Teakha
707 Shaw Boulevard, Pasig City
Facebook: www.facebook.com/teakha.ph
Open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday to Sunday
(SPOT.ph) Upcoming family reunion? Want to impress your bosses and colleagues with a delicious group meal? The more people at your party, the trickier it can get to choose a restaurant that everyone will love. A safe choice would always be Filipino food—thought that opens discussions to “my mom makes this or that better”—but the expert choice? Chinese food. Chinese restaurants almost always have a varied enough menu for a wide range of tastes and preferences. Plus, Chinese food is best enjoyed at large parties as you get to order a cornucopia of different contrasting dishes. But not all Chinese food is made equal—some might be too expensive, or some are already too often visited. Ah, reader, we have good news, there’s a new contender you can add to your regular roster of deliciously dependable Chinese restaurants: Teakha. The location is a little bit out of the way, you’d have to intentionally head for the restaurant, but trust us, it’s worth it.
Also read: The Best Chinese Restaurants in Manila for Your Next Celebration
This under-the-radar Chinese restaurant in Pasig is worth seeking out:
We’ve heard it before, and we’ll keep on hearing it, the key to every business is location. Teakha, located along a busy road but too close to Estancia Mall, knew, even as they were still considering opening a restaurant, that their location would be a gamble. “Pupuntahan kaya to?,” the would-be owners wondered. Unable to rely on walk-ins, Teakha greatly depended on word-of-mouth, press, reviews, and return customers, to succeed. Without the perk of a convenient location, Teakha knew, that to survive, they needed to make reliably delicious food.
Since the pandemic began two years ago, though, Teakha’s owner Angelita Go had began working with Chef Melchor Rafael Jr. as a caterer, selling trays of Chinese food online. The positive feedback from customers assured them: some gambles are worth the risk.
Just launched last April, Teakha already boasts a slew of regulars who come back often—some even on the same day, carrying friends and family the next time. For them, Teakha is no gamble, as the food day in, day out, weeks or months apart, always, always satisfies their hankerings. Co-owner and project head Kyle Go says that they set out first and foremost to retain excellent quality not just with the menu highlights, but with every dish they have.
Kyle admits that working with his mother naturally came with friction and its own share of disagreements, but ultimately, it’s his mom who always has the final say—after all, the restaurant is her dream.
That dream is apparent in Teakha’s cozy interiors she herself decorated, bringing warmth to every nook of the restaurant: bold sakura blossom murals on the walls, the ceiling cascading generously with warm yellow pendulum lighting, modern leather plush seating, industrial tables, potted plants, aquariums for live seafood, induction burners on some tables for hotpot, lazy Suzannes on the big round tables for lauriats. It’s a lot happening all at the same time, the aesthetic of an unedited maximalist dreamer, cramming together as many things she finds pretty in her allotted space.
Angelita also brought the same keen attention to the menu as she worked on it with Chef Melchor, suggesting dishes and tweaks every step of the way. Chef Melchor, with 40 years in the industry, some of which was spent in Hilton Manila, helms the kitchen in quiet steadiness, cooking up day in and day out, with unwavering concentration, reliable food with soul.
Teakha holds an incredible range with its menu—from a humble congee to the famous Soup Number 5—but it’s in the basic Chinese staples that we can gauge how good a restaurant is. Case in point: Teakha’s Shrimp Dumpling (P145/four pieces) a.k.a. hakaw. It doesn’t reinvent the classic, but delivers it exactly how you want it: the soft white translucent skin gives way to big, juicy chunks of sweet shrimp mixed with minced savory-seasoned water chestnuts. You can’t go wrong starting the feast with this classic as a starter.
If you’re ready to splurge, how can you say no to lobster? Try Teakha's Lobster Buttered with Lemon Sauce (P450/100 grams). The lobsters they use here are a part of the live seafood patrons can order, ensuring the freshest, juiciest bite. Slathered and sauced with garlicky butter sauce spritzed with lemon, it makes for a simple, classic, combination that you cannot go wrong with. Every bite bursts with buttery, savory, umami-packed flavor that’s satisfying from start to finish.
At first glance, the Nestum Chicken (P360/small, P485/medium, P595/large)looks rather unassuming—a plate of dry, tawny pieces of breaded chicken with monotonous Nestum cereal bits around it. But it's worth going beyond first impressions here; there’s a reason why Kyle Go chose this dish as one of the favorites on the lengthy menu. The first bite of this chicken dish is good, but the more you chew, the tastier it gets. The crunchy cereal bits unleash sweet, salty, and umami flavors that amp up the dish.
In the mood for a savory-sweet bite? In the Honey Glazed Prawn (P550/small, P606/medium, P807/large), juicy prawns are coated with a sticky, sweet coating tinged with spices, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and honey, then lent additional texture with sliced almonds and freshness with crispy, sweet bell peppers. This one is a sure hit.
Rice, of course, is a must in any Asian meal and Teakha's Salted Fish Fried Rice (P365/small, P450/medium, P580/large) is one to try. Here, crushed, crispy salted fish is mixed with fluffy Jasmine rice and crispy veggies. The simple flavor profile of the rice and the array of textures in every spoonful make every dish paired with this course extra flavorful.
And for the adventurous, you've got the Chicken Feet (P120). Granted, chicken feet are not for everyone—but those who know to look beyond the talons know that it can be indulgent and satisfying in its own right. A lot of restaurants don't do justice to the said poultry part when they don’t cook it long enough. Teakha, however, cooks their chicken way all the way through to the finish line, making for a fall-off-the-bone quality in its succulent skin and cartilage. This particular dish uses light soy sauce, giving it a lighter, more fragrant taste that hits immediately—from the first touch of your tongue and whiff up your nose.
These dishes are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a wealth of choices on Teakha’s menu. No matter what you choose, thanks to the keen attention given to every aspect of the restaurant, you’re guaranteed a tasty bite. That's the joy of this restaurant: you can keep coming back, ordering something different each time, or order your favorite regular dishes—either way you can rest assured you’ll have happily satisfied tastebuds.
Photos by Toto Labrador
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