Chop Chop It Up!

Have you ever eaten at the hawker stands in Singapore? If you are wondering what hawker stands are, they are essentially small food kiosks, we have them too. We just call them food stalls. If you take for example, Master Siomai, put it on the street then that is essentially a hawker stand or take the tempura guy, that's a hawker. Now, Chop Chop wanted to bring that element to one restaurant. They wanted to bring all the popular hawker dishes and serve them on one menu. So there are a lot of favorites of mine and since i ate here with my family, i got a whole bunch of pictures for you. I think the food is pretty good, the service could be better, there is one particular guy that just doesn't smile, ever. That bothers me. Furthermore, sometimes they forget items, must be in direct proportion to their lack of proper customer service. But all that aside, the food is nice and it is comfortable. It wouldn't necessarily transport me back to Singapore but i dont think the food is bad either.

Let's go through the food. The top picture is Char Kway Teow and in general, i am a really big fan of this dish, the one at Chop Chop is really just how it is supposed to taste. Noodles with chinese sausages, rice cakes and bean sprouts that have been stir fried in a sweet and spicy soy sauce. I really like it, i think this is a great comfort dish. And it makes me pretty happy.

Next up is the Beef Rendang, which is a very popular dish in Malysia and Singapore, they are beef cubes that have been slowly cooked in coconut milk and curry gravy, the end result is that the meat is extremely soft and tender, the sauce is nice and spicy and take it with the coriander for a very fresh taste.

Picture below is the Sambal Sotong Squid. It is squid that has been sauteed with chili and limes. They are nice and spicy, i like spiciness and the more spicy a dish is, the better. But this one is pretty bearable but could be too much for some people who don't like spicy food. The lime creates a nice acidity and together with a leaf of coriander, it creates a nice tangy and fresh flavor. I have noticed that most people leave the leaves, flowers and herbs on the plate. Yes, it serves as a bit of decoration but you can totally eat it, i really enjoy cooking with herbs because it just elevates the dish. So don't leave the parsley, coriander, cilantro, basil on your plate. Cut a little piece, put it on your spoon with the rest of the plate, it will transform the flavor in your mouth.

To move on, we have one of my favorite and surprisingly cheap yet very healthy vegetables, kang kong. or it's like an Asian Spinach. This dish is also quite spicy. The kang kong has been sauteed and tossed in a spicy sambal sauce. What is sambal you ask? I know, that in the Philippines we don't use it a lot. It originates from Indonesia and is mainly used in Malaysia and Singapore. So what is it? It is basically a sauce that consists of different types of chili peppers and mixed with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, scallions, shallots, sugar, lime juice and rice vinegar. It then becomes this really tasty, fragrant and also, spicy sauce. So the kang kong has been sauteed and tossed with this sambal sauce, it's really great.

Next are the eggs, i forgot the name of the eggs, but they were essentially hard boiled eggs that were marinated in a light soy sauce. Final verdict, they are OK. Would i order them again? Probably not. Furthermore, if you want them. Order the dish below, they have them there as well. Although the following dish is also quite average in my opinion.

The dish is called Rogucha, it is a pork belly that has been cooked in a light fragrant soy sauce. Yes, the meat is nice and tender but i thought it had a bit too much fat on it. Sure, it creates a flavor but i dont want to have my pork belly to be fully consistent of fat. You might want to try it once, but in my opinion it's nothing to really scream and be excited about. It's an average dish, i wouldn't order this again. I'll stick with the Char Kway Teow, Kang Kong, Rendang and the Squid. And the next one is pretty interesting too. Dessert!

Both of these desserts are almost the same, it is like a Singaporean halo-halo. (For my foreign guests, Halo Halo is a Filipino dessert that contains a lot of good things, i'll do a post on this another time).

The top is a Ice Kachang (sounds awesome right?) and the bottom is a Chendol. Both are very similar but the Chendol is a mung bean and coconut milk and pandan dessert drink that has been filled with shaved ice. It's nice, has good flavor, just don't eat it too fast, it can get very cold!

The Ice Kachang is essentially the same except that it has more ingredient. Mung bean, grass jelly, sweet corn and a rose syrup. The rose syrup is wonderful, i believe that this rose syrup originates from Indonesia where they call this syrup "Susu" mix that together with milk and it's really, really nice. The dessert is then covered with shaved ice. Mix it all together and enjoy!

Would i recommend this place? Sure. The family seems to like it and i have a couple of favorite dishes here or at least they are dishes that are worth eating here. Another dish that i haven't mentioned yet is the Sting Ray. It's exotic indeed, you should try it. But, eat it with the sauce they provide on the side, it makes a big difference. If you eat the sting ray by itself, you will get a quite unknown flavor, i can't describe it. I can't tell if it was delicious or not, it was just kind of strange. But the sauce is great and it just transforms that whole dish.

So if you like to go to this place, be my guest. Otherwise, Carnivore is in the same area. Which i am absolutely crazy about. You may read my blog on that place, it will blow your mind!

Where is Chop Chop then you ask? Ask and you shall receive, check out the map below.

Address: The Gallery, Juan Luna Street corner Golam Drive, Mabolo, Cebu City

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday

11:00am - 14:00pm

18:00pm - 22:00pm

Contact Number: (032) 236 8910

Price Range: ₱₱

#CebuandBeyond