LAU CHAN SHABU SHABU

These days, I'm getting so lazy at everything that it is so pathetic. Blame it on me and my husband's new found addiction (pun sort of intended) to BREAKING BAD.

Yo! That's a television series, B@#*H!!! 

grabbed from the net YO!

Ha ha ha ha! I don't know if it's age or what but now, a perfect night for me is going home early for a night of BREAKING BAD.  Of course this is one activity we will NEVER involve the kids in that as a result Mati and Andrei were wondering why sleeping time became so early. TEE HEE! Little do they know that Mommy and Daddy are already curled up on the sofa and watching Jesse do something stupid while Mr. White comes to the rescue. Oh yes. No chores for us. WE ARE SOOO BAD.

Oh I'm kidding!

Or am I?

So you could just imagine how DEEELICIOUS LAU CHAN is. 

Now, you may say that the sentence above may be the most epic (OR pathetic) of segues but do understand that LAU CHAN is still in the galaxy far far away of Malate, Manila while we are sitting lazily in our comfort zone of Mandaluyong. And did I not make myself clear how it is next to impossible to tear ourselves away from the sofa once BREAKING BAD is on?

And believe me, my convincing words to my husband so he could treat us there was "Yub! LAU CHAN is SOOOO sarap that I'll forego BREAKING BAD on a Saturday just to go there!"

Yup. That's ERICJAZ FOODIES. Only food so good will get our lazy selves out and about. Ha ha ha ha!

LAU CHAN!!! 

LAU CHAN was introduced to us by my sister Doc Jojit since it was the favorite Chinese restaurant of their office. Many times she would  say, "WE SHOULD GO TO LAU CHAN, WE SHOULD GO TO LAU CHAN" that one time, to shut her up, we ate there after watching the Nutcracker ballet. 

By the way, I DID say we saw a ballet right? So automatically, my husband was not with us (tsk tsk tsk... ). And, since my love for him knows no bounds (blech) I wanted him to get a taste of the delicious shabu shabu of LAU CHAN, hence my decision to over-force him on the matter. 

LAU CHAN is your typical Chinese restaurant in Binondo which focuses more on good food than ambience.

Personally, I find LAU CHAN a great place to eat in because not only is it very cool from the air conditioning and was fairly clean but this kind set up always assures diners of cheap but still deliciously authentic food!!!

Servers were all helpful and very accommodating in LAU CHAN! This lady would always give us a smile with our requests even from the last time we ate here.

When you're all settled in LAU CHAN, they give you this xeroxed copy of their menu.

You then check the box of the items you want to order! Easy peasy huh???

In LAU CHAN they give you a choice of  what broth you want for your soup that is refillable too! Here are the choices:

Plain Soup - P35.00

Sate Soup - P60.00

Yuan Suey Soup - P75.00

Chinese Medicine Soup - P140.00

Zhi Huang Tong - P150.00

 Our favorite was the special sate but since we were concerned that the kids might find the flavors too strong,  we requested the other half to be just the plain broth.

I took a sip of their regular broth and it was still tasty! I'm sure there's a dash of msg here and there, but I don't mind. Ha ha ha!

Andrei : YOU DON'T SAY YO????

In LAU CHAN they will also give you bowl fulls of their sauces and condiments: soy sauce, minced garlic, green onions, chili, and sate sauce!

Everything, even the Sate sauce, is refillable without extra charge! Yipeee!

My eldest guy, Mati, grew up eating this type of noodle soup and I was thinking how LAU CHAN would fare up to his usual favorite HEALTHY SHABU SHABU! He loves the latter so much that there was even a time we would eat there every week!

He got curious with the dipping sauces though and asked help from my sister. Mati was so used to little servings from Healthy Shabu Shabu... Ha ha ha ha!

I don't know about you, but I make a mean dipping sauce! Check it out! It may look like a marinade with all the packed sauces and condiments, but believe me, THIS is where I will dunk all those soupy dumplings, meats, and noodles!!

When the soup boils, it's time TO COOK!

YO!

Raw grub at LAU CHAN!

LAU CHAN Japanese sweet corn (P40.00)

Mati's favorite, LAU CHAN squid balls (P70.00)

Another Mati favorite, LAU CHAN crabstick (P100.00)!

My new favorite, LAU CHAN Seafood bun (P90.00)!

This happily colored squid ball comes with a creamy "surprise" at the center made up of cream cheese! So yum!!!! When cooked, you may want to slice it. Remember not to bite into it unless you want to get a burnt tongue.

Mati's request, LAU CHAN fresh oysters (P70.00)!

Of course we cannot NOT have udon noodles (P60.00)!

And vegetables! We got some watercress at P50.00 per plate!

Even if you are in LAU CHAN for the Shabu Shabu you may want to try some of their prepared dishes as well! We all loved munching on the LAU CHAN fried wanton (P160.00) from our last visit, especially Andrei who almost commandeered the whole plate.

And since we all love carbs, a small plate of LAU CHAN Yang Chow rice was in order (yup pun intended). 

This was SOOO delicious too! Perfect to shovel inside your mouth while slurping on the very hot sate soup! You could ask the lovely waiters to serve your rice in bowls for equal distribution! He he he he!

Since my sister ate here regularly, she showed us how to LAU CHAN do it!

Of course, not without competition from my little guy!

Now this picture was taken before, I got semi-sprayed by the hot soup when all balls suddenly "fell in".  Haha ha ha ha!

Well, since we were hungry and lacked the finesse of Mr. White, we just dumped everything in.

Sorry. Another BREAKING BAD referral there. Ha ha ha ha!

The waiting game now starts. Those few minutes would seem like hours believe me. It's a good thing we had some LAU CHAN fried wantons to munch on!

Like what Mati did!

Excited to eat at LAU CHAN!

When at LAU CHAN, you may want to encourage child labor and let the kids cook.

Ha ha ha ha! Kidding! Andrei was so curious how to do it and really helped in mixing the Shabu Shabu!

I think he did a pretty darn good job!

Isn't this LAU CHAN soup perfect to slurp on during a chilly or rainy day?

When the veggies are cooked, you may want to set it aside on a plate so that it will still maintain it's crunch!!

Now I want to eat in LAU CHAN again!

LAU CHAN is a perfect restaurant to treat your family because not only are their delicious food servings enough for a whole army but the whole interactive cooking experience is something you want to try with your loved ones!

My perfectly cooked LAU CHAN udon noodles! I give this a generous dip in my sauce then slurp away! 

Like last time, my little lord requested for LAU CHAN mango shake!

I agreed because he was able to finish his food with no forcing or bribing coming from my side. Yup! My little finicky eater LOVED LAU CHAN too YO!

The same goes for Mati who was on his 3rd bowl of LAU CHAN soup with noodles and squid balls here! Ha ha ha ha!

As usual somebody is last on the table!

DONE!!

All that LAU CHAN food for only P1,380! Now isn't that just dandy???

I'm on season 4 of BREAKING BAD now. Guess what we're going to do when we're done with the series?

Another trip to Malate, that's for sure. H aha ha ha!

LET'S EAT B@#%H!!!

LAU CHAN SHABU SHABU

 1664-1666 A. Mabini St., Manila, Philippines

522-46-99; 521-88-00

Check them out in FACEBOOK:

LAU CHAN SHABU SHABU