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There is no shortage of Chinese restaurants in the Philippines, but they’re not as consistent and neither are they located on every other street corner the way Chow King is. Chow King has always been one of my favorite fast food joints. Not only is a Chow King restaurant incredibly easy to find when I’m craving for congee or noodle soup; they’ve got efficient service, very affordable prices, and food that tastes like real food instead of chemical fastfood junk.

Although Chow King serves the usual Chinese fare of siopao, siomai, noodles, fried rice, and congee, their bestselling dish is no other than their halo-halo. Even I think that Chow King’s halo-halo is one of the best (and cheapest) halo-halo out there.

The secret to their amazing halo-halo is in the milk (Chow King created their own blend), the finely crushed ice (made with a special ice crusher that costs 80 million pesos), and the ingredients. Chow King tried to come up with their own mix of halo-halo ingredients but they weren’t quite satisfied with the overall quality. Then they met a certain Aling Mely from Arranque, Manila, who made and sold halo-halo in her simple one-storey home. Her halo-halo was so excellent that Chow King commissioned her to supply the ingredients for their 300 branches worldwide.

The latest in Chow King’s menu is milk tea, which I was really happy to discover. No Oriental restaurant is complete without sweet milk tea!

I don’t suppose I need to list down where you can find Chow King since like Starbucks and McDonald’s, you can find one anywhere - even in snooty Fort Bonifacio. For deliveries, dial 702-8888.