Red Onion Cafe is a restaurant that specializes in Taiwanese beef noodle soup and other Chinese dishes. I tried authentic Taiwanese beef noodles in Taiwan and enjoyed it so I was pretty excited when they invited a couple of us to try their version of it. Many of their dishes utilize the oft forgotten red onion or shallots which is prevalent in Taiwanese cuisine.
Their space in UP Town Center is a bit hidden, facing the still under construction phase 2.
The seating is spacious and varied, wide enough to not feel cramped.
This is their most popular seating area, people automatically gravitate towards the white brick wall, plus it faces their bright wall mural.
We started off our meal with some Taiwanese Sausage (P148), slightly sweet with other savory spices makes this meaty sausage addictive.
Next up was the Taiwanese Crispy Dumplings (P198). This is similar to how Ginza Bairin does their gyoza except the dumpling are bigger and more elongated in size.
Here’s how they make and cook their hand shaved noodles. See that guy in the back, he’s the Robo Chef, at the time of our visit, they were still working out the kinks. The noodles are only cooked upon order so it’s still fresh and chewy.
This is what the hand shaved noodles look like, it’s almost triangular in shape because of the shaving implement they use. We got to try both the thin and hand shaved noodles but my pick is the hand shaved ones which has better bite and texture.
39 Spice Beef Noodle (P258). Red Onion’s signature item is available as an all meat option or a half tendon, half beef. You can have unlimited servings of their hand shaved noodles but only one serving of thin noodles. I felt I like Red Onion’s version compared to the ones from Taiwan probably because it has a more robust taste suitable to local palates.
Double Fried Sweet and Sour Pork (P328). You have your double fried chicken from the likes of Bon Chon and Koko Buri but now in pork form. They weren’t as crunchy as I expected, but the flavor was good but a little too sour for me. My all time favorite from Century Seafood still trumps this in taste and crispiness.
A tale of two chickens, Green Onion Chicken (P198/single) and the Sichuan Mala Chicken (P198). The first one is light in flavor enhanced by the generous amount of green onions, it tastes similar to a Hainanese chicken. The mala chicken uses the same cut but its slathered with at first glance is a super spicy sauce but it actually just gives a mild kick. You can’t go wrong with either one, it just depends if you like it spicy or not.
Red Onion House Fried Rice (P88). A simple fried rice with eggs, red onions and spring onions. Nice flavor that can go with any of their dishes.
For drinks, we had Taiwanese Papaya with Milk (P128) and Winter Melon Tea (P78). Both are refreshing and can help temper if you find the dishes spicy.
Polonchay (P168). We had a little green amidst all the meat. Simply prepared with garlic, my favorite way to have vegetables. It’s a nice change of pace from all the super flavorful dishes we’ve had so far.
Walnut Shrimps (P388). Sweet and savory with nice contrasting textures. This dish could do with a little improvement as I tasted too much cornstarch on the shrimps.
Spiced and Iced Coffee Latte (P128). Beautifully presented on a wooden board with a carafe of warm milk with spices. The glass is filled with coffee iced cubes save for 1 plain ice cube. You are instructed to pour the milk halfway so the coffee cubes melt gradually and is not diluted. A must order for the great presentation and good flavor.
Taiwanese Snow Ice (P138). Red Onion serves only one flavor of this Taiwanese creation, mango to highlight our local fruit. The serving size is pretty generous, it can probably served 2 to 3 people, just be sure to eat it quickly.
Have you eaten at Red Onion Cafe? Share your thoughts on the restaurant and the dishes you liked and disliked.
Red Onion Cafe
G/F UP Town Center Katipunan Ave. Quezon City, Philippines Contact No.: (02) 955-2263Facebook Page: Red Onion Cafe
Like this post? Subscribe to Tales From The Tummy by Email
Follow Tales From the Tummy on Google+
That one was quite a surprise, I hope they open somewhere nearer us.
Drooling for that Spiced and Iced Coffee Latte, among many others :)
Whenever I think of Taiwanese food, I always remember it having a ‘gamot’ like taste! Weird ba? The sausages look good!! :) Exciting na sa UP Town Center!!
For me, their cooking is a bit bland more like home cooking and not as robust in flavor like Cantonese cuisine.