Friday, August 16, 2013

Family Lauriat Lunch at Gloria Maris, Gateway Mall Branch

The Sunday before last, the hubby, my SIL and I treated our families to a lauriat lunch at Gloria Maris Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Gateway Mall, Cubao. We were actually celebrating three special occasions then: my mom's birthday, my MIL's birthday and my in-laws' wedding anniversary. Most of us were Gloria Maris first-timers and we used a Cash Cash Pinoy voucher for this one and so we really didn't have much expectations on the food. Our lauriat lunch set was good for 10 persons and came in the form of one soup, one appetizer, one fried rice item, one noodle dish, five main entrees and one dessert. For just P2950, we were one in saying that it was a good deal, albeit some minor drawbacks.

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We were supposed to go as a group of 10 adults but my brother begged off at the last minute so only nine of us went to the restaurant. It turned out to be an advantage because we had more food to share among ourselves. Haha.

This particular branch of Gloria Maris at the fourth level of Gateway Mall has just opened recently. It was dark inside at first but when the other diners started arriving, they turned on more lights to make the interiors bright. They were still on soft opening and we could tell because of the slow service. The wait staff wasn't as attentive, either. In fact, we had to tell the waiter assigned to us that we already wanted to start eating even if we had been there for almost 30 minutes already! But that's okay, I hope things will have gotten better on our next visit.

Anyway, judging from our lauriat lunch set, I can say Gloria Maris serves delicious Chinese food although I must admit, I find King Bee's food offerings more superior in presentation and taste. Some of the dishes we had are better than the others, but generally, they passed my standards. I'm not Chinese nor Filipino-Chinese, but I love Chinese food and choose to have it whenever I can and so when I say it's good, I really mean it.

Here are the food we had in their order of appearance on our table (followed by my comments):

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Birds Nest with Chicken Birds Egg Soup

This soup was served to us piping hot and we liked it that way. Nothing beats a warm soup that has a delicate taste and simple flavors like this one.

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Barbecue Cold Cuts Combination

The cold cuts were nicely done, big in taste and flavor. The meats were tender, too. Among them, I liked the refreshing jellyfish salad best!

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Gloria Maris Fried Rice

This fried rice was ordinary and the quality of the rice used wasn't that good. I've had better fried rice before.

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The spicy spareribs had just the right amount of heat and flavor. I can say the same thing with the pork's meat, bone and fat ratio. The tender, pink meat was a plus point!

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Gloria Maris Fried Chicken

The fried chicken was too salty for my liking. And I heard the same sentiment from all of my companions that day. I had to pair it with spoonfuls of rice in every bite to balance the saltiness. Even the crispy skin couldn't save it from disaster. The kropek that came with it was its only saving grace. Still, I was disappointed with this one.

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Sauted Brocolli with Shrimp Scallop

The brocolli was half-cooked which gave it pleasant crunch and nice flavor. The shrimps and scallops were cooked just right that they were able to retain their fresh taste.

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Sliced Chicken with Asparagus Bokchoy

This was supposed to be with asparagus and not bokchoy, as what was written in the deal. I didn't make a big deal out of it anymore because my family liked it naman. The chicken meat was tender and flavorful and the sauce was tasty and enough to cover the veggies and give it added flavor.

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Runner Beans with Minced Pork

This was yummy! The beans were crunchy and tasty and the minced pork packed a lot of flavor.

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Fookien Misua

Another dish in the lot whose saltiness went overboard. I stopped eating this after a spoonful because the saltiness of the fried chicken was too much for me to take already.

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Taho

The taho was smooth and velvety, just like how my mouth wanted it to be. As for the taste, it's exactly how your neighborhood taho tastes like. The same can be said about the small tapioca balls whose tenderness and sweetness remind me of my childhood days in the province. Haha.

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Gloria Maris drinks (buko, four seasons and green mango shakes)

The drinks were not part of the voucher so we had to pay an additional amount for them. And one more thing, for those who have also bought the same deal from Cash Cash Pinoy, expect to pay 10% service charge for the P2950 worth of food you'll get.

Since the food we had at Gloria Maris came as a set using the Cash Cash Pinoy voucher we bought, I can't tell you their individual price. But in fairness to them, the food servings were more than enough to feed all nine of us and we even had a few dishes wrapped up to take home. :)

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group shot

Gloria Maris
4/L Gate Way Mall
Cubao, Quezon City


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