Kowloon Station: Where to Eat in Makati

Why it’s worth the trip

Makati doesn’t lack for Cantonese restaurants, but Kowloon Station arrived with a pedigree that made people pay attention immediately. It’s the next-generation project from the family that runs Hai Shin Lou, a name longtime Manila diners already associate with steady, correctly seasoned Cantonese cooking rather than fusion shortcuts. When the children of an established kitchen open their own place, it usually means they’ve absorbed the technique and are now sharpening it — a roast duck skin that shatters instead of chews, a har gow wrapper thin enough to see the shrimp through it, a barbecue glaze that isn’t just sweet. That’s the promise here, and it’s why the restaurant became a buzzed-about reservation within weeks of opening.

What to expect at the table

The specialty is twofold: dimsum service and whole roasted meats, the two pillars that define a good Cantonese roast house. Think steamer carts or made-to-order baskets alongside a roast counter turning out glossy soy-lacquered items meant to be sliced tableside. This is the kind of menu built for groups — you order across both categories and let the dishes stack up in the middle of the table, which makes it a natural pick for a family lunch or a weekend gathering rather than a quiet solo meal. Because the restaurant is still new, specific dish names and prices are best confirmed on the day; a menu this fresh can still be tightened or adjusted in its first months.

Where to find it

Kowloon Station sits in Makati, the Philippines’ primary business and dining district, an area dense with office towers, malls, and a concentration of the city’s better restaurants. Given its family link to Hai Shin Lou — a fixture of Makati’s Chinese dining scene for years — it’s a safe bet the new spot is aimed at the same crowd: professionals grabbing a proper lunch, extended families marking a birthday or reunion dinner, and diners who already know the Hai Shin Lou style and are curious to compare. If you already know Hai Shin Lou’s location, Kowloon Station is easy to treat as a nearby companion visit rather than a detour.

When to go

New, buzzed-about restaurants in Makati tend to see their heaviest traffic at two points: the workday lunch rush, when nearby office workers pour in for a fast but proper meal, and weekend dinners, when families come in for roast platters to share. If you want a calmer first visit to size up the room and the service pace, an early weekday lunch or a weeknight dinner is generally a safer bet than Friday or Saturday evening, though you should still confirm this against however busy the restaurant currently is — a new opening’s rhythms can shift fast in the first year.

How to visit like a local

Book ahead if the restaurant offers reservations — Cantonese roast houses in Makati fill up fast once word spreads, and a new opening riding this much buzz is no exception. If walk-ins are the only option, arrive right at opening for lunch or dinner service rather than mid-service, when tables turn slower. Order dimsum and roast items together rather than one or the other; that’s how the format is meant to be eaten, and it lets the kitchen show its range in one sitting. Cash and cards are standard at Makati restaurants of this caliber, so don’t assume a cash-only setup. Come with an appetite for sharing — portions at roast houses are built for the table, not the individual — and don’t be shy about asking the server which roast is freshest that day, since roasted meats are typically made in batches and timing matters. The biggest mistake newcomers make at a place like this is treating it like a quick solo bite; it rewards a group, an appetite, and a bit of patience if there’s a queue.

Before you go

Because Kowloon Station is a recent opening, treat every operational detail — hours, days closed, reservation process, exact offerings — as something to verify directly before your visit rather than something fixed in stone. Restaurants this new often adjust hours or booking systems in their first several months as they find their footing, so a quick check on the day of, rather than relying on older listings, will save you a wasted trip.