Spring

Tucked away in Benavidez Street, Legaspi Village, is a little Hokkien eatery called Spring. This restaurant is owned by the more famous Chinese restaurant in Quezon City called Ha Yuan, known among locals for its delicious Xiamen-style vegetable spring rolls - those hearty rolls of goodness filled with vegetables, tofu, and the occasional strips of meat, often with crushed peanuts and crunchy noodles.

Well, we tried just that in Spring, a variant called the Formosa Lumpia (80Php). The same taste and ingredients as that of Ha Yuan's can be enjoyed. A slightly sweet sauce, in bottles, accompanies the dish, and one can generously douse each bite with the sauce. Most people would prefer eating it with a spoon and fork, but we think it's best done using one's hand, like eating a shawarma.

Amongst other dishes, Maki Mi (140Php) was ordered. Fried fish fillet and a bowl-ful of slightly thick soy-sauce based soup and noodles comprised the dish. On the side, Classic Kapao (70PHp) was ordered - steamed buns with vegetables and pulled pork in between.

Dumplings steamed in soy ginger broth (80Php) was also ordered. Tofu, mushroom, and chives were the filling, although one can also choose to have the a meat filling.

All dishes were quite homely, invoking the heartiness and also the complexities of a Filipino Chinese home kitchen. All dishes in Spring are cooked without MSG, long been the bane of most Chinese restaurants.

As it was on a weekend and being located in a business area, the restaurant was not expecting too many guests and consequently, a lot of the items in the menu were not available. Nevertheless, Spring will undoubtedly delight the throngs of employees who want a good meal at a good price.