A personal favorite is the Scallop, Prawn, Hot, and Sour Shanghainese Soup Dumpling. The broth combines tart, subtle spiciness, and seafood tastes from the prawn and scallop inside. Each xiao long bao is presented in a tiny bamboo basket, making it an Instagrammable dish.
All that and dim sum
Mott 32 Cebu now serves lunch with dumpling in the spotlight
May 5, 2023 11:17 AM
At a glance
Well-traveled foodies and those who know good Cantonese cuisine are all so familiar with Mott 32. The modern Hong Kong restaurant is critically acclaimed for its traditional Chinese culinary techniques incorporated into regional food with Beijing and Szechuan influences, as well as New York flair. Marrying east and west, Mott 32 pays tribute to the first Chinese convenience store in New York, settled along 32 Mott Street, hence the name. The very bodega marked the 1800s as a turning point for Chinese migration into The Big Apple.
In short of a decade since its conception, the fine dining superbrand had expanded into eight other locations worldwide. Aside from the original Hong Kong store erected in 2014, Mott 32 is also now in Singapore, Bangkok, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Dubai, Seoul, and Cebu.
In September of 2022, the establishment reached Philippine shores, finding a home at the Nustar Resort & Casino in Cebu, a smart move seeing how the food scene in the Visayas has been booming arguably more rapidly than anywhere else in the country.
Only months after it opened, Mott 32 Cebu has shaped up nicely with its menu slowly expanding to near completion. The place has even started offering lunch four days a week, every Thursday to Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Lunch is highlighted by the dim sum as well as the spring/summer menus, both of which launched just this April. Apart from the signatures of Applewood Smoked Peking Duck and Barbecue Pluma Iberico Pork with Yellow Mountain Honey, discerning diners would frequent Mott 32 for its handmade dumplings in steamed, baked, and fried options, of which 80 percent of the menu is now available in the Philippines.
I was lucky enough to be part of the launch, prepared by no less than Mott 32’s executive chef Lee Man Sing. The culinary bigwig prominent for receiving two Michelin stars in his stint with Man Wah, flew in from Hong Kong just for the event.
Guests were welcomed with Mott’s gems, carefully made and balanced cocktails with fun Chinese and Asian elements. An elegant concoction of vanilla-infused Pisco (unaged brandy), passionfruit, lychee, lemon, and chili powder is the Forbidden Rose. It tastes as good as it looks, garnished with an actual red rose floating atop the chili-dusted froth, which delivers a tinge of spice to a refreshing and light boozy mix.
We started with a well-rounded dish, the Cold Free-Range Chicken with Szechuan Peppercorns, and Chili Sauce. It is chicken swimming in a zingy sauce that goes well with any carb, in this case, the Wok Fried Glutinous Rice, Japanese Dried Shrimp, Crispy Taro, and Preserved Sausage, dished out before the dessert in true formal Chinese dining fashion.
Taro, chicken, and shrimp are all stuffed in a light and crispy root vegetable pastry, in the Chicken, Prawn, Taro Croquette. Another satisfying and crunchy dish is the Stir Fried Cubed Australian M9 Wagyu Beef in Lettuce Cup, Mustard Oil.
The Soft Quail Egg, Iberico Pork, Black Truffle Siu Mai, pretty much self-explanatory, is an earthy bite of black Iberian meat, with bits of the premium mushroom, enveloping a core of runny soft-boiled quail’s egg that bursts in the mouth.
Reminiscent of a stained-glass cathedral window, the Garoupa, Chopped Chili, Prawn, Vegetable Dumpling is as innovative as it could get. Carrot hat-topped pieces of chili and veggies mixed with lumps of grouper shine through delicate, almost translucent wraps.
A personal favorite is the Scallop and Prawn Hot and Sour Shanghainese Soup Dumpling. The broth combines tart, subtle spiciness, and seafood tastes from the prawn and scallop inside. Each xia long bao is presented in a tiny bamboo basket, making it an Instagrammable dish.
The Szechuan Style Dumpling, Minced Pork, and Chili Oil, on the other hand, is a delicately savory and tender pork dumpling doused in an effervescent and slightly piquant Szechuan-style sauce.
Mott 32 Cebu stays faithful to its branding, from its dark, romantic interiors, decorated with red carpets, swanky metallic fixtures, and elaborate crystal chandeliers, as well as to its practice of ethical sourcing, utilizing organic and sustainable ingredients, except for certain localized dishes that use native ones.
An instance of this is the Shredded Peking Duck Salad with Beetroot, Crispy Taro, and Citrus Truffle Dressing, strips of Peking duck tossed in vegetables and pomelo with tang from the dressing and Cebu mangoes that contrast with the bitter flavor of the beetroot.
Another example of Philippine-exclusive dishes is the Fresh Mango, Coconut, and Glutinous Rice Roll. This buchi-like dessert filled with fresh mango, a bit of custard, and a thin rice wrap, all covered in coconut shavings, was created as an homage to the Queen City of the South. “We only incorporated mango here in Cebu to give a nod to Filipino culture. You have fantastic mangoes,” explains Chef Lee.
Last of the new desserts is the Sesame Chocolate Tart, Lime and Sea Salt, Pine Nut with its crisp outer layer hiding smooth sesame chocolate. Different textures play with the briny, acidic, and sweet flavors for a complex and memorable finish. On top is a caramel disc with bits of pine nuts.
The management, through Nustar Resort and Casino general manager Paolo Campillo, guarantees that the taste and quality are on par with that of the flagship in Hong Kong as everything is pre-approved by Maximal Concepts, the multi-awarded hospitality group responsible for Mott 32. The staff are not only friendly but are knowledgeable and trained to recommend the best way each dish can be enjoyed.