Tasty Taiwanese: A Lugang Cafe Review

I am slowly starting to appreciate Chinese food more and more lately. I used to be indifferent towards full-blown Chinese, Taiwanese, or Vietnamese restaurants but a little bit of exploration made me appreciate a few. One of which, is Lugang Café.

One look at the interiors of Lugang and you’ll know that this isn’t your typical Taiwanese resto. It doesn’t give much emphasis to conventional oriental designs but instead, it sports a more modern, chic appearance that doesn’t necessarily scream Asian on first look.

I’ve been to the same branch of Lugang at SM North twice already and I’m glad to have a consistent experience. The gentleman attending to us even knew that I may be asking where the restroom is as we had our seats. He said that it’s usually what the diners ask for before or after they take their orders. I’d give him more points for actually paying attention to the customers!

Preparing the food takes a bit of time but it was worth the wait. Here are what my friends and I had during my second visit:

Taiwanese Stewed Pork – Php 360.00

I wanted the Taiwanese Stewed Pork because it looked similar to my much loved adobo – and it tasted similar too! It was predominantly sweet and just a bit salty. The best part is that each piece is so tender that it has that melt-in-your-mouth goodness. It wouldn’t be a good option though if you’re on a diet because each chunk has a lot of fat, but I didn’t mind.

Taiwanese Crispy Chicken Nuggets – Php 190.00

I can’t decide whether the Taiwanese Stewed Pork tasted better or this. It truly lived up to the “crispy” part of its name, and it has a unique taste that reminded me of salted egg coating. If most of Taiwanese cuisine is this good I might add it to my favorites list!

Steamed Pork Xiao Long Bao (8pcs.) – Php 248.00

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has high standards for a good Xiao Long Bao. The dough/skin has to be just right – not too thick to overpower the meat and soup, but not too thin that it easily tears. I’m happy to say that Lugang’s Xiao Long Bao meets those standards. Each dumpling fully captures that delightful squirt of warm soup when you sink your teeth into one inside your mouth.

Golden Fried Rice with Egg and Shredded Pork – Php 260.00

Of course, the dishes we ordered can be appreciated the most when had with rice. A regular steamed rice would have done the trick but the flavorful Golden Fried Rice with Egg and Shredded Pork worked even better with our taste buds.

Cantonese Mushroom Stir-fried Noodles – Php 350.00

We were also happy with the noodles that we ordered as our side dish. The noodles were well done, and it had just the right amount of mushrooms and veggie toppings.

Juices – Aloe Jelly in Honey-Lemon Juice (Php 150.00), Iced Fruit tea (Php 160.00), and Cranberry Juice with Mango (Php 150.00)

If you’ve been with me during a meal you’ll know that I drink a lot of liquids as I eat, that’s why I often order the bottomless option when there’s one. When you order the juices in Lugang, there’s no need to go bottomless as each tall glass should be enough to get you through the whole meal. Heck, you can even share it with a friend if you want to.

Lugang Iced Coffee – Php 130.00

We had to make sense of the “Café” part in Lugang’s name so it’s understandable that one of us ordered coffee. Priced just about the same as a Starbucks drink but several notches prettier, I must say.

***

I’d definitely go back for more. Half of the motivation would be to try the desserts! Admittedly though, it's a bit expensive for the serving, but the taste and service makes up for it.

                                             

Lugang Café

The Block, SM North EDSA

2F The Block SM North EDSA, Quezon City

Contact Numbers: +632.332.8725 / +63915.746.9693

Greenhills

115 Connecticut Street, North East Greenhills, San Juan City

Contact Numbers: +632.542.0196 / +63917.699.2254

SM Mall of Asia

GF 136-137 Main Mall South Wing, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Contact Numbers: +632.555.0219 / +63916.214.0822

SM Aura Premier

Skypark, Level 5, SM Aura Premier, 26^th Street cor. McKinley Parkway, Taguig City

Contact Numbers: +63906.455.5873

Glorietta 2

Glorietta 2. GF, The New Ayala Center, Makati City

Contact Numbers: +63906.455.5879

SM Megamall

Fashion Hall, Bldg. D. SM Megamall., EDSA cor. Julia Vargas, Pasig City

Contact Numbers: +63915.174.2243