Read: 10 Most Awesome Chinese Restaurants in Manila!
GLORIA MARIS Restaurant, specifically the one in Greenhills, is our all-time favorite go-to place for authentic Cantonese food in Manila since 1995. My wife’s Chinese family likes holding their special celebrations here, and I love the yummy consistency of their food every single time.
Last year, Gloria Maris moved to a new location with an impressive fine dining ambiance and an introduction of modern Cantonese cuisine to take the dining experience to a whole different level.
Here’s our modern fine dining experience at Gloria Maris Greenhills:
Gloria Maris relocated to a bigger 7,500-sqm area along Missouri Street corner Connecticut. It is still beside the Greenhills Shopping Center near Promenade.
The restaurant is now divided into five areas:
The first area is the Hotpot Dining, located on the ground floor at the back of the building.
It’s a casual area designed for Hotpot, which is open daily from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm and then 5:30 pm to 11:00 pm.
GLORIA MARIS HOT POT MENU:
Soup for Shabu Shabu Menu 1 | Soup for Shabu Shabu Menu 2 |
New Choices Menu 1 | New Choices Menu 2 | Beef | Chicken |
Pork & Lamb Menu 1 | Pork & Lamb Menu 2 | Pork & Lamb Menu 3 |
Seafood Menu 1 | Seafood Menu 2 | Seafood Menu 3 |
Seafood Menu 4 | Seafood Menu 5 |
Vegetables Menu 1 | Vegetables Menu 2 | Vegetables Menu 3 | Vegetables Menu 4 | Vegetables Menu 5 | Vegetables Menu 6 |
The second area is the Dimsum Dining Area, located on the ground floor in between the Hotpot area and the Fine Dining area.
It’s a popular weekend breakfast hangout and it opens early at 7:00 am and closes as late as 11:00 pm. It can accommodate up to 300 guests.
GLORIA MARIS DIMSUM MENU:
Dimsum Menu 1 | Dimsum Menu 2 | Dimsum Menu 3 |
Soup | Roasting | Seafood Menu 1 | Seafood Menu 2 |
Chicken & Pork | Beef | Vegetable |
Noodles 1 | Noodles 2 | Noodle Soup |
Rice | Rice Toppings | Baked Rice | Congee | Rice Roll |
Fruit Shakes | Beverage |
Next is the Main Dining Room, which is the centerpiece of the restaurant, located on the ground floor. It has a high ceiling that’s two storeys high and has a view of the grand staircase.
GLORIA MARIS FINE DINING MENU:
Soup Menu 1 | Soup Menu 2
Abalone, Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber 1 | Menu 2
Live Seafood Menu 1 | Live Seafood Menu 2
Creative Menu 1 | Creative Menu 2 | Poultry
Special Recommendation Menu 1 | Menu 2
Hot Pot | Vegetables Menu 1 | Vegetables Menu 2 Rice & Noodles |
Desserts Menu 1 | Desserts Menu 2
Sashimi, Maki, Sushi Menu 1 | Sashimi, Maki, Sushi Menu 2
TIP: If you eat in the VIP or Main Fine Dining Area, you can cross-order from the Dimsum and Hot Pot menus.
It has a capacity of 40-45 lauriat tables with a lazy susan in the middle. It can fit up to 540 persons. It is open daily for lunch from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm and then dinner from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
NOTE: Gloria Maris is literally open 365 days, open even on Christmas and Easter season.
The Banquet Hall is located on the second floor. With its hotel-like ambiance and great Chinese food, it is perfect for weddings and grand occasions.
It can hold three simultaneous functions, has a total capacity of 100 tables, and can accommodate up to 1200 persons.
For intimate and special private gatherings, reserve one of the VIP Rooms located at the Mezzanine level.
The VIP area features 13 well-furnished rooms that can have up to nine tables in one room. A total of 300 persons can fit there.
You can reserve the VIP room with a minimum charge of P11,000 for one table that’s good for 8-12 persons.
You can also order from this special set menu.
You can relax on the comfy sofa while you wait for your group or if you just want to hang out after the meal.
We celebrated Father’s Day there with my Dad and Dad-in-law, together with the boys.
Instead of ordering from the set menu, I suggest you assemble your own lauriat menu line-up. Here’s what we like from the Gloria Maris Fine Dining choices and some tips on off-menu items:
APPETIZERS:
My favorite appetizer is the pickled young ginger with slices of century egg. The flavor contrast surprisingly works! 🙂
My next pick: the caramelized walnuts with sesame seeds.
You can also request for plain roasted nuts to jump-start your appetite.
DIMSUM:
★ Hakaw (P160 +10% service charge).
Since cross-ordering from the Dimsum Menu is allowed, we like ordering hakaw for our matatakaw boys who can finish one basket each.
Shanghai Siao Long Pao (P195 +10% service charge).
The siao long pao is also a good alternative with its yummy soup inside.
TIP: Make sure to order XO sauce with scallops and chili to enhance any dish. 🙂
SOUP:
You can choose from two cool soups that we like:
★ Two-Tone Almond Seafood Soup (P1,450 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12).
The first one is almond soup with pumpkin, presented in a cool yin yang style.
Even when served, you can have the contrasting soup flavors with lots of seafood bits inside.
★ Boiled Whole Winter Melon Seafood Soup (P2,200 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12).
For a healthier soup, order the winter melon soup that is served in an actual winter melon container.
I like this soup because of its cleaner taste, generous amounts of seafood bits, and impressive presentation.
TIP: Consume the soup immediately after it is served. Best while it is hot!
Here’s a photo of our little blue Superman with his super lolo. 🙂
CREATIVE STARTERS:
★ Chiu Chow Cold Cuts Combination (P2,800 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12).
If you are tired of the usual Chinese cold cuts, try this modern version served with lechon kawali, duck slices, salmon sashimi, california maki and fried seaweed sashimi. I love combining them — ex. seaweed sashimi plus the the duck slices.
Also, if you like the seaweed, you can request to replace the lechon kawali slices with it.
3 Kinds of Seafood (P200/pc x 3 +10% service charge) Eel with cider, Prawns with wasabi, Scallop with egg white.
If you have a smaller intimate group, I suggest this degustation-like serving of scallop, fried prawns, and eel. Each spoon is a flavorful interpretation and a teaser for more yummy food.
★ Duck with Fruits (P2,200 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12).
For a modern Chinese salad, I suggest you order this. At first, it may seem like a weird hodgepodge of ingredients…
…but once you mix it, the watermelon and mango flavors provide a refreshing twist to the sweet cream base with duck meat, balanced with the nuts.
Sarap! One of my interesting new discoveries. 🙂
★ Mini Taro with Prawns & Scallops (P260/pc. x 12 pcs. +10% service charge).
Here’s a cool new interpretation of mini Taro baskets with plump fresh shrimp and scallops.
We love the presentation of the mini-sculpture of a prosperity dragon made of salt alongside the mini-egg nests.
The taro is fried but not oily, and it’s best eaten with its special sauce.
Patola Asst. Mushroom & Black Fungus with Shredded Dough Fried Taro Seafood (P2,200 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12).
Here’s another favorite of ours: Fried taro wrapped in fried fine noodles served with mushrooms.
TIP: It’s best to order only 1-2 fried items in your lauriat menu so that it won’t be as filling and nakakasuya.
MAIN DISHES:
★ Peking Duck 2 Ways (P2,800 – 1 whole +10% service charge).
For special occasions, get the duck served in two ways. I love their Hong Kong duck, which is carefully cooked with the good layer of fat under the skin.
The first way is to slice the crispy skin…
…and wrap it with vegetables and sweet hoisin sauce.
Each piece is flavorful with the crispy duck skin and a little bit of fat sweetened by the hoisin sauce.
The second way is usually diced duck meat with diced vegetables served on a cabbage and topped with a sweet sauce.
I love the presentation with the sweet Tweety bird this time.
The boys love to collect them and bring them home as souvenirs.
Pata Misua (P1,000 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12).
My wife loves the usual Pata Tim, but this version is served with misua. This one is good if you like having a rich sauce with the soft pata meat.
Yang Chow Fried Rice (P880 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12 persons).
Their Yang Chow fried rice is a complete meal in itself. It has generous bits of meat and seafood. Make sure to order rice to pair with the meat dishes.
SEAFOOD MAIN DISHES:
★ Fried Lapu-Lapu with Noodles (P2,400 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12).
I love having fish as part of the set menu, and I certainly recommend this. The bones and the skin are fried and served with steamed fish fillet pieces that you can eat with noodles.
I like the white egg sauce that you put on top of the fish meat. It’s best eaten with a little bit of noodles and vegetables.
You can’t go wrong with fresh seafood that is harvested and cooked upon order.
Steamed Flat Lobster with Garlic (P4,500 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12).
For grand celebrations, you can order this flat lobster with fresh meat, served with soy garlic flavors.
★ Fried Crab with Salted Egg (P2,600 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12).
For a more unique and indulgent treat, order this. It’s the first time I’ve eaten fried crab with a salted egg coating. 🙂 Sarap!
We couldn’t help but eat every little bit of the crab, especially since it was so flavorful and not too salty.
Fried Prawns with Fish Fillet (P1,440 +10% service charge – 6 pieces).
If your group likes prawns, order this dish that has fried prawn heads with prawn meat and fish fillet. It was OK, but I couldn’t quite understand why it was presented that way.
DESSERTS:
If you want your desserts to have a grand entrance, make sure to ask for them to be served on dry ice.
Buchi (P38/piece x 10pcs. +10% service charge) and Ube Gelatin (P38 x 10pcs. +10% service charge).
Here’s the special presentation of the Buchi with heart-shaped Ube Gelatin on a bed of smoky dry ice.
The boys went crazy with the dry ice effect and couldn’t get enough of the buchi as well. 🙂
Pumpkin Pie (P48 x 12pcs. +10% service charge)
Another wonderfully presented dessert is the pumpkin pie in the form of mini-pumpkins served also with dry ice. As for the taste, it gets mixed reactions because of the sweet lotus paste inside. Plus, it has a chewy, dimsum-like texture.
Birthday Lotus Pao (P38 per piece +10% service charge).
For birthday occasions, don’t forget to order the lucky Birthday Paos.
The bread is really soft, shaped like a fortune cookie, with sweet lotus paste and a slice of fruit inside.
Mango Sago (P140/cup +10% service charge).
Sometimes, the boys want to stick to their favorites, like this mango dessert with bits of sago.
Hot Taho (P300 +10% service charge – Large, good for 12)
In almost every Gloria Maris visit, we make sure to order our most-loved dessert: assemble-your-own-taho.
Thank you to our friend Candy Uy-Lim for giving us foodie recommendations and sharing with us off-menu items in the new Gloria Maris menu. 🙂 She is the daughter of Patrick Uy, the president of Gloria Maris since 2004.
Overall, I love the home-grown Cantonese yumminess of Gloria Maris and how it has been consistent with the same Hong Kong chefs over the years. I love the new Gloria Maris ambiance and the modern Cantonese dining menu.
We usually eat lauriat-style everytime there’s a family celebration with my wife’s family, and Gloria Maris still tops the list of Chinese Restaurants we have tried over the years in the metro.
Make sure to reserve one of the VIP rooms, to assemble your own lauriat menu, and to select the dishes with the cool presentation.
They are open all year round — even on Christmas Day and Holy Week — but don’t forget to make reservations because they get FULL, especially during peak special occasions.
Let us know your favorite dishes and other foodie tips in Gloria Maris in the Comments section.
Gloria Maris Shark’s Fin Restaurant
Located at Greenhills Shopping Center, Ortigas Ave.,
Missouri Street Corner Connecticut San Juan, Metro Manila
Telephone: +632 570-0921, 570-0923, 570-0924
Email: gloriamaris_gh@yahoo.com
Website: on going
Facebook: on going
About Gloria Maris:
Gloria Maris Restaurant opened in 1995 when the owners saw that there was an opportunity in the market for an authentic and fine dining Chinese restaurant. Located in the heart of Greenhills, it is highly accessible to all kinds of transportation. Gloria Maris is considered to be one of the bigest Chinese fine dining restaurants in Greenhills where we can accommodate more than a thousand guests. It is a respectable venue for your meetings, conferences, wedding, debut, birthday parties and other memorable occasions.
With the start of Gloria Maris Restauant, it has established an image based on a homegrown version where service, quality, commitment, and work ethics thrive. We satisfy customer wants and needs, we provide them the best quality products and services at reasonable prices. For 10 years now, our people have worked hard to achieve the image it has today, where good quality, taste and excellent service are our foremost concerns.
Our food production is supervised by a number of professional Hong Kong chefs who continue to maintain the food quality and taste of our food. Contrary to any Chinese restaurant, we have a variety of special dishes that could satisfy your food expectations.
Note: The Greenhills Flagship store has different owners and operations from the Gloria Maris Kitchen in the malls and other locations like the CCP area. We like Greenhills specifically.
Operating Hours:
Main Dining Room
Located at the ground floor
Opens at 11:00 am – 2:30 pm, 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Can accommodate up to 540 persons
VIP Rooms
Located at the Mezzanine
Ideal for private events
Features 13 well-furnished rooms
Can accommodate up to 300 persons
Banquet Hall
Perfect for weddings and grand occasions
Can hold three simultaneous functions
Can accommodate up to 1200 persons
Dimsum Dining Area
Located at the ground floor
Opens at 7:00 am – 11:00 pm
Can accommodate up to 300 guests
Hotpot Dining
Located at the ground floor
Opens at 11:00 am to 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm – 11:00 pm
The New Greenhills Shopping Center:
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Full Disclosure: We’ve been to Gloria Maris Greenhills a number of times for various special family occasions. Our recent dinner was courtesy of our friend Candy Uy-Lim. Thank you!
I wrote this blog post myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I have no business relationship with any company mentioned in this post or any organization promoting it.
P.S. Gloria Maris Greenhills is celebrating its first year anniversary in the new building with an awesome 30% off anniversary treat below (until July 19, 2013):
I wish they would stop sharks fin in any fo their dishes. And i mean this for all restaurants which uses sharks fin as ingridients. Like the saying goes “If the buying stops so will the killing”
I have to terribly disagree with this article. I have eaten there several times since they moved and the food and service has been terrible every single time. Dim sum was unpalatable, given the price they’re charging now. Getting decent service from the wait staff is frustrating.
There was one time our dining companion ordered takeout and not only did it not come out after charging her, the manager had the gall to tell us that the cook has already gone home, and that my friend should come back the next day to pick it up!
There was also one time another friend slipped inside the mens room, which was flooded, in front of a staff. And the staff did not even help my friend get up!
And no, the food is inconsistent these days. There is at least one terribly cooked dish everytime we eat at the first floor main dining, and dim sum that’s obviously been sitting for hours and maybe microwaved once ordered in the other hallway.
Never gonna eat here again if I had my way. Annapolis Uno Restaurant down the street and Hai Kang in Wilson are far better nowadays, at cheaper prices to boot. Gloriamaris is losing their edge.
Thanks for sharing your feedback and experience. T
hey have to fix these service and quality issues specially now that they are much bigger.
I love UNO seafood specially the one in Escolta. Will try Hai Kang too.
It’s a really great place to visit, food is really authentic, the dimsum tastes better than any other chinese restaurants I’ve ever been in. Fine dining food is excellent.
The new Gloria Maris building is definitely better than the old one. Where they are right now, the place looks like a small shopping center until you actually get inside the restaurant. The place is nice, dimsum and hotpot areas were very efficient in terms of movement and it was really clean. The waiters and waitresses are very courteous and polite, plus they can recommend several meal combinations to fully satisfy your appetite. The fine dining area is elegant, the entire floor is topped by this very bright, massive chandelier that is surrounded by the grand staircase. It helps in creating a soothing mood just being in there.
The floor after walking up the grand staircase is impressive, there was this one time that i went up there (for curiosity sake) and it was just a big deserted area, but then this wedding came up about 2 weeks later and then I got interested to take a look,the place was designed so intricately that it didn’t look like the same empty area. If you’re the type of person who can afford a big celebration Gloria Maris is definitely the place to go. We haven’t eaten in the VIP room though 🙁
Their service is quite fast too, even at a time when their entire dimsum and hotpot area was full during their 50% off promo, they were able to get our food in time and tasted as gooooooood as ever ..fresh from the oven as they say. Waiters and waitresses were even running to be able to serve everyone. Even if I have to wait for 30mins or so it doesn’t matter because I know that food that will be served to me is heavenly.
All in all, Gloria Maris is a great go-to place for people who just love Cantonese food as well as enjoy a calm environment. Definitely worthy of being called a 5-star restaurant.
Am glad you feature this restaurant. On our next visit we will
definitely order the interesting Two tone almond seafood soup.
I CANT WAIT.
PS: and yes, the XO sauce is a THUMBS UP !
from the above comment:
“the dimsum tastes better than any other chinese restaurants I’ve ever been in”
sir, you should eat at the summer palace at edsa shangri-la.
Taiwan has banned shark’s finning by its fleet. China has banned serving shark’s fin soup at official dinners. The Philippines should ban shark’s fin soup as well. Sharks around the world are threatened with extinction by this practice. Please change the name of the restaurant and stop serving shark’s fin soup!