Causeway Seafood Restaurant: Authentic Cantonese Cuisine

I have always loved Chinese food and I don’t consider it really as an international cuisine at all. Chinese food is one of my comfort food. If you’re not from Asia, you might not know this, but China even before the Philippines was colonized by Western countries, already had a great influence to my country, The Philippines. From culture, to race/ancestry, to tradition and of course, to food. So never be surprised if we have Filipino dishes that are almost similar or contain a greatly-influenced Chinese taste. Heck, we even have the oldest China town in the world (well except for the ones in China of course! Duh!)

Although we have a lot of Filipinized Chinese dishes, sometimes I still crave for the authentic ones. But it’s not every day that I can go to Chinatown and enjoy eating close-to-authentic Chinese food. So where can I get a quick fix? One of the well-known place where there are a couple Chinese restaurants that Pinoys can go to is Banawe in Quezon City and one of these restaurants is Causeway Seafood Restaurant.

Causeway Seafood Restaurant was conceptualized when a group of partners explored the Metro looking for authentic Cantonese Cuisine, it was because of their quest to find quality Cantonese food that they realized, with their Cantonese heritage, they have the potential and the opportunity to make a difference in how the Philippines can experience Cantonese cuisine. It was from 1998 that they started planning and working with chefs from Hong Kong, to provide affordable quality Cantonese food that everyone can enjoy. A year later, Causeway Seafood Restaurant first opened its doors in Banawe Street Q. C. On April 30, 1999, which at that time, also pioneered quality Dim sum promos.

15 years later, Causeway Seafood Restaurant has branched out to Congressional, Benavidez, Libis, and Timog, continuing to provide quality Cantonese food at an affordable price. In the future, Causeway Seafood Restaurant plans on continuing to re-engineer their processes to innovate and further differentiate themselves from the market, not only with one of a kind food, but also with superior customer service.

 
Causeway just recently renovated there first branch and it is nothing but glamorous with interiors in earthy tones, huge chandeliers hanging on the ceiling and large dining halls. There are also private rooms for functions and gatherings. Me and a bunch of other foodies were invited to try their menu consisting of favorite Cantonese dishes and their Premium Dim sums. 

Lapu-Lapu with Abalone Sauce - with Causeway, the name of the dish what you see and what you get. This dish is made from 1 kilo of Lapu-Lapu or Grouper. Lapu Lapu is one of those salt water fish that comes with a hefty price and you should expect nothing less than tasty and this did not disappoint. It was fresh and soft with every bite. The Abalone sauce was rich in flavor and very distinct. This was definitely one of the favorites that night. 

Diced Beef Cubes with Potato - literally diced beef cubes and potatoes and stir-fried. The beef was tender and the dish was yummy. But everyone agreed that there was too much potatoes and  we all wished it was fewer. 

Assorted Seafood with Cheese in Pumpkin Bowl - once this came out and placed on our table, we were all amazed of how huge this dish was. It was so cheesy and I love it. The pumpkin isn't just for pretty presentation but the sides of it were scraped and mixed with the cheese and the seafood within it. I think this had shrimps, clams, squids and scallops. This isn't just a must-try but definitely a must-order!

Baked Prawn Thailand Style with Fried Mantao Bread -  This was super yummy! The size of the prawns were huge. unfortunately I was not able to take a good photo and show the size of the prawns. And let me just take this time to talk about the bread that it came with. They are probably the best fried bread I've ever tasted in my entire life, I mean, I can munch on it all day. It didn't even need to be dipped in that sauce that came with the shrimps. 

Shredded Chicken with Fresh Fruits Salad - This is actually an appetizer. The presentation is awesome and makes it very appetizing already. Think about the taste literally as a chicken salad would taste. The shredded chicken meat (I think they used the white meat of the chicken here) was mixed with cream and mayonnaise. This was pretty good. It included slices of watermelon, mango and melon. Although I didn't mix mine with the fruits, I ate them separately. 

Assorted Mushrooms in Bean Curd Wrapper - I love mushroom and all varieties of it. I have always adored these fungi regardless of how they are served. The mushrooms are fresh and are definitely something that I truly appreciate and had fun savoring them. I’ve never had the chance to get hold of plenty different kinds of mushrooms at the same time in one dish so I pretty much loved how this tasted pretty well.

Lo-han, Vegetables with Wintermelon - I only know wintermelon in my milk tea, and having to try this as part of a dish is something very new to me. Lo-Han on the other note is traditional Chinese medicine and is commonly used for medicinal purposes and as a sweetener. Both have health benefits and to have them as a dish is not only yummy but healthy at the same time. 

Assorted Seafood Rice Soup -  I love that this was cooked in front of us, so you know it's fresh and hot; still steaming when it was poured onto our own individual bowls. This is the only rice dish that we tried that night and I ain't complaining because this was so good and luxurious with all that seafood mixed with the rice. It isn't like a congee though because the rice was still firm. I super liked this!

Premium Dim sums: Causeway also served us a couple of their signature dim sums which they are very well-known for. And OMG, we were already full to the brim and was already relaxing before heading home when the waiters started bringing them to our table. 
Mushroom Pao - These buns definitely fooled me into thinking that they are a really huge mushrooms! I bet you are fooled to judging by how it looks in the photos below. We were all so fascinated by how they looked so real. The buns were soft like pillows and had chopped mushroom fillings with that familiar Asado sauce. 

Egg Yolk Pao - Another dim sum Causeway is famous for. This was on the sweeter side though and will remind you of custard buns. Its filling was creamy, runny and oozing. It is normally served hot in order for the filling to remain runny. I was expecting that they would use salted egg so that it's a bit sweet and salty at the same time, but that is another version of this buns. The bun and the filling was buttery and had a creamy aroma. This was definitely a crown favorite. 

Minched Shrimp - This reminded me of hakao dim sum but prepped like a sushi roll. The wrapper was soft and the shrimps were fresh. I personally think this was flavorful in itself and doesn't even need the dip that it came with. Loved this!

Fried Gyoza - I love how Causeway presents their dishes, not only that they are Instagram worthy but also taste so good! Just like these fried gyozas. We broke the blanket that covered the gyozas to be able to eat them individually. That crispy top gave the soft and tender gyozas a good texture. 

Seafood Taro Puff - I like Taro as drink or as a dessert but having it as part of a dim sum is again another thing that is new to me. This dish was very unique as I was surprised how good the combination of seafood and taro would be. The coating definitely gave these soft, light, fluffy and mushy taro dim sums some added crunch. For me, this as a clear winner among the premium dim sums that we got to try that night.  From the amount of food that was served to us, it was definitely a feast. The servings are huge so they are definitely good for sharing with large groups. I’s day for the taste, amount of serving, quality of the food and the service, Causeway is so worth your every penny.

CAUSEWAY SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 883 Banawe St., cor Del Monte Avenue,  Sienna, Banawe, Quezon City Contact Nos: 02 2469069 ext 335  Facebook:  facebook.com/causewayresto

For more information, complete menu and restaurant reviews, check out their Zomato profile:   

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