Fook Yah is a concept borne out of a nostalgic love for dining in Hong Kong, and wanting to recreate the atmosphere and cuisine of a favorite neighborhood eatery of roasts and noodles right here in Manila. It’s almost like saying “Fook Yah, COVID-19, traveling may still be restricted, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the dishes we yearn for, and dream of.”
It may not be your genuine, traditional Cantonese restaurant, but in the less than a month since it opened in Poblacion, the Viray family behind the establishment have already gained a strong, steady following, who love how it has its heart and taste buds in the right place. Its Instagram page has a simple ordering instructional and offers a guide on how best to reheat their food.
As for the menu, it’s conveniently designed to so all the Signature House Specialties are on one page, followed by a page with the Rice Toppings variants, then the Noodle Soup, the Stewed Noodles, and the Side Orders & Desserts.
For our order one Sunday lunch with my sons, we started off with the Fishball Noddle Soup, and the Beef Brisket Noodle Soup. They arrived with the soup packaged by itself, below the ingredients of the respective soups. This was ideal, as it gave us the option to go Stewed Noodles or as a soup.
The Roast Duck Combination was excellent, besides the Roast Duck, skin was still crispy as we love it. There was Charsiu (Pork Shoulder) that was extra fatty, and Simmered Chicken in Dark Soy Sauce. The Plum Sauce and all the other sauces your heart would desire were packed and part of the Fook Yah offering.
The Crispy Pork Belly was our other must-have, and it didn’t disappoint, with the requisite mustard a welcome addition. The Jellyfish, the crunchy cucumber, the century egg, and the Chinese cabbage, are just among the side dishes available, and those were our choices.
For dessert and as a palate cleanser, we had the Almond Jelly with Lychee. Without a doubt, the meal took us on a reverie back to the hole-in-the-wall Hong Kong places we’d dine in. My middle boy, Matteo, had done his first hospitality internship at the Marco Polo in Kowloon, and he was enthused about how the dishes brought back so many good memories of when he was living there for four months.
Fook Yah literally translates to "good fortune," and we can only wish the Viray family the best of fortune, and that this dining option is here for a long haul. Presently, they’re allowing dine-in’s, but limited to fully vaccinated individuals, and they’re open Tuesdays to Sundays for lunch and dinner. Call mobile no. 09270458640, or look them up on Instagram for home deliveries.