. Senior citizens accompanying me on this visit especially appreciate the fact that the duck and pork are not overloaded with fat.
Observed a Sexy Senior-ita, ?Ang duck usually nakakaumay dahil sa taba, pero ito hindi (You usually get easily satiated with duck because it is too rich with fat, but this one?s not like that).? The same was observed with the order of pork (Pork Brisket Special Style, P320), which came in slices that had no pork fat at all, only beautifully golden crispy skin.

But the pride of the restaurant remains the creatures of the sea (hence the name Crown Prince Seafood). As I stood up to take pictures of their ginormous aquariums containing the evening?s offerings, I overheard the hostess shout out a to-go order of suahe (river shrimps), obviously from a customer who knows his seafood. The lobster is noticeably meatier and carefully selected.
What stands out, though, is the crab, which is served chilled, a Chiu Chow specialty. As a matter of fact there are several choices on how to appreciate the crab: with ginger and onion, with fried chili and garlic, or with vermicelli in a pot. But the chilled crab is most interesting because, aside from the impression of freshness, it gives you a reconnection with the sea that is not as immediately apparent in other versions of crab delicacies.

If you travel all the way to Escolta, you might as well veer away from the more common Chinese delicacies like dumplings. There?s Gloria Maris for that. Take a leap into the tastes of the Guangdong area. Admittedly, this may not be easy because if you are not Chinese, the menu may be confusing at first glance.
To begin with, it?s extensive. Laughably there are repeat items, e.g. the Gold Label Roasted Chicken is both on the page marked ?Roasting? and on the page for chicken. And the waiters are not reliable guides either. I asked what the difference was between the Crystal Chicken and the Gold Label Roasted Chicken and we became only more confused upon being told that they are the same, except the Crystal Chicken was not available. Nevertheless, it is evident that the restaurant puts a premium on the quality of the food as they immediately deducted an item off the bill, even if we did not ask them to, when one of our guests inquired as to the taste of bamboo pith. (This soup, by the way, was delicious.)

The place, I observed, is known mainly for family gatherings where groups of eight to 10 come together to celebrate an occasion or each other?s company. There are also sound-proof function rooms named after Chinese provinces where singing, no matter how off-key, may be enjoyed, and where apparently a lot of Rotary Club meetings take place. This probably explains why the servings are big, even those that are labeled ?small? on the menu. (The menu gives you choices of small, medium and large orders.)

That large groups of Chinese dine at this restaurant, complete with their large bottles of Tsingtao beer, is very telling of what Chef Choi can deliver: authentic Chiuchow cuisine patronized by those who know how to appreciate it. At least for this one, we won?t have to travel all the way to Hong Kong! ?

Crown Prince Seafood Restaurant. 286 Escolta St., Binondo, Manila. Tel. 245-4005, 247-7753. Very limited parking space beside the restaurant; paid parking area by the Burger Machine a few buildings down. Wheelchair accessible. No reservations required unless set menus preferred. Small orders approximately P200-P300. Medium orders approximately P1,000++, live seafood offered at seasonal prices.