Hap Chang
Sobering Up on Watery Soup...
By Mikee dela Cruz

FOOD ISN'T WHY YOU COME HERE... Nothing spectacular, but a good place to grab chow for sobering up.

You wake up at 10.30 (that’s in the evening) on a Saturday night, then get ready for the big night out until, say 11.30 (take a shower, put on clothes, change clothes because they don’t look as good on you now, then change again because of a change in the mood, et cetera).  Grab drinks while waiting for friends to come pick you up (or just drop by, as you’ll all go out together) until, say, 12.10 (already early morning).  Continue drinking until everyone arrives until after 1.00.  And then head off to Malate around 2.00.

When there, you first grab a bottle or two outside O Bar – cheaper beer (though there’s Che’lu, Lafang, et cetera, too) here, aside from giving the best vantage point to see who’s there and who’s not. 

Or maybe you head to cosier Sonata (it’s called Storybook now), where the viewing can still be done indoors.  Just before 3.00, you go to Bed Bar, the time when partying inside actually starts (go early, and risk being there in an almost empty club).

Seemingly already drunkenly danced out two hours later, you go out – no, home isn’t in the radar yet (not if no picking up happened inside Bed Bar), as you head back to O Bar for more dancing (and possible picking up).  And when the sun has started to awaken, then considering going home starts.

As most Malate clubbers know, though, going home is not possible without eating out first.  And those who know this definitely know Hap Chang, that (supposedly) Chinese restaurant along M. Malvar St. (parallel to Julio Nakpil St.) not too far from the Pan Pacific Hotel (Adriatico St.).

This is where everybody in search of a quick chow heads off to in between partying and sleeping the tiredness of partying away.

Here, there are various offerings – mainly Chinese with a Filipino twist, though.  So expect stir-fried delicacies, often sweet-ish, e.g. broccoli with oyster sauce, stir-fried noodles with seafood, et cetera.  Certainly a must try are the noodle soups (from beef shanks to chicken to seafood and meat/squid/fish balls) – not for the taste, mind you, because honestly, they’re basically noodles with bland broth, meat/veggies/whatever thrown in to help add (even if they really don’t help at all) flavours. 

A plus point: they’re cheap, from under P100 to just under P200 – drinks included.  And if it’s any consolation, the watery soup is good for sobering up, too..

The venue isn’t all that great, however – a cross between a turo-turo and a lame attempt at semi-fine dining: huge wooden tables surrounded by antiquated-looking wooden chairs, some clothed by tacky green fabrics; tall glasses – all plastic – accompanying every ordered drink; and careless (even if they try to be friendly) wait staff, forgetting orders or telling you too late what you asked for is not available.

No, this is not exactly a gay eating venue – though I don’t know of one that is exclusively one.  But it remains a gay favourite.  Just check those eating there (hey, this could even be a pick-up area for those looking to try one more time before finally heading home!), and you’ll get the point.  This alone makes it worth a visit – at least you know good food isn’t really what you’ll get when there...

Hap Chang is at M. Malvar St., near the corner of Adriatico St., in Malate, Manila.  Other branches include one across Robinsons Ermita, along Pedro Gil St., also in the city of Manila.