Tucked along 78 F. Blumentritt in San Juan, Aca Chan is one of those neighborhood spots that feels simple, personal, and very sulit. The restaurant describes itself as serving Chinese comfort food, with a clear Hong Kong influence in dishes like roasted char siu, spring onion chicken, rice meals, and hearty set plates.
What makes Aca Chan especially interesting is its story. The business started during the pandemic from a small home kitchen, with the founder and his dad cooking their favorite dishes and taking orders from home. Back then, they reportedly began with just a few dishes, including char siu and spring onion chicken, before eventually growing into a full restaurant that opened in San Juan in 2024.
The food itself is the kind of thing you crave when you want something familiar but still flavorful. Their spring onion chicken is one of the signatures — tender chicken with that clean, savory ginger-scallion style flavor that works perfectly with rice. The char siu brings the sweeter, roasted side of Hong Kong-style comfort food, giving you that sticky, smoky, slightly caramelized bite that makes a simple rice meal feel complete.
It also helps that the pricing feels approachable. Based on current menu listings, Aca Chan’s chicken starts at around ₱210 for a quarter, ₱400 for half, and ₱800 for a whole, making it easy to order either a solo meal or something to share. For a sit-down restaurant in San Juan, that still feels relatively affordable, especially when the food is filling and rice-friendly.
What Aca Chan does well is keep things focused. It is not trying to be fancy Chinese dining. It feels closer to the comfort of a Hong Kong-style neighborhood eatery: rice, roast meats, chicken, sauces, and dishes that are meant to be satisfying without overcomplicating the experience. That’s probably why the place has built a following — it gives you food that feels homey, generous, and easy to come back to.
In a city where so many restaurants are either getting more expensive or more concept-heavy, Aca Chan’s appeal is straightforward: good Chinese comfort food, fair prices, and a story that feels genuinely homegrown.
