Tong Yang Hot Pot+63 (2) 9299173Chinese, Seafood1498 Quezon Avenue
I've been to Patio Ibarra thrice this year. Three of my friends had their wedding reception held in a not-so-busy building beside Quezon Avenue.
I didn't know the restaurant below Patio Ibarra and I've never been a fan of hot pot restaurants until we had our alternative learning program for Product ID at Tong Yang - the restaurant just below Patio Ibarra.
Tong Yang Restaurant is a one of a kind restaurant along Quezon Avenue. It is a market buffet table set-up and you get to choose your own ingredients from their wide selection of raw food items. You sit down on your table and cook it either by frying it on a hot plate with butter or you include it in your hot pot. Its like "shabu-shabu" for first timers like myself.
You would need to select your soup once seated: spicy sate, mala, and sinigang were the only broths offered as far as I can remember. I chosed the spicy sate of course.
Tong Yang has a variety of usual and unusual ingredients available on their buffet table. For meat lovers, they have almost everything covered. They have various cuts and portions of beef, chicken, duck, pork, and lamb. My personal favorite for the meat selection is their sliced duck meat - really nice when fried with butter and a dash of salt, pepper, and tamarind powder. It is weird but worth trying especially if you are challenging your taste buds to create something unusual out of the usual.
They also have several kinds of fish and shellfish available in the buffet table of raw ingredients. As for the shellfish, I am quite hesitant about it, thanks to my FSS subject this term, I already questioned the reputation of their supplier when I saw the big shells already opened. I only tried the shrimp and the scallops that morning. Overall, I enjoyed the fact that I am cooking on my lunch table and that is more important.
After the main course, you can also have a good desert here at Tong Yang. They have an Ice Cream that usually has Mocha, Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry. Just take your pick and enjoy.
Some things I noticed are the following:
In terms of cleanliness, the restaurant is a bit messy. That’s expected though since everyone in the place is trying to cook their own food. There was a shortage of thongs in the ingredient's buffet table which is potentially hazardous in terms of cross-contamination.
Good thing is that you will cook your food - so I had to make sure I am cooking it very well, enough to make it safe to eat. They also serve plain rice, which I believe Chinese Restaurants should always have, so guests can enjoy the taste of their food in its purest form. I really don't like the idea of eating fried rice with freshly-prepared food.
I was on LSS since last week since I heard these lines from my chef:
"Shawty's like a melody in my head That I can't keep out Got me singin' like Na na na na everyday It's like my iPod stuck on replay"
It was Iyaz' track called "Replay" according to my Google search. Little did I know that another LSS song I heard from RX 93.1 has Iyaz on it - this time, a track called "Pyramid" from our very own YouTube singing sensation Charice.
FYI: My sister really looks like Charice - that is why she is one of my favorite young artists to date.
Everyone is wondering if I can keep up with the stress. I can still say I can, but I am on a sales job search whenever I have free time. They felt I am quitting my supervisor job soon. Honestly, there's a lot of things going on in my mind right now, thinking of ways to relieve the stressful days I am having at work. I can work weekends as a singer or still be a call center slave. I really have to find one job that would suit my current needs.
And by the way, I am looking at the possibility of taking culinary arts for next year.
Imagine mixing your professional life and student life all at the same time for almost 5 days a week - 24 hours a day. That's a lot of stress.
I may have posted a few blog posts about me not getting any pimples from sleeplessness and too much stress. What I noticed now is that I have gained weight from eating what we are cooking inside the kitchen. Stress can actually make you fat - because you will automatically eat almost anything just to compensate the lost sleep. Should I look for relacore now to fight the stress that's causing me weight gain?
Nah, I should just take small bites in the kitchen for now.
Do I have to be sick in order for me to take my precious vacation leaves at work? Do I have to develop papule-like things on my skin to show everyone at work that I have something contagious in me that a week's off from work is needed? Do I need to quit work soon because the keyboards at computer stations at work are too old, one might get eczema treatment due to eczema that one might get due to dirty office supplies? I don't know how long I can take things for now.
I must make a way out very soon, before they destroy my passions in life.
ONE RANDOM RANT: I am so sick and tired of your nasty remarks. I know you are better when it comes to our quizzes but I am still better than you in the laboratory part. I wonder how you can act so conceited of everything that you do. Hey, I've been there and I had a lot of times where I got 15 minutes of fame whenever I wanted it, but you don't need to blurt about your triumphs everytime there is one. It's verbal diarrhea to me now when I hear you flaunt about it - don't you think your mouth needs hemorrhoid cream to lessen the swelling of your boastful lips?
I was very surprised to find good and reliable friends around - almost anywhere and everywhere I go there are a handful. I am not trying to say that I am making use of their kindness everytime I need one - of course sometimes I have to show them that I am responsible of my myself too. I may not have any auto insurance quote with me for a possibility of having my own car someday. Despite all that I am still thankful for all of my present and past friends (whom I have not seen in a very long time).
We may not see each other to share many things but you know, in your heart, I am there in spirit.
As I've said in my previous post we are being toasted on this side of the globe. The effects of the el nino phenomenon has taken over the metro and so far, many people are suffering from it. My friends at work are having a hard time sleeping during day time as it is too hot and humid, they now resort to using sleeping pills just to get a few hours of sleep. My word on it, don't rely too much on those. Be as dead tired as I am before lying to bed. Nothing beats the natural way. Tata!
Tong Yang Hot Pot +63 (2) 9299173 Chinese, Seafood 1498 Quezon Avenue 
t is a market buffet table set-up and you get to choose your own ingredients from their wide selection of raw food items. You sit down on your table and cook it either by frying it on a hot plate with butter or you include it in your hot pot. Its like "shabu-shabu" for first timers like myself.
