Xiu

AUTHENTIC AND UPGRADED

Xiu takes Cantonese cuisine to a whole new level.

REVIEW BY SASHA LIM UY

Honey-glazed Prime Cut Char Siu

The debate whether the name is pronounced “shoo” or “show” ends once the lobster arrives. There are many ways to enjoy this prized crustacean, but there’s nothing better than having it with gooey cheese (Frenchstyle, according to the menu) and e-fu noodles. It is light and rich and creamy and briny, all at the same time. One forkful is all it takes to pique your curiosity about the rest of the restaurant’s offerings.

Everything at Xiu is multifaceted, complex, and can be called—dare we say—fusion. It is, after all, the most precise term to capture their Frenchinfluenced cookery. What used to be Lugang Café’s flagship branch has given way to a completely new concept. Step inside and it’s a different experience altogether: chic neutral palette, huge chandeliers, elegant murals, glass leaves floating from the high ceiling. As for the food, it takes its cue from

Hong Kong’s West Villa restaurant—Cantonese with some panache.

Here, the requisite Chinese traditional favorites are on the menu: Think an impeccable shark’s fin soup, delicate steamed lapu-lapu, lovely salted egg prawns. You likely won’t find the soothing Doubleboiled Fish Maw Soup in other Chinese restaurants, but it’s the stuff classics are made of: Fish innards, chicken feet, and ginger are simmered for six hours until all their flavors are infused into a milky broth.

Xiu serves the soup plain, but the taste is deep, soulful, and incredible, with almonds presenting a lingering nutty note. You can ask for the fish and chicken to be served—the leftover meat and offal have been rendered completely bland, but soy sauce gives it renewed life.

IN A NUTSHELL

XIU FINE CANTONESE

DINING 115 Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan (tel. no.: 650-7189)

MUST-TRIES Honeyglazed Prime Cut Char Siu (P680), Double-boiled Fish Maw and Almond Soup (P1,980 to P3,880), Tiger Lobster with Cheese and Noodles (market price), Stewed U.S. Beef Short Ribs (P2,280), Crispy Pork Belly and Bean Curd (P580), Sweet and Sour Pork (P480), Premium Soy Sauce HK Chicken in Clay Pot (from P980), Chinese Lettuce with Shrimp Paste (P480), Baked Black Ink Rice in Clay Pot (P580)

THUMBS UP Pretty interiors, private function rooms, excellent service, and festive dishes— you’ll get a boutique hotel experience when you celebrate special occasions at Xiu. Cantonesestyle Crispy Pork

A restaurant like Xiu makes you want to try unconventional things like the Baked Stuffed Sea Conch (a surprising heavyweight featuring conch meat, ginger, scallions, and mashed potatoes, perked up by a dash of curry), the fragrant Baked Black Ink Rice with Seafood (smothered in garlic, light enough to balance out the flavors from the rest of your meal), and their Pistachio Soup (because the usual almond jelly no longer raises eyebrows). But there is something special about how Xiu manages to make even the conventional dishes stand out. A touch of salt brings out the best in the Cantonese-style crispy pork belly that crackles loudly (enough to echo across the table!) when you bite into it. The sweet and sour pork is unfailingly crispy, even when you leave it untouched on the table for a good 10 minutes in favor of the Soy Sauce Chicken.

For many, Xiu is the type of restaurant that’s reserved for special occasions. Its food, after all, is dubbed as fine Cantonese cuisine. The seafood is priced by weight and can make quite the dent on your budget; a whole fried chicken will set you back a couple of thousands. But to those who enjoy a good meal, it’s worth it—the Stewed U.S. Beef Short Ribs isn’t a dish you’ll likely forget any time soon.