Hap Chan- WalterMart Pampanga — Restaurant in San Fernando

Hap Chan has always been a family favorite. My grandmother, Ninong and I often dined at their Metro Manila branches, and each visit was memorable—delicious food, courteous staff, and surprisingly fast service for a non–fast food restaurant.

That’s why we decided to have lunch at their WalterMart Pampanga branch after a grocery run. It was a Saturday, so we expected a bit of a wait. The place was full, but diners seemed to be served already, so we stayed.

Unfortunately, our experience didn’t match what we were used to. The food arrived one after the other, but there was still a noticeable wait between dishes. When everything was finally served, the flavors were underwhelming. The noodles were clumped together, and most of the dishes lacked the flavor we had come to expect from Hap Chan. Out of everything we ordered, the Century eggs, siopao and the drinks were delicious. (See photo.)

When we mentioned the experience to a friend, they said “Kumain na rin kami dyan, malabsa yung Hofan nila. Pinalitan naman.” It seems we weren’t alone in feeling that this branch doesn’t quite match the quality of others.

Guests who arrived just before or after us also had a hard time getting the attention of the staff, who were mostly gathered near the front counter. Considering the restaurant layout, it would help to have a staff member stationed near the air-conditioning unit by the entrance, where several diners were seated and often overlooked.

Lastly, while the comfort room is shared, I’ve been to many restaurants with a similar setup that manage to keep the area clean and presentable. Since it’s located near the dining area and a high-traffic path, I hope this can be improved.

We still love Hap Chan and sincerely hope this branch can work on improving service, food consistency, and cleanliness to be at par with their...

Service was ok from the female but the one male waiter was horrible. Asked twice for water just to be ignored. Asked the female once and received water. No seafood in the seafood soup; everything that was fried was so soaked up with dark brown dirty oil. They probably haven't changed their oil since opening. You could not tell one fried piece of food from the other. Just a soggy limp mess of grease. Horrible place to eat. Went there for my 70th birthday to just be let down. This is meant for the hap chan in arayat. One star is...

Ok to eat once in a while. No stock of beef raddish. Almost done eating when our appetizer was served. Flies in the restaurant. Layout was not good such that in the tables near door the staff cannot see you so need to stand to go to the counter. Other parts very hot. Got the salted fish rice, brocolli, honey garlic squid and...