Dimsum decadence at Li Li’s Sunday brunch buffet

Define y-u-m-m-y. Let us count the ways.

At Li Li, the exquisite Cantonese restaurant of the Hyatt Hotel & Casino Manila , yummy is defined in more than 50 different ways, or at least the 50 or more dishes that comprise its Sunday brunch buffet.

Though gourmands have been flocking to the hotel’s weekend food offering for some time now, it was only recently that I got to try. The excellent thing is that there were no chafing dishes now commonly associated with the word ‘buffet,’ the food is freshly prepared in the kitchen as you tick what you’d like on the long dimsum menu. Coming with an almost empty stomach is most recommended.

Of course it helps that you get to enjoy the food in a setting that makes you feel you’re in an imperial court – from the plush chairs, the delicate tableware to the Chinese artifacts and objets d’art on display.

I honestly didn’t know my darling twin daughters’ capacity for trying out new flavors and textures until this buffet (yay! they’re turning out to be inveterate foodies like moi). They certainly feasted on dimsum like the heavenly baked puff pastry with honey barbecued pork, the deep-fried bean curd sheet rolls filled with shrimp, fried chicken fillet with shrimp paste. shrimp spring rolls and other delights, paired with cups of yeung chow fried rice.

The hot momma, on the other hand, had her fill of the white turnip cake, wok-fried squid with black pepper in black bean sauce, , deep-fried salmon head and belly with pepper salt, the garoupa fillet with celery, steamed shrimp dumplings (hacao) etc.

I personally recommend choosing the wok-fried rice noodle with beef fillet in black bean sauce, the steamed shrimps with minced garlic and the oh-so-crunchy barbecued pork belly. Okay, we were supposed to try also the wok-fried green beans with minced pork in spicy sauce but our overwhelmed tummies just couldn’t take it anymore.

Besides, we gotta have final room for desserts which came with the buffet, along with free-flowing soda, teas (hot & cold) and local beer.

Final price: Pesos 1200 net for adults like me and 50% off for the kids.

A family that eats together packs on the pounds together, hehe. 😛

Li Li’s Dimsum buffet selections:

Shrimp spring rolls, hacao dumplings, steamed pork dumplings ‘Shang hai’ style, deep-fried glutinous dumplings with assorted meat, deep fried taro dumplings with assorted meat, steamed barbecued pork buns, baked puff pastry filled with honey barbecued pork, steamed spare ribs with Chinese herbs and wolf berries, sio mai, steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce, deep-fried bean curd sheet rolls filled with shrimps, steamed vegetarian dumplings with ginko nuts, steamed pork dumplings chiu-chow style, honey-roasted barbecued pork, simmered bean curd in preserved soya sauce, marinated beef shank with five spices, thinly-sliced pig’s knuckle with jelly fish, rice porridge with shredded pork , preserved eggs; barbecued pork belly, steamed rice rolls with barbecued pork, steamed rice rolls with shrimps, wok-fried white turnip cake, steamed shrimps with minced garlic, wok-fried garoupa fillet with celery, deep-fried salmon head and belly with pepper salt, deep-fried chicken fillet with shrimp paste, wok-fried diced chicken with cashew nuts, sweet n’ sour pork, wok-fried squid with bell pepper in black bean sauce, braised bean curd with mushrooms, wok -fried green beans with minced pork in spicy sauce, poached seasonal vegetables with oyster sauce, fried noodle with shredded pork in dark soy sauce, yeung chow fried rice, stewed e-fu noodle with shrimps, steamed rice, wok-fried rice noodle with beef fillet in black bean sauce

Dessert station: (changes by the week)

Assorted cakes, assorted fresh fruits, chilled mango sago, almond bean curd, sweetend black jelly, baked egg custard tart, marshmallow jello cake, glutinous dumpling with mashed coconuts, deef fried sesame balls, red bean cream, glutinous cake with lotus paste, cuchinta, steamed egg yolk with lotus paste bun

I am reprinting the menu because am practicing my typing , LOL.