It became a tradition to do a year-end dinner with the family. I was the taya, so I had the say on where to eat, ha! We ended up in The Royale Sharksfin Seafood Restaurant along Quintin Paredes Street, 3rd floor of Pacific Centre, here in Binondo.
The last thing I appreciate in the restaurant is the ‘office facade’ setup upon entering. When you sit near the entrance, you’ll likely hear internal (and sometimes loud) conversations and phone calls which isn’t really ideal for any dining establishment.
We already ate here a number of times, but I always forget to post a review. So today, it was top priority when we got home. lol.
There was an ongoing party when we came, so it was pretty loud with all the singing and talking of the people. We ordered 4 dishes and 4 plain white rice.
I was craving for seafood since last week, so most of our orders were seafood lol. Suahe and Salted Egg was nothing spectacular. Shrimp wasn’t also fresh. My mom loved it though, but I realized I’m not too fond of salted egg-flavored dishes. It wasn’t oily despite being fried, but kind of nakakaumay. It did satisfy my cravings though!
Suahe and Salted Egg – 7/10
Never thought I would like polonchay as a soup as I never appreciated it as a dish or ingredient alongside another. It has a mild taste but still flavorful, and no one ingredient overwhelms the whole dish. Fish could also have been evenly cut to smaller pieces, as some of them are too big.
Mashed Polonchay with Seafood Soup – 8/10, Lee family average
Tofu, shrimp, mushroom, squid, scallops, cream dory and carrots are the primary ingredients that make up their seafood beancurd hotpot. Dish is appetizing with a mellow taste and the right balance of the rest of the ingredients. but nothing extraordinary nor something you would look for. Would also appreciate if there was more sauce.
Seafood with Beancurd in Pot – 8.5/10, Lee family average
The medium-rare lamb meat is tender and savory but has a taste of slight burnt meat and overwhelming flavor of garlic. I do not think it matches its price for its value. Most of the parts were bones and fat as well.
Sliced Australian Lamb with Assorted Fresh Mushroom – 7/10, Lee family average
Complementary Sweet Almond Dessert is also served, common to Chinese restaurants. Nothing special, but for people like me who instantly crave for something sweet right after eating flavorful or salty dishes, it was a great help.
Initially, service was not as great as it should be. I had to ask for water before it was served, one of my pet peeves in any restaurant. This was likely because there was a party at the same time we visited. But later on they were pretty attentive with requests.
Overall rating is 8/10 considering all our visits. We’ll be back again some other time, like all the other times.
Life and Lemons 