Chinese Resto Mano-A-Mano: Three-Way fight!

For this edition of the food fight, I shall be ptiing the three heavyweights among the freestanding Chinese restos here around Manila. (Hotel restos don't count since they have an unfair advantage. :P)

It is a common tradition among Filipino-Chinese families to have the regular clan get-togethers in one of these three restos I would consider as "Chinese Fine Dining". Recently, the cousins and I got together when we were grouped together at a table to finally settle once and for all which one seems to be the best. (In a span of 2 weeks, we had the good fortune of having eaten at all 3, so the memories were quite fresh when we had the debate).

Before I start, I know that some of you would cry out that I had omitted this or that resto, which I'm sure you would have perfectly logical arguments to support it. However, this encompasses only those that we have had a chance to dine at somewhat regularly (once a year?), and to tell you the truth, I just put this up for fun. :P

With the disclaimer out of the way, let's meet the contestants:

1) Gloria Maris

As I was growing up, Gloria Maris has always been the go-to chinese resto whenever the clan had a celebration (birthdays of uncles/aunts, grandfather's death anniv, Chinese New Year celebrations, etc). With its own freaking building next to Unimart in Greenhills, the place was a monument to good chinese cuisine. With spacious function rooms and a luxurious interior, coupled with great food, this gave us the chance to disconnect from the world at large and eat away in relative comfort.

2) Hai Kang

This seafood resto along Wilson St. near the gate of Greenhills West became another family favorite of sorts, as they food wasn't bad either, but the interior left much to be desired. To me it seemed a little too much like those run-of-the-mill chinese restos you would find downtown in the Binondo Chinatown. The strong poit of this place was that ( I heard) it was relatively affordable and the portions were really generous. Still, I consider this the weakest of the three.

3) Choi Garden

I have seen Choi Garden occasionally when I was commuting home, but I never really set foot in it until recently (since the demands of residency kept me away from family gatherings for the most part). The place was GRAND, although in terms of size it does not even hold a candle to the sprawling new structure that Gloria Maris built when they moved to the other side of the Greenhills Shopping Complex. The atmosphere seemed more extravagant and the food exquisite! They even had better dessert! (The dessert was admittedly the dealbreaker for me. I mean, how could you make Mango Sago even better?? :P)

And with those (very short and nonsensical) arguments, it looks like CHOI GARDEN is the winner! :P