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ONCE in a while we crave fancy, intricate food: braised shark’s fin soup with crab meat and fried scallops, deep-fried taro stuffed with shrimps, scallops ceviche with baby octopus, king prawn rolls with champagne sauce, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. So we go to the Summer Palace of the Edsa Shangri-La, Tin Hau of the Mandarin Oriental, Li Li of Hyatt, Jasmine of Renaissance, or Choi Garden in Greenhills.

But most of the time, the truth is, we just want simple, flavorful good old Chinese cooking at made-in-China prices. So we turn to our favorite phone pals: North Park, Su Zhou, Singkit. Or visit the extremely austere settings of Hai Shin Lou for the sheer pleasure of their hakaw.

The latest resto to join this barkada, thanks to the tip of the very tasteful Chef J Gamboa, is Sun Moon Garden in the Greenhills area. It’s practically a hole in the wall, sitting beside a gasoline station and across Razon’s. It has that Escolta feel. And like the Chinese restaurants in Escolta, you will leave it satisfied.

The most expensive items on the menu are the fresh creatures that swim quietly in the aquarium by the wall, oblivious to their fate of landing in your mouth in all their fresh glory just moments after you enter the Sun Moon doors. But these will not even cost you more than a thousand bucks, the heroic gesture of the crabs well worth Melchora Aquino’s face, especially the crab with sotanghon. Or the salted baked crab. These are served very fresh, hints of the sea (or the pond where they came from) greeting you gaily. It will be a struggle getting the meat, as expected. But like all struggles that involve heroes, it will be well worth it.

If you would like an easier peel, have the suahe. These are so fresh, the shrimp’s flavors jump at you. That is, if you have the patience to peel them. But that’s what we’re at a plain setting for. Never mind the chopsticks or the utensils.

For more civilized eaters or for those who are allergic to seafood, order the Sun Moon Chicken. This is a chicken that can compete with any homemade chicken that your grandparents would boast of. If Kentucky has its Southern fried, San Juan can boast of the chicken at Sun Moon. It appears to have been fried first before being dunked into a special tangy sweet and sour sauce. So it is crispy but not salty, unlike the chicken we Filipinos are used to. It is soft inside, crispy outside but the crunch is cushioned by the beautiful sauce.

If you care to go healthy, most recommendable would be the polunchay with garlic. The seafood hotpot sounds healthy but there is ginger overload, upstaging the sea cucumbers and shrimp. You might be better off getting a vegetarian burger at Good Burgers just outside the restaurant instead.

Definitely forego the pigeon. There is Choi Garden not too far away for that. At this restaurant, the pigeons look like they got tired flying, fell to the ground and were picked up by the cook to serve. Tastes like it, too.

To make up for that, have an Almond Lychee refresher for dessert. I had this for dessert at Summer Palace the day following a lunch at Sun Moon and discovered that Sun Moon is far more generous with the lychees. Summer Palace, shamefully, only sticks one piece of lychee in their version and fills the bowl with diced mangoes and pineapples instead.

Or even better, grab a halo-halo from Razon’s across the restaurant. At one dinner, I was amused to find the family next to our table enjoying their Razon’s halo-halo.

Morals of Sun Moon: First, contrary to what a congressman has said, there is much dignity in cheap food. Second, “It’s better down where it’s wetter, take it from me,” as Sebastian sang (“The Little Mermaid,” for those who haven’t seen the cartoon). So order the crabs. They’re the best. •

Sun Moon Garden. G/F #1 Kennedy Place, Ortigas cor. Club Filipino Avenue, Greenhills, San Juan. Major credit cards accepted. Underground parking available. Wheelchair accessible. Approx. P300-P500/head.