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Toh Lee Restaurant A taste of the best Chinese cuisine
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Posted on Dec 04 2000
Toh Lee Restaurant Chef Rey Bulaklak never liked to cook as he was growing up in his hometown in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Looking back, Rey says he could not cook a decent meal without burning the food.
When he moved to Manila, he found himself working first as a kitchen helper at the popular Crystal Jade Restaurant in Manila. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Rey has been working as a chef in Toh Lee, the only Chinese Restaurant in La Fiesta for the past six years. The restaurant is filled mostly with Japanese and Chinese guests who never have second thoughts paying for an $80 per plate dinner.
According to Rey, the restaurant has a regular group of clientele who are staying at Nikko Hotel. Receptions of Japanese weddings are usually held at Toh Lee.
As a result of the economic downturn, Rey says the business was affected thus, they thought of serving an affordable buffet lunch at $12 for one-and-a-half-year now. In an effort to reach a wider clientele, Toh Lee offers an affordable menu to those who want to hold birthday parties and Christening costing $10, $12 and $15 per person during lunch.
Evening dinners are quite expensive with the menu from $20 to $80 per person.
“We have a regular group of Japanese and Chinese client who really don’t look at the price when they eat here as long as we serve the best Chinese food,” Rey says.
Although Rey is not Chinese, how did he master the art of Chinese cuisine? “You just have to keep on studying different Chinese food, what makes it different from the rest. And the secret is in the special herbs that we use for cooking,” he says. (Lindablue F. Romero)
