New Chefoo Restaurant

I had two previous Chefoo entries one is how I like the fried chicken and the second my rant about its dwindling food quality years ago. Now on my third entry I decided to finally make a long overdue resto review of the one and only standing old restaurant in Cavite City.

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If you are a legitimate Caviteño you definitely know Chefoo has been part of almost every Caviteño family celebrations - baptism, birthday, debut, weddings, a simple family/friends get together and even friendship drinking sessions.

New Chefoo Restaurant or simply Chefoo as it is more popularly known started in 1945 as a small pansiteria serving pansit and fried chicken. It is owned and operated by a Filipino-Chinese family. This is the only Cavite restaurant that has remained operational up to now as evidence by this really old brochure in circa 50's that I found in the baul of my grandparents.

Chefoo serves a combination of Chinese, American and Filipino dishes with some in Spanish names. Although the food dwindled in quality over the years but still it is one of the most well known city restaurant. I really miss the old taste of authentic chinese dishes I always savor when I was a little girl when my family always frequent this restaurant to celebrate birthdays. fried chicken, pancit, agri dulce, camaron rebusado and iced tea are top favorites. My lolo was a dear friend of the owner who spoke Chinese/Chabacano so every time we dine we always get a discount. Chefoo used to have a hotel but after the fire tragedy the owners decided to rebuilt it purely to be just a restaurant.


Resto Name: New Chefoo Restaurant
Location: Cavite City
Type: Chinese/American/Filipino
Average Price Per Dish: P100-P400

They have a beautifully design menu at last

Hototay - P 150 

Aside from nido soup this is the other all time favorite soup we order. It is served with toyo and calamansi that you mixed with the soup before eating to adjust the flavor. Chefoo's version is way better than that of Ho Chai Lai and even Aristocrat.

Fried Chicken - P240 

If there is one dish that brings out lots of memories since it is always present in almost all our family's special occasion definitely its Chefoo's fried chicken. In our decades of ordering there was a time that this fried chicken dwindled in quality but the past few years it regained its old self back and hopefully for good. I remember they used to serve every fried chicken order with two slices of tomato and cucumber but those where the good old yummy days. 

Sweet and Sour Lapu-lapu - P430 (depends on the grams of the fish) 

Family fave is Agri Dulcefish fillet but when my grandparents passed away we discovered this lapu-lapu and eversince it became one of our newest time fave. This one of the most expensive dish they serve. Love the crispiness of the Lapu-Lapu mixed with the sweet and sour sauce.

Rellenong Pusit - P 200

This dish is a hit and miss but we always like trying it out. For this night it's a miss. A bit malansa and matigas plus the ketchup is overpowering all the other flavors.

Pansate - P150 

Even we have been a customer for decades this is the first time we ordered pansate. Its lacks flavor and the chewiness of the noodles that I am searching is not in it. Maybe its because up to now my measurement of best pansate is the one served at Panoy's. The old resto beside Maria Claris cinema wherein I am the one who proudly makes bitbit the empty kaldero when we buy lomi. It is where Home Along appliance is now located.

Fried Rice - P110 

In my family's decades of dining and having takeouts this is the first time that I've experience a "malata" fried rice. As in super lata that it disappointed my whole eating experience. We didn't had it changed since okay with my dad who preferred the rice that way but it ruined my meal this night. And for some unknown reason I don't know why my cellphone camera won't cooperate for a decent photo of the fried rice. I had 10 shots and all are blurred but when I tried taking shot of the other dish it is always clear. (alam ata irereklamo ko)

Special Blend Iced Tea- P60

One of the house specialty and all time family fave. Ilalaban ko ng patayan ang sarap ng iced tea na ito kahit saang resto.

New Chefoo Restaurant will always have a special place in my heart despite of the inconsistency in the quality of food that they served simply because it is a place of happy memories of the past and continues to be a place for Caviteños to create wonderful family and friendship memories.

If there is one thing I terribly missed about the old resto it's the "lazy suzan" in the big round tables. I really wish they can bring them back.

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Food – 3.5 stars
Service – 4 stars
Ambiance – 3.5 stars
Value – 4 stars

OVERALL RATING – 3.75 stars
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New Chefoo Restaurant
945 P.Burgos Avenue,
San Roque, Cavite City
Tel no. - (046) 431-1472