Hai Chinese Restaurant and Chill-Out Bar

We ate at Hai Chinese Restaurant and Chill-Out Bar at the newly opened SM Marikina for one of those lunch meetings. The name’s very misleading and reeks of a lot of pretensions: save for a big case of leftover beer bottles tucked underneath the wash sink and the stench of last night’s alcohol, there simply is no space for the supposed bar. The words 'Chill-Out' don't make sense especially since there are no lounge chairs, low tables or even banquettes to chill. I don't know what demographic they're after: the word 'chill' and the alcohol could appeal to kids, but the food tries so hard to become sophisticated. Either way, i’s more of a restaurant than a bar, and a restaurant that would oblige some spirited revelry if only to sell some more of their food. That, or you can assume that Hai’s food tastes good only if you’re drunk.


While Hai serves generally passable Chinese food, a lot of refinement can still be made if only to avoid the inevitable demise a lot of young restaurants and the bad practices they carry over from over-franchising. First off is the service: there is hardly any difference from the quality of fastfood servers from that of Hai’s. The staff is tentative and doesn’t seem to have a clue as to what food they have in order to make credible recommendations.


We did bite into the waiter’s recommendation of Salt and Pepper Squid and Yang Chow Rice and really found nothing special in them. Even if the squid’s batter was seasoned well, it was rubbery and the vinegar that accompanied it was overwhelmed by garlic.


The rice was ok. It did look like an anemic version Yang Chow Rice since it was too pale and needed more of everything from carrots to meat.


We also tried their Tofu and Brocolli Stir-Fry. It was good except that it was drenched in too much sauce.


For something new, we tried their Peking Style Fried Chicken. I was intrigued by the possibility of tasting some Peking Duck in fried chicken—if ever that was possible—but it was a terrible disappointment. It’s just plain deep fried chicken minus the batter garnished with scallions and served with hoisin sauce in a bed of fish crackers. It was tough and dry and really didn’t jell together.

Having tasted their Peking Style Fried Chicken, Hai should do their homework not just on Chinese food but on food in general. Hai should be concerned as to how they compare to other Chinese restaurants around, and customers shouldn’t be left to make food choices based on familiar staples such as Salt and Pepper Squid and Yang Chow Fried Rice—which really doesn’t compare to similar dishes served in other Chinese restaurants. Their concept of innovation is unnerving: just because you put sweet sauce and scallions on your fried chicken doesn’t make it Peking style at all.