the great buddha cafe

been wanting to try this restaurant and was finally able to do so last friday. upon entering, you can see the eng bee tin store on the 1st floor and the restaurant is on the 2nd. they also have a mini souvenir shop beside the restaurant and will soon have a museum on the 3rd floor. we ordered their beef tendon claypot rice, asado noodles, hakaw, and beef wanton noodle soup. i loved the flavor of their tendon plus it was really soft. the asado noodles was not so good and kinda bland. hakaw was so-so as well, nothing special. the beef wanton noodles were also good and the wantons were big. the overall ambiance of the place wasgreatbut they can improve more on their service. we asked for tissue and it took a while before they handed it over to us.

there will be two part of my reviews since i have been to this wonderful chinese cuisine, first part will be mostly for their savory dishes and second is going to be more on the eng bee tin and their moon cake festival. a year a ago thegreatbuddha was a newly opened cafe by the famous eng bee tin group, strategically situated in the oldest china town in the world in binondo manila. we were fortunate enought to try their dishes
•cream cheese nai cha
•golden custard buchi
•xiao long bao
•hainanese chicken
•pork ribs glazed with hkney garlic sauce
i would highly recommend thegreatbuddha cafe for you to try out.

the second time we joined their moon cake festival so we able to taste different types of hopia, moon cake and buffet chinese dishes like noodles, yang chow, and a lot more.

part of our binondo food crawl with my partner, thegreatbuddha bar cafe is located on the second floor just above eng bee tin. the place is filled with filipino souvenirs and chinese decor.

my partner ordered egg tart and tea while i ordered soy chicken. the service is slow since only 2 crew are getting and serving the food simultaneously. i don't know why the manager keep it at lunch hour. it took more or less 35 minutes to take and serve the food.

i don't taste any special on food. other visitor can be here for experience but for me, i'll skip it next time i visit binondo.

we enjoyed the food with their milk tea for our drinks.

1. stir-fried noodles. i'm not sure if this is part of their menu. this is a classic noodle dish whereby they mixed whatever ingredients they have.
2. fish-fillet tofu hotpot. even if this wasn't served in a hotpot, the sauce and the generous servings of vegetables elevated the mild taste of the tofu and fish fillet. this isgreatwith plain rice.
3. soy chicken. braised in soy sauce and chinese spices, the chicken was good. i, of course, prefer this served in its original plate where it's swimming in its sauce.
4. pork ribs glazed in honey garlic sauce. this is a succulent dish with the pork ribs perfectly coated in honey garlic sauce.
5. fried rice. i think this is shrimp fried rice but they skimped on the shrimp. what i like about this one is that it doesn't have green peas.

we tried their xiao long bao and hakaw. the xiao long bao is not thatgreatbecause the soup has drained from it already upon serving. the hakaw was good but not the best. however, despite my disappointment their sauce were good.

a cool place in the outer part of binondo just a few steps away from the binondo church.the place is stylish with purple paints all over which symbolizes "ube" in my opinion.
first floor sells engbeetin delicacies while the restaurant is in the 2nd floor and a museum in the 3rd floor.
we ordered the beef tendon claypot and thegreatbuddha congee.
there was an ongoing promotion wherein you will only have to pay 1 peso for a dimsum when you order a claypot dish. 
we opt to claim the xiaolongbao for the piso deal but was advised that they have reached the maximum amount of allotted orders for the promotion but we can order xiaolongbao at a regular price. we find this a bit ridiculous and had no choice but ordered hakaw instead.
the beef tendon is pure tendon without a bit of meat. 
the congee i ordered had super few rice in it. no joke. 
the congee i know should have bits of deformed rice. i still prefer waiying's congee.
hakaw was the best. the shrimp and the wrapper were still crispy and not the soggy type.
i might come back to try the other dishes but  will definitely not order congee again.

a breath of fresh air and yummy food in crowded binondo. food wasgreatfor the price. we hd hainanese chicken and claypot rice— claypot rice was super flavorful and hot making the rice eating experience sulit! they were generous with the clearsoup too.

the interiors were of modern chinese aesthetic. restroom though was on another floor and had to be accessed via a stairwell. overall the experience and the food was value for money!

thegreatbuddha cafe is very different from buddha bar in makati, although both have “buddha” in their names and a large statue of buddha inside the restaurants. if you’re familiar with the original eng bee tin store in binondo, then you’ll find the wonderful cafe on the second floor interesting. the renovated place is now called the grand buddha cafe, where mouthwatering chinese food are served beside a souvenir shop selling trinkets of filipino and chinese culture. soon, there will also be a museum showcasing the history of the famous hopia brand and the process on how hopia is made.

this was our first stop and our meeting place. thegreatbuddha cafe is like a sister of mr. ube and cafe mezzanine. it has a modern ambiance, a casual setting housed in an expansive floor. interior-wise, it’s a step up from a hole in the wall. we shared an order of xiao long bao (php 248, 10 pieces)–soup dumplings that burst in your mouth with a memorable explosion of flavor, especially when paired with the black vinegar and ginger condiment. we also tried stir-fried radish cake with pork floss (php 220). the nice golden crust was a delight to bite into!

having a party at your house? thegreatbuddha cafe is present in the honestbee app or website, so you can enjoygreatfood delivered at your doorstep. to immerse in the full dining experience, visiting the place itself is more ideal of course.

food - love the siomai and the panfriend dumplings. tendon rice is superb.
ambience -greatasian design and instagrammable.
service - fast!

bonus! they have a shop upstairs for souvenirs.
fact: i think they are the same owners of chuan kee and cafe mezzanine. both good places! this group really knows their market.

we all know the famous hopia in town the eng bee tin! now they have a new restaurant, i assume this is the 3rd restaurant they owned in binondo. they have chuan kee, mr ube and now thegreatbuddha cafe. all three of this said restaurants are only walking distance away. (literally few steps ) .

at first you wouldnt know that there's a new restaurant calledgreatbuddha cafe unless you take a peek at the new house of the famous ube hopia. and roam around until you go to its 2nd floor. (or maybe you saw or heard it from friends post).

anyway about the food. there dimsums are not really budget friendly. so, instead. we ordered soy chicken with rice and shrimp wonton noodle.

to be honest im not really fan of their soy chicken (theres an overpowering chinese spices smell that they add , that i didnt really dig, not the 5spices im a big fan of those, im not quite sure what spice it is).

anyway we enjoy the shrimp wonton noodle because we were mesmerized by the aroma of the sesame oil! and the shrimp wonton itself tasted delicious!

eng bee tin can be considered as a legend in the food industry. they popularized the ube hopia and later on venture out with other pastries. they now have lots of stores within manila. they looked like a convenience store of chinese deli. right now they opened a new restaurant as well. it offers cantonese style cuisines. if ever you've heard of binondo food crawl, you should probably add thegreatbuddha cafe on list of restaurant that you'll visit. it aims to boost the tourism in binondo. with that aim in mind, they added souvenir shop inside their restaurant too. 

speaking of buddha, they named it that way because they want customers to feel happy, plenty and content which symbolizes buddha. aside from that they used quality ingredients to their food which is a reallygreatvalue for money. speaking of food they have solo and group orders. 

among the must try are:

claypot rice - beef tendon

claypot rice - chicken mushroom

hainanese chicken

hk style asado

pork ribs glazed with honey garlic sauce

thegreatbuddhe congee

cream cheese nai cha

pork and shrimp siomai

xiao long bao

pan friend dumpling

those are the foods that really made a mark for me. very tasty plus good serving size. i really can't wait to be back and bring along my friends and family too. quick trivia, did you know that eng bee tin stands for, eng - forever; bee - beautiful; and tin - precious. pretty much it transcends as to how thegreatbuddha cafe is now. it can be a place where you'll let the most beautiful and precious people in your life to dine in and experience cantonese style cuisines. 

when i think of binondo, it’s a must that i take home some eng bee tin hopia with me. what’s exciting is that eng bee tin recently built a 3 story building that sells all their pastries. not only that but they also have some souvenir items and cafe in it. i really got excited when i received an invitation from thegreatbuddha café as their the makers of these classic and crazy-delicious hopia that we all love.

as of 08sept2018. delicious food with fair price.greatcustomer service. good ambiance. they don't accept cards as of this writing. beef tendon claypot is highly recommended. will dine again.

thegreatbuddha is a newly-opened cafe by the famous eng bee tin group. located at binondo, this resto offers a variety of chinese cuisines. we tried a lot of their courses and i must say, sobrang sarap!! favorite ko yung pork ribs glazed with honey garlic sauce (320php) (yah, can eat that all day!!) and yung cream cheese nai cha!! yan ang i-order niyo friends, i swear!! try niyo din chicken mushroom sausage ( 240php) ad their xiao long bao ( 248php) ❤️💯💯

also, after niyo mag eat, may market sa baba na sobrang mag- enjoy ka magshopping 🤗
—
thank you @foodiengr and @chuaroche for the invite!!

my sister and i discovered our love for chinese foods since eating at thegreatbuddha cafe. we love the restaurant's interior design. the place is brightly lit and very spacious. moreover, there is a section where you can buy souvenirs before going home. you can also shop from the engbeetin store from the first floor. how awesome is that?

as for the food, we've tried lots of their dishes but our favorites would be the following:
- pork ribs glazed with honey garlic sauce
- hainanese chicken
- xiao long bao
- golden custard buchi
- cream cheese nai cha

we would definitely come back for more and bring our parents with us because they love authentic chinese foods.