What happened to the Lugang Cafe Greenhills branch?

Vernise Tantuco

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What happened to the Lugang Cafe Greenhills branch?
'Lugang will be closed forever in that spot – for good reason,' says Katrina Chua-Hernandez, Marketing Communications Director of the Lugang group

MANILA, Philippines – If you’ve passed through Connecticut Street in San Juan, you might have noticed that Lugang Cafe’s Greenhills branch – the restaurant’s first-ever Philippine branch – is closed. (IN PHOTOS: What’s new at Lugang Cafe)

Many diners were disappointed to find that they would not be able to have their fill of tasty favorites like their famous xiao long bao or soup dumplings, beef with crullers, and the like. (READ: Slurping xiao long bao: Visiting 6 soup dumpling restaurants in Manila

XIAO LONG BAO. Snapped at Lugang Greenhills, December 2015. Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

In front of the building is a message: “A Michelin-recommended traditional Cantonese restaurant that captures the essence of Hong Kong’s culinary traditions, all served with a touch of flair and elegance – coming to Manila. Soon.”

According to Katrina Chua-Hernandez, HTCG Premium Food Concepts’ Marketing Communications Director, the Greenhills branch will stay closed to make room for their new dining concept. “Lugang will be closed forever in that spot… for good reason,” she told Rappler during a food tasting event on February 17.

LAST LOOK. Lugang Greenhills' upscale, striking look. Photo by Paolo Abad/Rappler

Katrina explained that the upcoming Cantonese restaurant they want to open comes with requirements – “One of the requirements is that we open in a standalone location, which is hard to find now… a good location. So we had to sadly sacrifice the Lugang [Greenhills] branch, just because that’s the only one that we feel like would fit the requirements,” Katrina explained.

For now, the building that used to be Lugang Greenhills is going through the necessary renovations to transform into the Cantonese restaurant that the HTCG is bringing in. They’re hoping to open sometime in the second quarter of 2016.

Will there be no Lugang branch in Greenhills anymore? “We will be opening Lugang again, we’re just looking for another – a better – spot for it also,” said Katrina.

Later in the interview, she explained further, “We still want to look first for a location somewhere in that area to capture that market. You know a lot of people have been wondering and have been looking for Lugang in Greenhills, so hopefully we’ll find another one (a location in that area) soon.”

Aside from a Greenhills branch, Katrina added that they might be opening two more Lugang branches in 2016, though the locations are still a secret.

In the meantime, you can still eat at Lugang‘s other branches at Glorietta, SM Mall of Asia, SM Aura, SM North EDSA, and SM Megamall.

HTCG also handles TuanTuan Chinese Brasserie, and newly opened The Dessert Kitchen in Powerplant Mall, aside from Lugang Cafe. – Rappler.com

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Mayuko Yamamoto

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Vernise Tantuco

Vernise Tantuco is on Rappler's Research Team, fact checking suspicious claims, wrangling data, and telling stories that need to be heard.