D’ Original Maki Haus

Living near Banawe in Quezon City, I’ve often passed by the Maki Haus that’s located there, but just haven’t been able to dine in and try the restaurant until just last week.   But boy am I glad that I finally did try because the food is just sooo delicious!   And from reading the menu, apparently the recipes that they use go as far back as 50 years ago from their very own ancestors and succeeding generations have tried to preserve these recipes that have been passed on by their ancestors.  The result is D’ Original Maki Haus with some of the most delicious and authentic Chinese food that I have eaten.

Their specialty is obviously Maki, so that dish was already one of  the dishes that we definitely knew we should get.  We also asked the servers what they recommend, and the girl swears that their oyster cake is the best!  We followed her advice and I must say, she was right!

Jen said we already ordered enough, but for me, I really always want to try to get as much variety as I can, so we decided to order just one more dish.

We had the ff.:

• Maki-Mi (Php 120)

Maki soup a Chinese soup that is usually made with pork, although sometimes beef is also used.  It’s slightly similar to eggdrop soup in consistency, is usually a bit more rich, and the color is brown because of the seasoning and usually because of the added soy sauce that goes into the dish.  It is also a cornstarch-based soup which gives it that thick consistency too.

The key to a good Maki, according to those who regularly eat this soup is that the simplicity must never be overdone, and the key to that is to always just use the least amount of ingredients, but always cooked with the right amount of seasoning too.  I must say, this Maki soup that we had was just fantastic and perfectly delicious.  I can see why they kept their ancestor’s recipe, because there really is nothing to add or take away from it already.

At D’ Original Maki Haus, they have two sizes available.  The regular order is at Php 100, but since we were sharing the dish, we opted for the large one.  And the serving was generous with ample amount of noodles & meat.  I loved the soup though so I asked if they could refill the soup which they did!  I loved it!  Now, I don’t need to go to Manila just to have the yummy Maki.

• Kiampong (Php 35)

Kiampong, for those who don’t know what it is or haven’t tried it yet, is a modified version of fried rice and is actually a marriage of Filipino and Chinese cuisine.  It in fact originated in the Filipino Chinese community.  It’s really one of those types of fried rice that seems easy enough to make, since it is just fried rice, but always hard to execute and prepare so that will actually come out delicious.

I always miss my mom’s version of kiampong, so whenever I see kiampong in any of the restaurants that I go to, I make sure that I order it.  Kiampong is basically rice with meat, mushrooms, onions, and it won’t be complete without the peanuts on top.  This restaurant’s version of kiampong did not disappoint, and I was pleasantly happy that the meal was going well in terms of just how delicious even their kiampong was.

• Fried Squid (Php 185)

I love their fried squid!  It’s perfectly cooked, breading is not too much and you can taste the wonderful squid (or pusit in Filipino).  Sometimes, with fried squid, if the batter is too thick and too much, you don’t really get the full flavor of the squid, and the breading should always just be a compliment to the main ingredient anyway.  I liked their style of how they cooked this dish.

However, the sauce was just a little bit off.  It tasted good, don’t get me wrong, but just weird in its consistency and flavor.  I think they put too much corn starch, which I think can sometimes happen with dipping sauces, and thus it ends up with a starchy taste to it.  I think it’s always important to remember that starch is just a thickening ingredient, and should never be tasted in any sauce that you eat.  My friend asked for vinegar but I decided to just stick with the red starchy sauce since it still tasted pretty good and went well with the fried squid. 😛

• Oyster Cake (Php 155)

The oyster cake was definitely my favorite among the dishes we ordered at Maki Haus, and every time that I would bite into it, I just kept thinking that it was great of our server to have recommended this dish.  If it were just us deciding on the dishes, I don’t think I would have ordered.  Which just goes to show, that whenever you go to a restaurant and you’re not sure of a good dish to try, always ask the servers or the staff since they will probably give you a good idea of what they like or what is popular for diners.

The oyster cake is mainly an oyster omelette.  I do love omelettes, and I am admittedly a seafood fanatic, so the combination of these two was just a great dining experience.  I think I was able to finish like half of it.  I think I’ll try to eat some of those tomorrow.  Writing this blog post just made me crave for it.  Grrr!

• Black Gulaman (Php 25)

If it isn’t obvious to you yet, Maki Haus is a Chinese restaurant, and what is a drink that is usually known to be Chinese drink?  Well, it’s none other than Black Gulaman! hehehe!  I’m really not a fan of just plain water & I decided to quit drinking softdrinks almost two months ago, so I decided to order black gulaman instead.

The dinner was somewhat a late birthday celebration for me, but I still felt so happy coz I was with a long-lost friend.  Jen & I had been out of touch for more than 4 years and I missed her dearly.  Glad we were able to catch up.  Hopefully, we’d get to hang out more often.

This is me with the food.  And who wouldn’t be smiling with all that good food in front of you, not to mention a great and wonderful long lost friend to share the dinner with.

Awwww, I already miss eating at Maki Haus.  Their prices are reasonable plus the taste of the food is just so good!  You must definitely try out this restaurant which is located in Banawe, Quezon City.  And don’t forget to try their oyster cake, it’s a definite must-try aside from their famous Maki soup.  Such a great restaurant with homemade recipes handed down from generations!

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D’ Original Maki Haus
683 Banawe Street, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 411-8767