Usually hotels and/or lodges that has an adjoining restaurant/coffee house doesn’t really have anything much to say about its food. Well that is my experience so far and not many have managed to cope up with the standards of its rooms or the experience of staying at its’ establishment. But this time, it seems that the nitez crew had quite a surprise when the food was delivered to our table. And the Zen Garden Resort Restaurant was the venue that presented the surprise.
At first we weren’t really expecting much from the restaurant. All we know was that we were too tired to feel hungry to begin with; not that we weren’t famished. Few hours on the road could cause one to be a little disoriented I assure you. With the cold breeze blowing softly into the dining area, a hot cup of Chinese tea would be more than welcome at that point. But when the food arrived to our table, it was a totally different story altogether.
To sum it up in one word; it was awesome. Some of the dish we had that night was chicken cooked in soy sauce; this one meal was slightly above average but definitely much better than what I have mostly in other hotel-restaurants. With an accompaniment of mixed vegetable dish It was almost perfect. I never thought a ‘mixed-vegetable’ dish was this good and the produce all coming from the valleys of Kundasang being the district known for its freshest supplies of vegetables. Now I’m not that fond of mixed-vegetable dishes but I have to say this one was exceptional.
But the highlight dish that night was none other than the Sweet & Sour Fish. I mean, up here in the high altitudes who would’ve thought this was the kind of dish that piqued my taste buds more than anything else that night. With the appropriate thickness and its delightfully savory sauce was more than enough to make me want to order more of it that night. And the fish was as fresh as you can get them, which is saying a lot being up here in Kundasang area.
All that time on the road, with your stomach making ‘protests’ against its master ; it was well worth it to have dinner here. A dining experience well remembered and definitely recommended.