I was winning my battle with the bulge (mostly around my mid-section) until last Sunday when Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde texted our group an invitation to lunch at Gloria Maris Shark’s Fin Restaurant in Greenhills, San Juan City. The feast (yes, it was!) served to our group was so irresistible. I said, “Forget it!,” and, with my equally starving companions, I tasted every item of plateful after plateful laid out before us. It was a bit too late when I realized it — I had just lost my battle with the bulge there at Gloria Maris, sans regrets (nothing that regular exercise can’t correct).
Now located along Missouri St. at the Greenhills Shopping Center, Gloria Maris may be considered “the restaurant with a showbiz history” because at its old location (in the vicinity of Club Filipino), Mother Lily hosted a presscon with movie writers for then presidential candidate Fidel Ramos. More than 200 writers showed up. Mr. Ramos got so much publicity (as I’ve been saying, movie writers are read by classes ABCD) and, I guess, that helped him win votes. After that, other candidates (of all sorts of positions) started hosting similar presscons exclusively for movie writers.
Gloria Maris has become the favorite restaurant not only of Chinese families (which make up a huge part of its clientele) but other people as well, thanks to its professional Hong Kong chefs that continue to maintain the food quality. The restaurant opened in 1995. Two years later, in a need to reach out to the masses, it opened Dimsum Kitchen which serves authentic Hong Kong-style dimsum, noodles and congee, the most popular being hakaw and shark’s fin siomai.
The Sunday we were there, Gloria Maris was packed full with customers, mostly families, but no problem since it can accommodate around a thousand guests at the main dining hall downstairs and at the VIP rooms upstairs, one of which can seat two dozen people at two round tables. We learned that a few days before we were there, Susan Roces hosted a birthday dinner with her family. Last Tuesday, ULAP (Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines) held its meeting there with administration candidate Mar Roxas. Pres. Noynoy Aquino came a “surprise”guest. I don’t know what the ULAP guys ordered. Did their lunch consist of any, or all, of the items we feasted on? These:
1. Chiu Chow Cold Cuts
2. 3. and 4. Peking Duck Two Ways (minced with lettuce)
5. Two Tone Almond Pumpkin Seafood Soup
6. Lapu-Lapu Two Ways
7. Fried Crabs with Black Beans
8. Asian Fried Spring Roll
9. Sizzling Seafood and, for desserts,
10. Ube Jelly plus Buchi
11. Avocado Shake with Sago — Photos of menu by KIMBERLY LEE
(For inquiries and reservations, call 570-0921, 570-0923 570-0924 or 570-0927.)
(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com. You may also send your questions to askrickylo@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)