dimsum | beyond toxicity

Posts Tagged ‘dimsum

Nov

DINING CHINESE

Greetings from Shanghai, China!

Did those Chinese silk lanterns, crimson red velvet lounge seats and chairs and gorgeous porcelain fool you? The greetings’ too ambitious, I know. But who knows? Day will come that I’ll get to bring my feet and my family to China too. Time will tell. Meanwhile, I’m sharing here my honest review of my Chinese lunch at Chynna restaurant in Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur. I hope they won’t ban me from dining there again after this post! *cue prayers here* This post isn’t a rant but a constructive criticism and a challenge to improve.

How to get there? I took a cab from Bukit Bintang to KL Sentral where Hilton Hotel is located. When I was already inside the taxi driven by a friendly Malaysian-lady-driver who thankfully, used her taxi meter on our route (fyi, it’s unspoken rule in Kuala Lumpur that taking taxi cabs isn’t always metered by those opportunitistic divers), it popped in my mind that I could have taken the monorail from Bukit Bintang directly to KL Sentral which costs much cheaper of course (around 2 ringgit only instead of the metered taxi ride of RM15). It was useless to entertain regret so I took the monorail for my return to Bukit Bintang after my lunch; however it’s a-15-minute-walk from KL Sentral to the monorail station, nonetheless worth it.

What did I sample? I’m a dim sum monster so it got to be dim sum of course!!!

Because I was attending an exclusive food tasting tour at Feast Village, Starhill Gallery at 3PM that day, I chose to eat light. And that’s how I defined a light meal *snickers* ~Four Season Platter, Siew Mai (or for us Filipinos, siomai!) and the biggest Chicken pao I’ve eaten! I could have ordered hot tea but I was disappointed after I learned that Chynna’s Tea Master was on his day off. If you’ve noticed my photo of their dim sum open kitchen above, the tea pot with a long nose is eye-catching, isn’t it? Since their Tea Master’s out that day, I missed out his Kung Fu moves when serving hot Chinese tea. Thus, I washed everything down with chilled fresh Orange juice (not in photo).

AMBIANCE vs SUBSTANCE

Did Chynna impress me? As I wanted to indulge something extraordinary other than the usual fastfood and hawker meals, I opted to try this Chinese restaurant initially to experience its beautiful ambiance. I was immediately drawn onto its interiors the very moment I saw it on Hilton’s website. And true enough, it’s more pleasing to the eyes up close! The mood inside Chynna restaurant exudes extreme elegance. The cost of the food on the menu’s another affordable luxury; highly competitive with the common restaurants outside hotels. The staff’s friendly, quick and efficient.

Everything’s at its finest even the food presentation but not its taste.

Disappointed without witnessing the Kung Fu moves of their Tea Master, I felt the same too when Chynna’s dim sums tasted stuffed with extenders! I may be wrong and Chynna may deny it but what I ordered tasted all bland! Sure, they provided two sauces to go with them but a delicious dim sum is delicious sans anything. I know my palate so well. I know how authentic dim sum tastes like. As mentioned in my previous posts, despite I’ve never been to China yet, I think eating dim sums from hawker food stalls and five-star-hotel restaurants in all our trips to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand (we even had dim sum buffet in Bangkok recently) and even in Manila Chinatown and in Penang and in Kuala Lumpur itself makes me no-authority but at least my gustatory sense has been familiar with quality dim sums. Admittedly, I only sampled a few dim sum from Chynna in Hilton-KL however, it really didn’t hit the mark! Perhaps, noodles, soups and fish, chicken and meat dishes from their menu are all wonderful but remain to be tasted. That’s a good reason to try Chynna again next time.

Although it means nothing to me because I’m a non-smoker, you might be interested that Chynna has private dining rooms where smoking is permitted.

CHYNNA | 5th Level Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur | www.hilton.com

*This is not a sponsored post.

*This Luxurious Kuala Lumpur Blog Series includes :

*GOOD NEWS : To those who read & follow my blog, I’ll appreciate if you could drop a line or two about my blogging via ths link :http://www.expatsblog.com/blogs/1157/beyond-toxicity; this is in line with the BEST EXPAT BLOG AWARDS run by ExpatsBlog.com. Maraming salamat po!

Sep

MID AUTUMN LANTERNS & DELIGHTFUL DISHES @ DE TAI TONG

By docgelo 17 Comments

A couple of weeks after enjoying Dimsum Lunch Buffet in Heichinrou, Amari Watergate Hotel in Bangkok, I brought Tina and Gabby to a simple and very quaint eatery in the heart of GeorgeTown, Penang called De Tai Tong. They serve delightful dimsums there but only for breakfast and dinner. We came at around lunch time so my wife and our son failed to sample their steamed specialties; nonetheless we’re happy to dine together under those Mid Autumn lanterns. It’s another extraordinary experience!

During Mooncake or Mid Autumn Lantern Festival, families and friends of mostly Chinese-Malaysian communities here in Penang gather around and gaze at the full moon while savoring mooncakes and other sweets. Lanterns are lighted by candles; this should be done when full moon appears in (the end of) September. A grand parade of lanterns is usually held to honor the celebration.

Mostly, dragons, phoenix and other symbolic lanterns are easily sold. Now, De Tai Tong and perhaps, other stores where you can buy these wonderfully crafted lanterns out of colored celophanes and wires, offer other modern designs. Check out these Angry Birds, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Walt Disney characters. superheroes and robot figures…

Of all the Mid Autumn lanterns on display at De Tai Tong, this sarimanok-look-a-like lantern appeared to me as the most fantastic among other choices.

Gabby of course has his own preference. With only 15 ringgit, we allowed Gabby to choose what he fancied, bought and brought it home. He chose a fish design! Nice, isn’t it?

As she handed the box of little colored candles that came with the purchase, one of the crew demonstrated to Tina how to fold the lantern and specified where to place the small candle to make it glow. The crew was very concerned that she didn’t forget to remind us not to light the candle when wind blows on the lantern; better make sure it’s immobile and completley fixed. We’re not lighting the candle anyway for safety reasons.

On food department, here’s a rundown of what we shared that lunch time…

Crispy Noodles with seafood and veggies. Yum yum yum!

Deep Fried Chicken and Onion Rings…This one’s a killer! Sarap! Sedap!

And the classic, Yang Chow Fried Rice…

Happy diners…

A few weeks back, I first tried De Tai Tong at 7 in the evening before I met a fellow Filipino blogger who toured Malaysia with his wife and dropped by Penang. Because I am just killing time and was set to have dinner in other place with the tourist-couple, I opted to order dimsums and egg tarts only! Delicious!

This dimsum cart is happiness! hehehe!

Lastly, may I commend the old lady wait staffs of De Tai Tong for their warm and friendly and customer-friendly service. One of them even cared to pour my Coke to the glass with ice herself. Now, that’s service-deluxe!

De Tai Tong | 45 Lebuh Cintra, GeorgeTown 10100, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia | Tel No. : 04-263 6625 | Dimsums are only available for breakfast and dinner (after 6PM). De Tai Tong serves rice, noodle, chicken, pork and seafood dishes for lunch.

Sep

BANGKOK 2012 SERIES : HEICHINROU

By docgelo 22 Comments

Flashback to January of 2004, Tina and I flew to Bangkok and spent honeymoon in Amari Watergate Hotel. Nine months and few days after, Gabby was born.

Fast forward to August of 2012, we went back to Amari Watergate Bangkok with Gabby.

Weeks before we left Penang for Bangkok for a few day break, I emailed Amari Watergate to inquire about the rates of their buffet in one of their restaurants where Tina and I spent our first meals together as married couple, the Promenade. Unfortunately, the Filipino hotel staff who promptly replied to my query informed me that Promenade is closed on the dates I specified. He recommeded another restaurant in Amari Watergate that serves eat-all-you-want-lunch, the Heichinrou.

Located at 5th level of Amari Watergate Hotel, the Cantonese restaurant, Heichinrou that actually originated from Yokohama has been keeping its branches in Japan, Hong Kong and this one in Thailand. I was told they’re offering a Dimsum Buffet and ya ol know that eat-all-you-can dining is such a kryptonite to me and my family and dimsums are one of our favorites. So I asked Tina if she wants to try Heichinrou in Amari and with its reasonable price, we both gave it a nod!

Despite the fact we failed to eat again in Promenade for the reason that they’re preparing for a reserved function that day, it was a nice coincidence that we were led to sit in Heichinrou in a table with a view overlooking Promenande, exactly the place where Tina and I had breakfast buffet 8 years ago.

We seldom engage in ala-carte-buffet where you can order all you want and everything from the menu is unlimited to your stomach’s content. We liked it actually. We didn’t have to check the spread and queue. Time was spent in pure indulgence!

Soon after the senior staff of the restaurant handed us the menu, everything was served to our table less the dessert. I didn’t remember asking him to do it but no regrets, no complaints. We certainly loved it!

It wasn’t overwheling; it was lovely!

We started with Sweet Corn Soup with Crabmeat. It was impressive! Thick and tasteful just like what I want in my Chinese soup. There’s generous servings of real crabmeat too! When the staff asked me if I want another serving of the soup, my knees became too weak to say no! Then we tried Steamed Barbecued Pork Bun. Delicious! We call it Asado Siopao in the Philippines!

If you must know, whenever we have buffet-dining, we rarely order drinks and frequently go for just a glass of cold water to wash everything down. We usually make sure to have less intake of sugar-rich beverages from a glass of iced tea or soda but this Heichinrou Dimsum Buffet was an exception. Gabby and I ordered Fanta Orange and thought it went well with those yummies.

Steamed Spare Ribs…

Fried Noodles with Shredded Chicken…

Steamed Cream Buns…

Deep Fried Spring Rolls…

Steamed Fresh Shrimp Dumplings, Steamed Pork Crab Egg Dumplings, Steamed Bean Curd Skin Flakes with Oyster Sauce…

The only dish that I didn’t like (Tina agreed) was the Deep Fried Taro Dumpling; it wasn’t greasy and it looked fine but it’s just me – I am biased to savoring taro as an iced pudding

The dessert from this buffet menu set was heavenly. Deviating from the common mango and tapioca; Heichinrou Dimsum Lunch Buffet offered Chilled Sago and Cantaloupe Melon topped with Coconut Cream. I had two servings. Need I say more?

One may find it so peculiar to enjoy dimsum in the land of Pad Thai but it’s a great breather from all street-food-and-spicy-eats. All in all, we’re delighted with Heichinrou Dimsum Buffet and it felt really wonderful going back to a place that etched a memory in us.

*This is NOT a sponsored post. For details and contact information about Amari Watergate Hotel in Bangkok and Heichinrou, visit there website by clicking THIS!

This Blog’s Bangkok 2012 Series includes :

Aug

BANGKOK 2012 SERIES : THAI FOOD PORN!

By docgelo 11 Comments

Experiencing local cuisine by seeing how a dish is prepared and appreciating its unique flavors and interesting ingredients are a few of the perks of traveling. In our second visit to Thailand’s capital, we planned to immerse our palates to gastronomic offerings available; even sought suggestions from fellows on where and what to eat. One of our great friends of almost 2 decades now, Rob of Sensory Replays highly recommended a modestly famous P Kitchen at Soy 18 for authentic and affordable Thai food which travelers and tourists in Bangkok are raving about. Of course, I already mentioned in my previous posts in this series that our itinerary for this trip was made by Dyan, another friend who’s more seasoned traveler; most of the places we went to were based on her list. However, because we were limited by time and the fact that we always have to prioritize our 7-year-old-son’s food preference, we were not able to sample more than we wished. Gabby’s a little picky now and favors the usual kiddie meals from fastfood joints. Ergo, we usually decide as a family every meal time and it must be agreeable to the 3 of us. Nonetheless, we’re happy and still lucky to savor few authentic Thai dishes without compromising Gabby’s choices.

While Bangkok has been known to many as one of the tourist spots and shopping capitals in Southeast Asia, we had more of food adventures rather than shopping. Undeniably, it’s an epicurean paradise! We tasted few of Thai dishes and indulged in those familiar to our palates. Here’s a rundown of what tickled our taste buds during our recent 4D3N trip in August in the city of Angels in the Land of Smiles… FEAST YOUR EYES, just don’t salivate and drool over your keyboard!

Flavorful, mouthwatering, fragrant and inexpensive dishes delighted us all on our very first meal in Bangkok. From an eatery in the heart of Chatuchak Weekend Market, we had Shrimp Fried Rice, Pad Thai, Pork Barbecue that we’re missing in Penang, and a few fried goodies for Gabby.

In Siam Paragon Mall, Gabby and I had takeaway favorites from Burger King and ate it in front of a huge fish tank in the middle of the mall’s food court while Tina opted for some bowl of Japanese. We also gave in to ice cream temptation from Swensen’s.

Tina and Gabby shared this sundae..

While I enjoyed and shared with them two of my most loved flavors : Coffee and Chocolate! Yum!

Our breakfast meals were included in the Superior Room package we availed from Mystic Place Rooms in Bangkok..

We ate dinner outside the hotel except for this one when we tried the menu at Mystic Cafe…

Tina had breakfast plate during dinner time while I loaded myself with more Thai flavors in this noodle dish and another serving of Pad Thai, this time it was vegetarian. It felt short for me having no shrimps. The Pad Thai we sampled in Chatuchak Weekend Market tasted way better.

Apparently, this Mac and Cheese classic was Gabby’s plate. But because we forgot to request it shouldn’t be spicy, it was served with pepper that Gabby’s young tongue didn’t like. Tina had to remove the seasoning and what saved the moment was a glass of hot chocolate.

Another mall-recommendation from Dyan was Central World which we all loved! If Siam Paragon Mall has a chic and slick atmosphere, Central World is more relaxed and non-intimidating. We went around the food court level and found a Japanese Pastry Shop called, Bake A Wish. All of the cake slices from Bake A Wish look charmingly delicious, making choices on what to order was the most difficult. Tina and I decided to try their specialty - Crispy Japanese Cream Puffs with various tasteful fillings; we had Chocolate and Strawberry while Gabby preferred froyo from the adjacent store, Buddhi Belly.

We didn’t spoil our huge appetite when we had those glucose-rich servings prior to our early dinner at 6PM in Central World’s 7th floor Taiwanese restaurant, Din Tai Fung. We had dinner with one of my former-post-graduate-review-center-student, Thomas who’s working in Bangkok as a lecturer too for a few years now. We enjoyed catching up over a scrumptious meal of Xiao Long Bao (pork soup in a dimsum), Prawn and Pork dimsum (also steamed with soup), Shrimp Fried Rice, Prawns over a blanched greens that the dish’s name slipped my memory (I can eat it everyday!), Mango Pudding for Gabby’s dessert. The only unsatisfactory to us was the noodle dish that Tina ordered; it wasn’t impressive compared to the other dishes we had.

On our last dinner in Bangkok, we had it at a wrong choice. No offense meant but honestly, we’re not satisfied with what we ordered in Pasta de Waraku, a Japanese fusion restaurant in Central World Mall. We were looking for something that fits in Gabby’s preferences and with attractive display of their menu ala-food-stalls in Tokyo with lots of pasta dishes to choose from, we were lured to enter and dine. The taste of almost everything we had didn’t please our palates. I’m sorry but my opinion imposes a challenge for Pasta de Waraku to improve on their menu. Despite the casual ambiance looks quaint and the service quick, it all boils down to the taste of their offerings. The Carbonara, Pesto with Prawns and Octopus, Okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza) had nothing to rave about. And when we saw there’s Pepper Lunch and Bon Chon and KFC in Central World, the more we felt disappointed passing on these sure-choices. So before we head back to Mo Chit Central bus station to depart Bangkok for Hat Yai, we played it safe by eating late lunch at KFC.

The sardonic smile of not-so-impressed diner. *kidding* It’s natural, ya know!

We love LARGE GRAVY!!! FYI, gravy in Thailand and in Malaysia are only used as toppings in mashed potatoes so I always get a peculiar look from fastfood crew when I request for extra gravy for our KFC. They prefer tomato ketchup or chili sauce to go with their chicken. We, Filipinos like those finger-lickin’ goodies to be dunked and submerged in buttery gravy. Sometimes, Gabby and I make it as topping to our rice ala-soup; do you do that too? hahaha!

For Gabby’s dessert, we found a cheap FRIED ICE CREAM in a food court outside KFC in Big C Supercenter in Bangkok. It’s an affordable alternative to the very toothsome Cold Rock Creamery Ice Cream. This fried ice cream only cost us 50 baht (5 ringgit or 70 Ph pesos).

*We had a dimsum lunch buffet at one of the restaurants inside the hotel where we had honeymoon 8 years ago. All of that and more of Bangkok on the succeeding posts. Stay tuned!

This Blog’s Bangkok 2012 Series includes :

Aug

15 YEAR FLASHBACK AT DIN TAI FUNG

By docgelo 20 Comments

Catching up with someone whom you have not seen for several years is like watching again your favorite movie or TV show that you grew up with; it certainly brings back memories of the old days.

I’m glad I gave a nod to my college classmate’s invitation to meet her and her family in Singapore. And because my 4D3N trip was packed, I had to arrange the schedule and ask Rochel (or Rocel to us back in college; I didn’t know her name suffered from a glitch in birth certificate documentation) if it’s fine to have an early dinner with them on my last day in the Lion City before I head back to Changi Airport to catch my 10:40PM flight back to Penang. She candidly agreed, so I met her and her husband at the facade of Raffles City Mall that sunny Sunday afternoon on mid-July. Meeting her after 1997 seemed like going through a time machine in a heart beat.

It actually felt like we’re back to one of our classrooms inside the Science Building or in the canteen of Far Eastern University in Manila (that we fondly called, Tayuman because we’re only provided then with cocktail tables less the seats, so we’re used to eat standing, hence we coined, Tayu-man!). Rochel and I were classmates from 1993 to 1997 when we’re taking up Bachelor of Science in Biology; we belonged to 2 different sets of friends (or in the Philippines, we call it barkada) -she’s with all-female-barkada who were all very studious in every sense of the word (I actually described her group to her husband as nerds to seriously mean their unparalleled devotion to studies, they’re mentally competitive!). We lost contact after graduation. It was only few months back that I found her on facebook.

It’s unbelievable how we squeezed 15 years in a casual and friendly dinner at Din Tai Fung. One thing’s sure -it’s always nice and easy to talk about those college days; everything sounded like they all happened just yesterday. Those were the years with less worries and almost no priority, at least for me.

Fifteen years went by and I heard nothing about Rochel. While waiting for our food, I did not expect that she would ask me about how studying Medicine was like. At that moment, I wasn’t sure whether she went to Med school or not; worse, I was clueless that Rochel became quite depressed soon after her father told her that her dream of becoming a doctor had to be shelve due to their financial difficulty back then.

I told Rochel, she never missed a thing.

She and her husband have been very blessed and they’re financially stable now in a country more progressive than one could imagine.

I think that’s all that matters.

We both believe that Lord has His ways of leading us to our own paths as we live our own lives.

And Rochel’s gratitude to God for everything that happened in her life is inspiring!

Not that I regret becoming a General Physician and a Lecturer of 8 years but going through Medical school robbed me of my social life -anyone who went through the same path could attest. Attending special occasions like birthdays, holiday celebrations and reunions like Christmas and New Year’s day were not always possible during those gruelling years in Medicine; it was books before anything else. A lot of things were sacrificed, tons of efforts were exerted. In my case, there were times that I felt I had studied enough but everything seemed like the lyrics of a James Ingram’s classic song, “I did my best but I guess my best wasn’t good enough!”. Days got even tougher when we’re having those unforgettable 24-36 hour duties in various private and public hospitals for 2 consecutive years (4th year in clerkship, and another year in completing Post-Graduate Medical Internship). It was all about efforts and sleepless nights in exchange of 2 letters added to your surname after graduation, plus a license after passing the board exams and registration. Nonetheless, if there’s one thing I am most thankful of my years in Medicine was the day I met my lovely wife (yeeehaaa!).

Some of Rochel’s bestfriends even went to Residency or Post-Graduate trainings and became specialists. She continued sharing a piece of her life by relaying that during those times that most of our college batchmates and I were in Med School, she worked and earned money to send herself to study another field that offers a more lucrative career. She studied computers and all about Information Technology. She landed a job in the Lion City; made a beautiful family and the rest, as they say is history.

Cliche as it may sound but there are reasons for everything.

We have different fates.

We live different lives.

And everything is attributed to a cause greater than ourselves.

This is Rocel and her husband, Alvin. Rochel has been based in Singapore for 6 years now and the couple have been doing great on their jobs. They have one beautiful daughter, Audrey who was left at home with the nanny during our dinner. Despite my time was limited, our meeting was warmer than what we chow down! They gave me a paper bag with 4 bottles of Belacahan and Chinchalok Chilli sauces and even sent me recipes of how to use the sauces. According to Rochel, she noted that my wife Tina, loves to cook. The gesture was really thoughtful! Thanks for the dinner treat, guys! It was delicious! Hope to meet you again when my family and I get to visit Singapore again.

On a lighter note, here’s a run-down of what we savored on that early dinner at Din Tai Fung.

Rocel ordered Stir-fried Spinach with Garlic

*”A deceptively simple dish made with only premium young, tender shoots. Every batch of specially selected vegetables is almost identical in length and quality, and is cut with precision before being tossed in the wok with just a teaspoon of sunflower oil.”

She also had Fried Rice with Shrimps & Eggs 虾仁蛋饭

“*An extremely popular dish, the ingredients are pared down to simple rice, shrimps, eggs, and spring onions, creating a taste of familiar comfort. Each plate is of a certain weight and minimal seasoning is used so that the natural fragrance of the eggs and spring onions shines through.”

Rocel’s husband, Alvin simply had Beef Noodles

And as I sincerely trusted their taste, so I submitted myself to their choices for me to sample…

Truffle Xiao Long Bao 松露小笼包

*”A paragon of fine taste, an award-winning steamed dumplings laden with the finest truffles. Served only to foreign dignitaries and very special guests in Taiwan, bask in the fine aroma of truffles.”

See how the Art of Making Din Tai Fung’s Legendary Xiao Long Bao HERE!

Fried Rice with Fried Pork Chop

“*Munch away on this scrumptious dish of deeply marinated pork chop, which is deep-fried to perfection. The meat is juicy and tender, making for a wholesome gastronomic experience at Din Tai Fung.”

It’s fifteen years after graduation and I never expected a simple reunion would be in Singapore. Looking back, it’s a wonderful feeling that we passed those days of going through college and eating our food while standing in the canteen during recess and lunch breaks.

PS : I personally asked Rochel to review the draft of this blog post prior publishing in this site. I’m glad she gave me a green light and a happy note! Thank you so much, Rochel! May you and Alvin receive more blessings for you to continue to be a blessings to others!

———–

Locate Din Tai Fung in Singapore HERE! and in Malaysia HERE!

Feb

OUR HONG KONG DISNEYLAND TRIP 2012 : ARRIVAL & LUNCH

By docgelo 54 Comments

DOCGELO X MICKEY MOUSE

FAMILY.FOOD.FUN @ the Happiest Place on Earth!

Similar to a shot of adrenaline, the thought of revisiting Hong Kong Disneyland increases the heart beat and quickens the pulse, at least for Tina, Gabby and me. It’s incredibly different and NOT physiologically tiring but a special feeling of excitement that my family and I would love to go through over and over again, despite and inspite of everything! Hong Kong Disneyland has that positively addicting charm that effortlessly draws the young and equally attracts the young-at-hearts! It’s a Nirvana for family bonding, food indulgence and lots of fun!

HONG KONG DISNEYLAND : DEFINITELY, A STRESS ANTIDOTE

Before Tina, Gabby and I immersed ourselves in a worry-free-three-day-and-two-night-fun-filled-vacation in Hong Kong Disneyland, we had to travel a day before from our current place in Butterworth, Penang to Kuala Lumpur to catch our flight earliest in the morning. We all thought it’s wise to travel via KL if you’re coming from Malaysia because the trip from Penang would take us to Hong Kong International Airport at around half hour past 8 in the evening hence, we’ll lose a day. Either we go a day earlier to Hong Kong which will be more expensive or take the alternative route of via Kuala Lumpur. We opted the latter. However, since we didn’t reserve a flight from Penang to Malaysia’s capital city because of steeper cost (read: we are 3), we chose to take the 5-hour-road trip via the public tourist bus from Butterworth, Penang to Puduraya, Kuala Lumpur, then with our luggage and bags in tow, we hailed a taxi cab from Puduraya Bus Station to KL Sentral where buses that take passengers to KL-LCCT airport are parked.

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur-Low Cost Carrier Terminal at around 8 in the evening of Thursday via Aerobus after an hour trip from KL Sentral. My family and I had to spend the night inside food and coffee shops. After our quick family dinner and some coffee for Tina and me, chocolate frap for Gabby, we found a corner inside LCCT and called it a night (Actually, it was only Gabby who slept for few hours; Tina and I rarely shut our eyes). And few hours after midnight, we took turns in taking showers, changed into new clothes and queued to check in at 4 in the morning.

Some may find our travel very stressful but believe me, we’ve experienced more difficult instances than you could imagine. So this Hong Kong Disneyland trip is definitely a stress antidote for me and my family. We cannot thank the good Lord enough for such opportunity!

We took the flight from KUL to HK at 6:45AM, Friday, February 17, 2012 and arrived at HKIA 4 hours after. Before I slept in my seat, I accomplished the Immigration Arrival forms for Tina, Gabby and myself as what I used to do on our few travels.

That long travel to Kuala Lumpur from Penang and finally to Hong Kong, those frequent air pockets and lack of sleep were absolutely NOT enough to kill our excitement and enjoy the Happiest Place on Earth!

Finally, we set foot again at one of the biggest and most impressive terminals in the world! Sweet!

Hong Kong Disneyland, here we come!

Passing through HK Immigration was a breeze, so did the luggage pick up from the conveyor belt. I wish all terminals particularly that of the Philippines would have such remarkable efficiency. Upon arrival at the HKIA lobby, we trooped immediately to the Train Information Counter. Our initial game plan was to take the MTR from the airport to our hotel but after learning that the waiting and transfer period from one train to the other will take us around an hour, we decided to take a cab.

After paying the metered taxi HKD 150, we arrived at the hotel lobby all in one piece. Yahoooo!!!

DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD HOTEL : FAMILY FRIENDLY!

From its exteriors that reflects similarities with Pan Pacific Auditorium, the art-deco theme reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood echoes to the interiors of Disney’s Hollywood Hotel to every detail in the lobby and in its rooms.

And since it’s Disneyland Resorts, the head of Mickey Mouse with other Disney figures including Minnie Mouse’s of course, are a constant decor. Wonderful!!!

Tina and I have lately developed the appreciation for boutique and themed hotels. It’s nice to see how people put so much attention to details. The first sight of the lobby of Disney’s Hollywood Hotel was definitely a feast to our senses!

Just before those bilateral lifts take Disney’s Hollywood Hotel guests to their rooms, the Disney magic manifests with the voice of Mickey Mouse no less, welcoming everyone to their room-level, night and day. So cool! It makes you think that Mickey Mouse doesn’t sleep too! *kidding*

Certainly, the glass etching on the doors of the lifts also has the same Hollywood art-deco theme and to make it distinctly Disney’s, there are so many Mickey Mouse embedded on it. Can you spot some?

We’re checked in at the 8th level where the view’s fantastic! The blurry hazy skyline at the backdrop confirmed that we’re about to experience a misty cool Hong Kong climate despite the clock already hit 12 noon. And coming from the tropical state of Penang, that for me, was so inviting! Thankfully, we didn’t have any downpour, God is really great!

The view from our room offers a relaxing sight of Lantau island, its bay stretching to South China Sea and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel’s swimming pool. Can you feel the cool atmosphere despite the clock hit 12 noon? It’s Hong Kong, baby!

Another view from our window gives you a glimpse of how Disney’s Hollywood Hotel back lot looks like…

I wish I’ve photographed it too at night. Some other time perhaps (that’s another little reason to go back!).

Tina and I basically want few essentials in a hotel room; just nice and comfy bed and pillows to provide us a restful sleep, an insect-free-airconditioned and clean room, toilet and bath and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel doesn’t disappoint. Its theme is continuously obvious. The play of colors are vibrant and definitely puts everyone into the Disneyland euphoric mood!

I guess each room with a twin-deluxe beds has a black and white cartoon of Mickey and Minnie from one of their movies.

How sweet it was to sleep with worries and stress far from your cerebrum.

A little while later, Gabby felt so at home!

From Malaysia to Hong Kong, this 7-year-old-Filipino kid loves his Disney cartoons!

It may not be the most spacious toilet and bath that we had experienced but nonetheless, its cleanliness and the generous volume of towels are truly noteworthy. It’s expected that Disney Hollywood Hotel would be family-friendly and we proved it correctly. How many hotels have thought of providing kid-sized slippers? This hotel has it making Gabby simply delighted. Toothbrushes, toothpaste and some wipes and cotton buds are provided in a pack inside 3 paper cups capped with Mickey Mouse ears. Even the toilet is richly themed!

And again, the little artsy details made us smile and utter, “so cute!”

Cast members (or those who work for Hong Kong Disneyland Park and Hotels) are amazingly creative at these towel crafts. They even refill it everyday in different colors and adorable animal and alien-designs. We brought home some pieces, actually!

Riding the theme park’s own resort shuttle buses for FREE was definitely convenience in its truest sense of the word. After checking in and quick freshening up in our room at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, we went to the resorts’ other hotel, Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel for the much needed lunch.

The HK Disneyland Resorts Shuttle Buses take passengers for FREE from the theme park to Disneyland Hotel then to Disney Hollywood Hotel in 10 minute interval. It spells convenience particularly when you’re traveling with kids. It’s so nice when you’re worry-free of going back to the hotel and theme park or hopping to a restaurant located at either of Disney hotels.

Experiencing two hotels of Hong Kong Disneyland was so awesome! Both hotels have unique themes, one takes you back in time to Hollywood’s golden years and the other is lavishly Victorian-inspired.

HONG KONG DISNEYLAND HOTEL : ENTICINGLY ELEGANT!

We saw luxury and sophistication at every corner of Disneyland Hotel… Our little-big boy, Gabby’s so amazed! I wonder what other kids think of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. Surely, most of them believe that it’s a magical mansion!

what a gorgeous pair of chandeliers!

Everything’s so fanciful! Even the men’s toilet melted all my worries away, haha!

While Tina and Gabby were checking out the merchandise at the hotel’s souvenir shop, I walked towards the concierge and didn’t pass the chance of capturing the framed paintings hanging at the back of the counters.

I asked permission from the Cast Members who are at the reception prior to snapping my cam; made me smile when they gave me a nod.

Aren’t these paintings fascinating? I remember the Mark Twain’s steamboat that we saw in Disneyland Anaheim on the next painting.

Those bursts of colors are too beautiful in my eyes!

Sincere to their work place, I noticed Cast Members of Hong Kong Disneyland Park and Resorts are all service-oriented, warm and friendly. Just when I was thinking for someone who could snap a photo of us, one male hotel staff offered to take our family pic even without asking him. That’s marvelous!

Look at my very own Minnie. Lovely, isn’t she?

The hedge maze in the garden of Disneyland Hotel fronting South China Sea really caught Gabby’s attention.

Did Gabby and I try and finish the maze? Find out on my succeeding posts!

Meanwhile, can you spot Mickey Mouse’s profile on this green maze?

LUNCH at CRYSTAL LOTUS RESTAURANT, HONG KONG DISNEYLAND HOTEL.

What warmed our souls and filled our stomachs after that long tiring trip from Butterworth, Penang to Puduraya and KL Sentral in Kuala Lumpur, to Kuala Lumpur-Low Cost Carrier Terminal to Hong Kong International Airport then finally to Hong Kong Disneyland apart from seeing Mickey Mouse again at the theme park was a sumptuous and divine Chinese cuisine at Crystal Lotus Restaurant.

With rich, classy and exceptional ambience, coupled with prompt and attentive service and a delightful menu, Crystal Lotus Restaurant is the best option when you feel like indulging in some Chinese favorites with Disneyland’s kiddie appeal.

Modern and sophisticated Oriental ambience of Crystal Lotus Restaurant. We’re so blessed to have experienced it.

Tina, Gabby and I met a few bunch of Filipinos who own blog sites too; Mom and Lifestyle blogger, ThammieSy, Fashion bloggers Laureen Uy and Kryz Uy of Break My Style and KryzUy.com respectively, Foodie blogger, Leslie of Shoot First Eat Later, and travel blogger Gael of The Pinay Solo Backpacker. We communed with our families and friends and with delicious gastronomic treats at this luxurious room.

Crystal Lotus Restaurant brought our taste buds to a variety of Chinese dishes that we all happily took in.

stunningly gorgeous chandeliers

Now, let your eyes feast on the set meal we savored….you might need tissues to wipe your keyboard when you drooled! *kidding!* A glass of ice cold water beside you might be helpful.

If it’s Chinese, there must be Jasmine Tea.

We started our delicious dimsum lunch with Roasted Suckling Pig with Cucumber and Sweetened Paste in Steamed and Piggy Mask Buns…

Crisp and flavorful. I’m in heaven!

Family bonding comes in different packages. At this moment, it came with authentic Chinese cum Disney’s culinary.

Next on the menu brought to our table was Disney Dim Sum Platter. Consisting of Three Little Pigs Barbecue Pork Bun, Little Green Men Pork and Vegetable Bun, Mickey’s Glutinous Seafood Pancake which Gabby liked so much!

Eating Dim Sum has never been this cute! It took me several minutes to take them with chopsticks and bite, haha!

I see harmony in steam basket, haha! Then I gave these 2 cute buns a peaceful death via taking them in, LOL!

Pink ears or orange ones? Doesn’t matter, both are appetizingly delicious!

Then came Braised Seafood Soup with Crab Roe. This warm soup dish won my palate! Tina liked it too.

D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S

The meal got more interesting when the next dish was brought in. It’s called Wok Fried Chicken and Longan with Sweet Sour Sauce.

My palate is familiar with the fusion of pineapples and chicken meat in a dish but with longan, it must be fascinating! And it is!

With Wok-Fried Shrimps and Disney Root Vegetables, Disneyland and Crystal Lotus Restaurant really know how to make vegetables and seafoods appealing to kids. The dish to me is so impressive!

You know how some children have aversion to veggies and making the ingredients of this dish cut into Mickey Mouse’s gloves and head is pure brilliance!

Who says eating veggies is never fun?

Blessings continued to pour on our table with this golden crab dish…

This one really brought out the kid in me. I was in awe with the plating of this crab dish. Indeed, a crab plated in gold, hehe!

Flip the golden shell of this crustacean plate et voila…

Baked Tasmanian Crab Meat Fried Rice in Whole Crab Shell : Eating crab has never been this edgy!

And of course, a meal isn’t complete without a sweet ending. Crystal Lotus prepared and offered us Chilled “Mickey’s” Red Bean Honey Pudding and Chilled Mickey’s Green Tea Jelly.

Gabby like these desserts and so did Tina. As for me, I like the fusion of textures and its light flavors.

Must take a detail shot…

Did I mention that we EACH received a full course meal? What Gabby cannot finish, Daddy Gelo’s there to rescue. hehehe! Immediately after our very first meal at Hong Kong Disneyland, I thought I gained a few more pounds! Who wouldn’t with such hearty Dim Sum lunch set?

It’s not on a daily basis that we get to eat Disney-themed Dim Sum nor a crab dish on a golden crab shell and of course, not everyone is given the chance to have such indulgence in very sophisticated food place thus, Tina, Gabby and I are grateful for this great dining experience. THANK YOU, LORD FOR ALL OF YOUR BLESSINGS! THANK YOU, HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!

Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel : Such a Magical Dreamy Place!

After our sublime Oriental lunch at Crystal Lotus, we headed directly to the Hong Kong Disneyland Park via the resort’s shuttle bus. We got our fast passes to Space Mountain, Astro Blasters and The Adventure of Winnie the Pooh rides and tickets to the theme park for 2 days! Excitement soared the highest! All that and a lot more in the part 2 of this blog series! Stay tuned!

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*for more information about Hong Kong Disneyland Park, Crystal Lotus Restaurant, Disney’s Hollywood Hotel and Disneyland Hotel, kindly visit the theme park website at http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com

This Blog Series Includes :

Dec

HONG KONG

By docgelo 21 Comments

Categories: FOOD & MORE FOOD! and MALAYSIA
Tags: canton-i, chinese, chinese food, dimsum, dimsum & dumplings, dragon-i, dumplings, family, family bonding, food, food trip, foodie, gastronomic, gastronomic adventures, hakao, hakaw, peanuts, rice toppings, shanghainese, shanghainese food, shrimp dumplings, siomai

How would you react if and when your weekend morning’s greeted by this message?

yee-haa!

I am a strong believer of the cliche that “best things in life are free!” And you?

That message simply made my Friday morning. I immediately emailed the sender and noticed her email address and company’s name are both from Malaysia. I got an “out-of-office-automated-reply” but few seconds after that, I received an actual email-response from Ms. Jaclyn. What even delighted me was the fact that she mentioned that the blogger’s wife and 2 kids (I only have Gabby now) will be sponsored too. Ang husay! Tara, let’s go!

If you must know, I have been with famous Filipino bloggers and media people, the lovely couple of hanna and vince whose names were mentioned on the email-invite when we went to (my lone sponsored trip) that Grecian-inspired, lavishly beautiful beach resort in Northern Luzon last year; it was days before I went to Penang (peek at my blog post about Thunderbird Resorts,HERE! ). And after reaching home, I sent a PM to hanna and she confirmed that Ms. Jaclyn is actually her friend and the invite is legit. Now, I am really EXCITED! I hope it pushes through because it’ll be a great treat for GABBY! It’s been 4 years since the 3 of us went to HK Disneyland.

Talking about Hong Kong, I remember we enjoyed an early dinner in a Hong Kong-themed restaurant here in the island of Penang months ago.

With casual but stylish ambiance, CANTON-i in Queensbay Mall is simply charming.

bird cages used as lights adorn the ceiling of Canton-i.

When Chinese, it must be RED! I like the red-painted walls and ceiling infused with those white gorgeous floral and butterfly and dragonfly panels. It definitely draws attraction and makes diners more eager to eat! That auspicious color seems to be so enigmatic!

Appetizer was nutty.

Canton-i has a sister-company, another Shanghainese food place with branch on the same mall called Dragon-i (view our dining experience at Dragon-i HERE!)

My bowl : the photo can't give justice to how good it was.

While Tina shared a wanton-soupy noodle bowl with Gabby…

And apparently, we’re keeping a love affair with dimsum…

One of our favorites : Hakao or shrimp dumplings.

Siomai-mommy!

fish roe-delight on shrimp-pork siomai

Let’s see next year if we’ll take our love for dimsum back to HK….*crossed fingers*

family over Chinese food = simply awesome!

Aug

HOT POT. CHINESE FONDUE. SHABU-SHABU. STEAMBOAT!

By docgelo 23 Comments

If gastronomic indulgence is a sin, then my family and I are always guilty as charged, hahaha!

pass the vinegar, please! yum!

Apparently, gluttony is one of the deadliest sins, but gastronomic indulgence isn’t. I believe when you only try to please your palates with a digestive feast without eating excessively, you are just being a foodie.

Enough with the defenses. Great foods are really meant to be enjoyed and the moment becomes instantly priceless when you share delightful dishes with your love ones.

If not for one of my few valued senior colleagues who generously shared his affordable eating discovery with his family here in Penang, we wouldn’t sample it too.

Along one of the busiest thoroughfares in George Town, Penang is Jalan Macalister (or Macalister Road); it is one of the places in this part of Malaysia where hawker food stalls and restaurants can be found almost side by side. With tough but “healthy” and delicious competition, one of the establishments that was referred to us by my senior fellow is Town Steamboat Restaurant. He only had good words about this eat-all-want-food place; his family’s satisfaction was enough for us to give it a try.

Popular among Asian countries, Steamboat also known with so many names like Shabu-shabu because of some Japanese influence, Chinese Fondue, or Hotpot if claypot was used, requires no skill in cooking but creativity in combining various slices of raw meat -pork, beef, fish, seafoods, veggies, noodles and other interesting ingredients simmered in a pot of boiling stock, cooked directly on the dining table and readily served hot!

tender beef strips cooked slowly on butter and sinigang na hipon or prawn on sour broth simmered to almost perfection!

I think the affordability of the buffet in Town Steamboat Restaurant is difficult to top with its wide and varied delicious spread. The flavors are almost infinite!

Other than bottomless ice cream, ais kacang (say, ays ka-chang!), the Malaysian version of Filipino Halo-halo or vise-versa served with red bean, nuts and shaved ice…pastries and other sweets, Town Steamboat Restaurant has a dimsum corner where you can take a volume of steamed goodies!

They got me on this one; I am sucker for dimsum and dumplings! ….And you?

Drinks from orange, grape and lychee juices, Chinese tea and my favorite, iced cold soya are all available as bottomless and via self-service; it’s all inclusive!

after a hearty meal, must drink tea.

You’ll never go wrong with a casual atmosphere…

…unless you make a big deal out of an overly exposed cooking gas beside your dining table, hahaha!

I think the exposed cooking gas tanks are nothing to these hungry pack…

Admittedly, I didn’t like the red and spicy broth that they also serve; we prefer the plain soup as base for our steamboat; it’s most appropriate in cooking sour broth or our very own Sinigang!

This is more we like it….

except those with hypersensitivity to it, who doesn't like sinigang na hipon? imagine a Filipino dish personally cooked in a Chinese-Malaysian restaurant! Sarap! Ang saya!

Heeding my colleague’s advice, we brought our very own, Knorr Sinigang na may Gabi Recipe Mix which made our Steamboat more appetizingly good! Now, if only Knorr could sponsor and send us here lots of their goodies, we’ll be more than grateful! Because Philippine products are rare here in Penang, can someone refer this blog post to makers of Knorr mixes? Paging Knorr Sinigang Mix, hehe!

We brought the mix, baby!

We’re definitely spending another gastronomic feast here when we find a chance…

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The first time we dined at Town Steamboat Restaurant, I only paid RM 49 (PhP 686) for the three of us –Tina, Gabby and me. Then several weeks ago, when my parents came over, we paid around RM 80 (PhP 1120) as lower rates are charged to senior citizens (age 55 and up) and only RM 4.90 (PhP 69) for kids of Gabby’s age and height. It was really a great deal! Now, if only YAKIMIX (which post continuously gives me highest blog hits per day!) or Tong Yang in Manila can top this restaurant with its price, more Filipinos back home can enjoy good food with their families and friends. But I know, YAKIMIX‘s edge are its smokeless grill, airconditioned and more comfortable ambience.

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Town Steamboat Restaurant.

63 Macalister Road (slightly opposite UMNO building)
10400 George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

Mar

LEBUH CHULIA AT DUSK

By docgelo 9 Comments

Categories: ILOVEPHOTOS, MALAYSIA and TRAVEL
Tags: chulia street, chulia street georgetown, dimsum, doc gelo, docgelo, food, food blog, foodie, gastronomic delights, george town penang, georgetown penang, hawkers, lebuh chulia, lebuh chulia penang, noodles, penang malaysia

It took me 7 months of being an expat in Penang before I found myself admiring the charm of Lebuh Chulia at dusk, a famous street in Georgetown. I have only known Lebuh Chulia as the most frequented street by foreigners in this UNESCO World Heritage City. It’s one of the usual streets where the most common form of public transportation in this side of Malaysia, the Rapid Penang Buses, pass through making it hard to miss.

After spending an afternoon with the birds and aviaries in Penang Bird Park, I with some others trooped to the island once more to hear anticipated Catholic Mass last Saturday then off we went to Lebuh Chulia to experience its quaint hawkers at night.

This street comes alive at twilight!

Hungry mouths from Penang, travelers and tourists, backpackers and expats from all over the globe who usually look for authentic and affordable dishes that Penang has to offer, never miss to go to those food stalls along Chulia Street.

Pehaps, I was initially lured by those hawkers at Gurney Drive but I can now attest that Lebuh Chulia boasts of exciting night scenes other than those must-try dimsums, noodles and other gastronomic delights.

These remind me of “turo-turo”, Recto Avenue, and the fish balls and barbecue stalls in sidestreets of Manila…

It was fascinating for me to spend few minutes of people-watching; also found myself amazed at how vendors and those people who tend to these food stalls exert efforts in making a living probably every night at Lebuh Chulia.

Business must have been sooooo good!

Can’t help but to enjoy people-watching too…

Here comes the part of my shameless display of what I chow down…

So if and when time comes you get a chance to visit Penang, particularly Georgetown, you may want to consider dropping by at Lebuh Chulia at dusk.

Feb

CONFESSIONS OF A DIM SUM MONSTER

By docgelo 15 Comments

Categories: FOOD & MORE FOOD! and MALAYSIA
Tags: butterworth, butterworth penang, chinese, chinese cuisine, chinese food, dim sum, dimsum, doc gelo, docgelo, dumplings, food, hakao, hakaw, malaysian food, penang, penang malaysia, siopao, steam basket

Admittedly, I love to eat, who doesn’t? And few of my favorites are basically Asian dishes, obviously because of my roots. Other than Filipino food, I like Japanese! Sushi, sashimi, tempura and teppanyaki which I have tasted as authentic as it gets when I was in Tokyo for 2 weeks last year. From Pinoy and Japanese gastromic delights, I also love Chinese food! Yang chow fried rice, Peking Duck, some Schezuan dishes and yes, dim sum and dumplings!

Can you honestly differentiate a dim sum from a dumpling? Certainly, I cannot until this post (or perhaps when I blogged about them few years ago). It only proves that I haven’t started dwelling in the food that I eat the way a righteous foodie should be. (google translate : I only love to eat but too lazy to read!).

“Dim sum is a Cantonese term for a type of Chinesedish that involves small individual portions of food, usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate. Going for dim sum is usually known in Cantonese as going to “drink tea” (yum cha, 飲茶). (Sourced via Wiki)

“Dumplings are cooked balls of dough.They are based on flour, potatoes, bread, or matzoh, and may include meat, fish, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may be sweet or spicy. They can be eaten by themselves, in soups or stews, with gravy, or in any other way. While some dumplings resemble solid water boiled doughs, such as gnocchi, others such as wontons resemble meatballs with a thin dough covering.” (Sourced via Wiki)

As an expat for 7 months now, I am still in the process of absorbing everything in my new ground and that includes diversity of everything. Penang celebrates the presence of its 3 predominant races -Malays, Indians and Chinese. And indubitably, with their religions and cultures, food also varies and offers quaint appeal to everyone’s taste buds.

I have been keeping my love affair with Chinese food long before I decided to work here in Penang.

And so I heard that there’s a cheap but authentically great dim sum place tucked in Butterworth called Orient Precious Restaurant, which is actually an upscale side street eatery (or in Pinas we call it, “turo-turo“) but to me and the rest of my fellows, a haven of irresistible dim sums. However, I regret the fact that I passed on the first chance to sample them for I didn’t join my colleague-friends who came in troop (15+ of them!) when they dined there last week. It was because I was waiting for a Skype conversation with my family.

Sunday came and a suggestion from my housemates was raised that I should try it and come with them. And so I did. But luck wasn’t on my side because we found out that Orient Precious Restaurant is closed every Sunday evening.

Last night (Tuesday, 22 February), we decided to go there again and finally, we’re not disappointed.

Here’s my shameless display of what I pig-out :

FIRST ROUND!

After several minutes of waiting for the second serving…

ROUND TWO!

Burp!

Plus, I ordered an enormous Bola-bola siopao as takeaway which I had for breakfast the next day.

Was everything worth my RM 22.60 (PhP 316.40) ? You bet!

That scallop-dim sum in thick soup and those seafood siomai and others which I didn’t bother to ask the names, are so tasteful that it can give the Chinese-restaurant and eateries in Ongpin and Binondo Streets in Manila, or even in Hong Kong a run for their money.

We’re all ready to go but one of my friends asked me to photograph the only pet in sight that evening in that the dim sum place…

Of all living creatures, I hate to see cats in food places that serve dim sum and dumplings, don’t you? If you’re Pinoy like me and you’re familiar with that running joke associating those yummies with those furry pets, you know what I mean, hahaha!

_____________________________o

Jul

CHOWDER X MONGOLIAN BBQ

By docgelo 36 Comments

I don’t know if you’re like me who barely know CHOWDER.

It’s NOT that thick and creamy soup with yummy seafoods that’s best served on a bread bowl but this :

I grew up on Popeye, Smurfs and Thundercats and am currently lost with my son’s numerous favorite cartoons; one of them is Chowder from Cartoon Network.

Imagine how Gabby became so excited when last Friday afternoon, we chanced upon watching its free mascot show in TriNoma before we hit the grocery shelves in Landmark.

Tina and I were amazed how Gabby knew almost all the antics of the show. I guess what draws him to Chowder other than its being colorful is its theme of cooking. The show we saw involved Chowder and friends to cook a dish called Froggy Apple Crumple Thumpkin; whatever that means! So much for half an hour of kiddie fun.

Then undecided of where and what to eat, we went to TriNoma’s foodcourt and had different choices.

My wife enjoyed an affordable but satisfying meal from Le Ching Tea House : Chicken Mushroom Rice Toppings and HK style Asado Siopao + ‘the essential,’ chili sauce. You might think that my wife eats like a carpenter but she shared her food with Gabby and me. Yum!

Then my kid and I tried one of Tina’s favorites, Mongolian barbecue!

Our bundle of joy who dreams of becoming of a chef someday really enjoyed getting all the ingredients from the spread as I guide him what to put on our bowl.

Rice, vermicelli, julienned carrots, Chinese cabbage, onions, garlic, julienned turnips, red and green bell peppers, leeks, cubes of tofu and a personal choice of all-squid meat (there are also strips of chicken, pork, beef, squid balls to choose from) plus its sauce made our Mongolian barbecue bowl; all in for PhP 160.

There are directions on the spread on how to seasoned the bowl. I wanted it SWEET and SPICY :

1 tsp brown sugar

2 scoops Teriyaki sauce

1 scoop Mongolian sauce

1 scoop Szechuan sauce

1 scoop Lemon water

1/2 scoop Garlic water

1/2 scoop Sesame oil

1/4 scoop Soy sauce

-recipe from Mongolian Rice Bowl, Foodcourt, TriNoma, Quezon City.

and voila!

Do you like Mongolian barbecue?

What’s your favorite cartoon/s during your childhood?

How’s your weekend?

Enjoy the new week, everyone!

May

KING BEE AND THINGS LESS PRICEY

By docgelo 44 Comments

In this day and age, observance of frugality and prudence is absolutely important or at least for our family. Stretching our domestic budget has always been an effort between my wife and I; we cut on other expenses but we don’t compromise food. We always prioritize Gabby’s fortified powdered milk, his chocolate drink, multivitamins, sometimes his favorite cereals too. We don’t dine out as frequent as before and if we do, we choose affordable and family-friendly food places. We always try to seek value-for-money.

There were 2 new things we experienced last Sunday. First was attending mass at 6 in the evening; we always hear mid-morning masses except last week. Both Tina and I had to do household chores in the morning and stuffs she had to finish for work, so we opted to skip our routine and decided to go to Christ the King Church in E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City at dusk. Then after the Mass, it was also our first time to eat at KING BEE Chinese Food.

We’ve been seeing its newly opened branch right across that church for some time now but haven’t tried it until last Sunday. I’ve already heard raves about King Bee from my dad who already tried their Antipolo Branch with my aunts and uncles early this year. Tina and I thought it was like another Chinese fast food but we only knew that it is not when we’re already inside ordering our dinner.

When the waiter handed us the menu, we found out that prices are within reached; and because entrees come in sizes- S, M, & L, it’s even more reasonable than other long-established Chinese restaurants that we frequent. Plus it’s nice that they still offer Opening Promo of 20% off on all of their dimsums at 8 in the evening. We came almost an hour before 8 but the staff told us that we can already avail of the discount.

Look at how we maximized our PhP 547 (net, inclusive of tax) with dimsums, seafood fried noodle dish and a glass of sago and black gulaman.

In a glimpse : DIMSUMS that we savored

In toto :

SEA KING ROLL…

I’m lost for words to express how delightful this dimsum is!

PORK SIOMAI…tasteful!

HAKAO…it’s a must whenever we dine Chinese!

Gabby liked the shrimp dumpling or hakao. He just loved forking those plump and juicy shrimps! Delicious! Certainly, a personal favorite!

ASADO SIOPAO…

The buns are the softest! Its filling has unique taste compared to usual Asado siopao. Yummy!

What’s dimsum and dumplings without chili + soy + calamansi ?

Usual Chinese resto freebie : house tea…aids in digestion, of course and saves you on ordering beverages

SEASONAL SEAFOOD FRIED NOODLES…

We only had the small order (you can opt for medium or large) but surprisingly came with generous ingredients!

mix it up, and voila!

Gabby enjoyed a glass of SAGO & BLACK GULAMAN…

Can you blame me if I fell in love and will forever love these killer smiles? Love ko ‘to :

Thank you Lord for all the blessings–big and small!

Tina and I agreed that King Bee Chinese Food is authentic in taste; affordable in price; quick and polite in service with casual ambiance. It’s like eating in Manila Chinatown without the hassles of traffic! We’ll definitely try their other dishes on our future visits.

For menu, price, branches and other details of King Bee, click –> THIS.

Feb

PRELUDE TO CHINESE NEW YEAR

By docgelo 28 Comments

After an afternoon at the zoo, my wife suggested for us to have an early dinner in a restaurant an eatery in Ongpin last weekend; I was too weak to resist!

We went first to Sta Cruz Church, said our prayers and crossed the street. It’s hard not to appreciate the beauty of Carriedo fountain (note to self : keep on dreaming for Europe). However, just like Manila Zoo, I heard it’s also wailing for some maintenance and preservation.

Then we strolled from Sta Cruz Church to Manila Chinatown and finally reached a hole-in-the-wall-Chinese fastfood. Thank Heavens, we immediately spotted an empty table; an unusual sight at this very busy eatery.

Since our heartbeats increased after walking, first thing we ordered was something to chill us down. This fastfood’s version of Hong Kong Iced Tea is a champion! It has finely shaved ice with thin slices of lemons that made it tasteful. At PhP 50, it’s so refreshingly good and affordable too that I almost ordered another glass. Tina reminded me that we’re observing utmost prudence on the budget, so I settled with the hot tea on the house; I smiled and did not complain.

We saw chinky-eyed customers flocking in non stop; a strong indication that this food place really serves best-tasting Chinese treats. We didn’t waste time and told the wait staff our orders… And voila, less than 10 minutes, they arrived on our tables…

SIOMAI . One of the best, if not the best-tasting siomai I’ve tasted!. It’s gloriously delicious.

Amen!

BOLA-BOLA SIOPAO is one of our common favorites. Tina’s biased with Kowloon’s; I can’t blame her. But even Gabby liked the soft white bun of this fastfood’s siopao! The filling is its edge in contrast to other versions. It has salted egg, strips of mushrooms, and a giant meat ball that’s so flavorful.

While we’re happy to try those 2 dimsums at its finest tastes, the next dishes suffered comparison from our favorite Chinese food places.

SHRIMP CHEONG CHONG FAN. Tina and I had our initial taste bud’s exposure to this shrimp rice rolls 5 years ago in NZ. Since then, it became our favorite. We usually order it whenever we eat Chinese. We love the version from LE CHING’S TEA HOUSE in Greenhills Shopesville and TirNoma and Shrimp Cheong fan from EMERALD GARDEN CHINESE RESTAURANT in Roxas Blvd. And because we’re used to generous servings of plump shrimps and its thick rice rolls from Le Ching, we’re a bit disappointed with this fastfood’s Cheong Chong fan.

We barely tasted the shrimps because they were too small for bites; the rice rolls were too limp and thin, like the fountain and the zoo begging for improvement. The saving glory was its sweet and salty soy sauce.

We also ordered rice toppings…

STEAMED CHICKEN MUSHROOM RICE (left) and SPARERIBS RICE TOPPINGS (right)

“Lasang Tinola” , my wife commented. Tina, Gabby and I love Chicken Mushroom Rice, but again, our reference was that of Le Ching’s so we find it quite different; gingery to be exact. But I must state that their chicken serving is more generous.

I had the Spareribs Rice Toppings; ’twas fine. I was satisfied. I may order it again next time we visit…

It would be unfair if we won’t visit WAI YING again in Binondo to try their other yummies. I know a few more dine-in here would lead to its inclusion to the list of our favorites.

Have you tried Wai Ying ? What’s your favorite from their menu?

Do you have plans already to celebrate this year’s CHINESE NEW YEAR VALENTINE’S ?

Last year, we had a blast; view HERE! and HERE (you want to click it, don’t you? LOL)

For this year, I already have something in mind but we’ll keep it cheap simple; we’re CELEBRATING LOVE everyday anyway!

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WAI YING,927 Benavidez Street, Binondo Manila (From Sta Cruz’ Church go straight to Ongpin then turn right to Salazar Street (where President’s Tea House is located, then right again to Benavidez St).

Dec

HALF-BLOOD CHINESE (PART 1)

By docgelo 21 Comments

One of the simple pleasures in life that I am enjoying is having a wife whose appetite cravings mimics mine I am blessed with Tina being a foodie in her own right and you can blame genetics, for our 5-year-old-would-be-chef-son, Gabby has already developed his own preference too.

Other than Japanese, Italian and Pinoy foods, we like Chinese! It has always been a topic of our usual talks that both Tina and I can probably thrive either in Hong Kong, Mainland China or best, Japan basically because of our love for Asian foods. At times, I would imagine how wonderful it is to live near Binondo and Ongpin Streets in Sta. Cruz, Manila where access to authentic oriental cuisine is just a step away. On the otherhand, I am also disillusioned with the daily traffic in that heart of Manila which is considered as one of its busiest business districts. When we miss going to Hong Kong or at least Ongpin, we’re just grateful for the many restaurants around the Metro that more or less offer the same menu.

I don’t know about you but we like dimsum and dumplings; we love hot thick soup; peking duck and lots of flavorful fried rice! (we’re not eating it anyway on a daily basis and perhaps like you, we go easy on salt and cholesterol intake too, lol)

Sometimes when we’re in the mood, it would only take an eye-to-eye between me and Tina to know we’re craving for Chinese! Need I say more?

It only took exactly 7-day apart when we last enjoyed 2 of our favorite Chinese food places -Superbowl of China and Flavors of China.

On November 30, Tina, Gabby and I had dinner at Flavors of China in Tomas Morato…On our table :

Complimentary SHRIMP CRACKERS (Gabby’s favorite; he always asks for a refill!), SEAFOOD BEANCURD SOUP, PhP 175+ (We just love this soup! affordable yummy!), FLAVORS of CHINA SEAFOOD FRIED RICE, PhP 190+ (We like it for its smoked taste plus can you resist those fish roe on top of flavorful fried rice with what else but shrimps and scallops?), BEEF BROCCOLI FLOWER, PhP 215+ (its thick soyed sauce and freshly blanched and crisp broccoli makes it so delicious!), BOLA-BOLA SIOPAO, PhP 75+ (it may not be the best siopao in town but it doesn’t disappoint too), STEAMED SHARKSFIN, PhP 85+. and we had 2 glasses of riped mango shake at PhP 65 each.

We were looking for SHRIMP DUMPLINGS or HAKAO in their menu but we’re told by the waiter that they already dephase it

On November 23, we had a lazy afternoon but a very fulfilling early dinner at SUPERBOWL OF CHINA in Gateway Mall

Not in the photo : Complimentary Prawn Crackers. Our SBC favorites : SUPERBOWL LEMON CHICKEN, PhP 260+ (it’s our favorite version to date), LECHON MACAU, PhP 205+ (Tina dislikes the sauce; biased with this restaurant’s ), YANG CHOW FRIED RICE, PhP 199+, and our best order whenever we dine at SBC : TAHO, PhP 70+ that comes with the usual tapioca and caramel sauce! Bottomless Lemonade, PhP 79+ completed the meal.

As you may know, Taho is rich in protein! Simply satisfying!

I am missing DONG BEI DUMPLINGS in Yuchengco Street! Note to self : I have to bring my family to Ongpin whenever possible.

It has also been years since we last dined at Gloria Maris.

Of course, there’s always our other favorite, MANN HANN and the affordable LUK YUEN and LE CHING TEA HOUSE.

UPNEXT : my post on EMERALD GARDEN RESTAURANT

Do you like Chinese dishes ? What are your favorites ?

————————————————–

SUPERBOWL OF CHINA -Gateway Mall, Level 3 Unit 323 Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Quezon City.

FLAVORS OF CHINA – 170 Tomas Morato Avenue St Thomas Square, Barangay Sacred Heart, Quezon City.

Nov

WHAT’S FOR MERIENDA?

By docgelo 32 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO and FOOD & MORE FOOD!
Tags: bibingka, chef tony's popcorn, christmas, cookies, dimsum, dimsum and dumplings, dining, doc gelo, doc gelo blog, docgelo, dumplings, eating, family, family and living, family life, fish balls, food, food blog, food blogger, foodie, fruits, greenwhich pizza, lanzones, merienda, meryenda, midday snack, pizza, popcorn, puto bumbong, rice cakes, snack, Starbucks, Starbucks coffee

My wife, Tina, our son, Gabby and I are just like most Pinoys who love eating and eating in between meals. Whenever at home, particularly during weekends, we usually have morning light meal few hours after breakfast or more likely before lunch. Same thing goes in the afternoon; a snack is always perfect as a prelude to dinner. But unlike others, we oftenly skip midnight snacks for the fear of taxing our pancreas too much that might lead to its rupture during sleep; now that’s another topic.

Merienda or midday meal is one of Spain’s legacies to Pinoys that I am thankful for, aren’t you also?

Here are some of the yummies we enjoy during merienda.

Are you a popcorn-person? Have you tried Chef Tony’s? What flavor/s do you like?

I don’t know about you, but Gabby and I just love it when Tina fries fish balls and serves it hot off the pan with vinegar+soy sauce+onions! We prefer only fish balls cooked at home rather than those sold in streets. And you?

Other than chips ahoy, oreo, or the locally made m.y.san buttercookies, lady fingers or broas (I love broas!), prima and marie (which reminds me of my childhood), I and my family also enjoy munching these cookies…

Try it, make sure it’s Double Fudge Sugar-Free! They’re heavenly delicious in each bite!

Sometimes, we have fruits during snack time and nothing compares to sweet and plump bunch of lanzones which happens to be in season until now. Do you like lanzones too?

I usually grab two large orders of Khaleb Shawarma for Tina and me as our merienda before we go grocery shopping.

We also like dimsum! Among our favorites are shrimp cheong fan and shrimp dumpling a.k.a. hakao!

And who would say no to pizza for merienda ?

or to either venti of frappucino, iced macchiato or any hot blends from Starbucks Coffee and pastries or a slice of cake perhaps…

Our latest to-go purchase was done just yesterday afternoon, soon after Tina and Gabby tagged along with me as I went to my dentist in Marikina, we spotted a carinderia that sells freshly cooked rice cakes…

Nevermind if it’s cheaply priced at PhP 25 per bibingka and at PhP 20 per order of puto-bumbong; regardless whether these two are far from Ferino’s or Via Mare’s or even from Kamayan’s, what was important yesterday was the fact that we enjoyed our first bites at these Holiday season favorites. If only we have muscovado, everything could have been almost perfect with Anchor butter and those coconut shavings.

Tastes, smells and feels like Christmas already! Aren’t you excited ?

Well, we are! Both for Christmas and enjoying another satisfying snack!

What’s your usual merienda?

Jul

IN THE NAME OF PURPLE

By docgelo 10 Comments

Categories: FOOD & MORE FOOD!
Tags: binondo, binondo restaurants, bola bola siopao, chinese cuisine, chinese food, dimsum, dumplings, eng bee tin, food, food blog, foodie, lechon macau, maki mi, manila, mr. ube, noodles, ongpin, ongpin restaurants, pancit, pinas, Pinoy, siopao

I accompanied my wife Tina to NBI in Carriedo, Manila to claim her clearance this morning. And since we’re already few steps away from Ongpin Street in Binondo, we decided to take our lunch at some chinese eatery that we have never tried yet.

OK, to be honest- as early as last night, I was really excited to go with her because I know we’ll drop by Ongpin (gluttonous grin, he he he). In fact, I even found time to surf the net and google some restaurants in Binondo area to find a best place to eat Chinese yummies. I have drooled at some blogs that featured delectable dimsums and other Oriental dishes.

But we end up with a rice and noodle house that for unknown reason, I didn’t find in my search engine (or I never thought of searching). As we walked through the Manila Chinatown, Tina and I looked left and right to so many authentic Chinese restaurants but admittedly, it was her who suggested to try Mr. Ube as we passed its sidewalk from Sta. Cruz Church to Binondo.

So without any expectations but great lunch, I walked in with her to the small but so pleasant Chinese rice and noodle house called Mr. Ube. It is also owned by Mr. Gerry Chua, the maker of my favorite hopia or mung bean what else but ENG BEE TIN! As far as I know, it was Mr. Chua who first introduced hopia ube in Manila.

Because of the restaurant’s name, the interiors of Mr. Ube is of course made of purple cushioned seats that came in good contrast with the yellow painted walls. It also has glass walls that created an illusion of space.

Service was good. Prices were more than reasonable. The range of the prices of noodles and soups and rice toppings are from PhP 90 to PhP 110. Side dishes of some dimsums and other oriental treats range from PhP 45 to PhP 85. Beverages cost from PhP 25 to less than PhP 50. How affordable was that ?

So we ordered…

MAKI MI, PhP 110. This was Tina’s choice. Sarap! The noodles were tasty, the meat slices were tender, its soup was thick and served hot. The bowl was huge enough to be shared by a couple.

What’s best with Mr. Ube’s dishes besides its affordable prices is the fact that they claim they use all natural ingredients, without MSG (although some local features stated there’s no harm in using MSG, but probably if excessive) and they use their own noodles made from scratch using Japanese technology. Yes, Japanese technology was used to prepare Chinese dishes!

The next photos include the free stock and the sweet and sour sauce to the plate I had…

my delicious lunch today was…

LECHON MACAU, PhP 110. It’s one of the rice toppings in Mr. Ube and I liked it. It was crispy and crunchy and flavorful. The taste was deliciously different from the few lechon macau that I’ve tasted from other Chinese restaurants. Plus again, the price was so budget-friendly.

And what’s a visit to Mr. Ube without trying to taste not tha hopia ube but one of its steamed dumplings – SIOPAO!

No, this purple bun didn’t have ube filling but ground pork and salted egg. Although I also eat asado siopao, we usually favor BOLA-BOLA SIOPAO.

It was a good choice to have our lunch in Mr. Ube. I know now another place in Binondo where my stomach will be content.

May

THERE’S MORE TO HOT NOODLES!

By docgelo 3 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO and FOOD & MORE FOOD!
Tags: affordable restaurants, braised noodles, cheap chinese food, chinese restaurant, congee, dimsum, docgelo, dumplings, food, foodie, luk yuen, megamall, mrs. lavendula, restaurants, siopao, spring rolls

As I’ve tasted stated on my previous posts, we had too much of food tripping last week when we went to a mall. Tina was encouraged to try for the first time an established Chinese restaurant that offers good tasting dishes that are easy on the budget.

This post was also inspired by one of my virtual-blogger friends, mrs. lavendula whose blog entry reminded me that it has been a while since I last munched at this foodplace where reasonably priced and delicious gastronomic yummies can be enjoyed with a cup of hot tea.

HALO-HALO CONGEE, PhP 130.

Tina had this congee. I like this too. It’s always soothing to hungry stomachs! It’s served hot, with eggs, organ meats, and pieces of thin crackers. With this alone, one can be easily satiated.

BRAISED SEAFOOD NOODLES, PhP 185.

The mushroom, the braised noodles on special oil and seasoning, the seafoods yield delicious oriental dish!

We had these favorites as our hearty dinner last week which were all served fast by efficient and friendly staff of Luk Yuen, MegaMall. Their other branch that I’ve tried was at Greenhills, between Unimart and Virra Mall near the Holy Family Chapel. And their service and food were consistent. No wonder Luk Yuen has a following among foodies and families.

SPRING ROLLS, PhP 90.

Fresh veggies wrapped and fried to crispiest.

STEAMED SHRIMP DUMPLINGS, PhP 100.

Steamed shrimp dumplings or Hakao is always a winner. Luk Yuen’s version has a soft moist wrapper and generous serving of shrimps. I just love anything with shrimp!

JUMBO HONG KONG SIOPAO, PhP 75.

I am biased with bola-bola siopao than asado only because it has red salted egg. Luk Yuen’s HK style jumbo siopao reminds me of Hen Lin’s and Le Ching’s. We enjoyed this as well but considering the siopao bread, Kowloon’s always wins my vote!

RIPE MANGO SHAKE, PhP 65, ICED TEA PhP 42. Look how my wife and son enjoyed Luk Yuen…

LUK YUEN. Bldg B MegaMall EDSA Mandaluyong City.

May

MANILA EXPLORED PART 4

By docgelo 3 Comments

After having an overdose of Pinoy arts, culture and heritage for less than an hour at the National Museum last Sunday, I decided to go to Binondo, Manila to have my late lunch in Chinatown. Another visit in that stretch of Manila populated mostly by Chinese and Chinese-Filipinos or Tsinoys who basically are merchants and businessmen, gave me added sense of appreciation to one of the earliest commercial districts in the country. Commerce, religion and culture are apparently rich in this part of Manila.

First stop: Binondo Church a.k.a MINOR BASILICA & NATIONAL SHRINE of SAN LORENZO RUIZ

As sourced from Wikipilinas :

Founded by the Dominican priests in 1596, Binondo Church is one of the oldest places of Christian worship in the Philippines. It was administered by the Secular Priests in 1768, returned to Dominican Administration in 1822 and back to Secular Priests in 1898.

The Binondo Church is located in front of a plaza and across Juan Luna Street which go through the busy Divisoria markets.

I LOVE FOUNTAINS. I like seeing and hearing drizzle of water. I like architecture.

Binondo’s fountain at the Plaza de San Lorenzo Ruiz, although far from the grandiose Fontana di Trevi in Rome that I long to visit one day, is a beauty on its own. I just hope that it will be well maintained and preserved by the local government coupled with observance of cleanliness from the by-standers and passers-by.

ONGPIN STREET

On the right side of Binondo Church is Ongpin Street, which takes you to Manila Chinatown. Taking a stroll from Binondo to Sta Cruz has been my once-in-a-while habit done whenever I feel like having enough of malls and a breather between work and home. Last time I went to Ongpin was during the Chinese New Year celebration. It felt good to revisit.

The sidewalks of Ongpin Street do not only offer Chinese restaurants and eateries but more colorful sights to behold.

But then again, I am bias to gastronomic treats from Chinatown… I go to Ongpin for authentic dimsums, noodles, and other Chinese dishes plus that ENG BEE TIN HOPIA or mung beans! Sarap! Even our relatives in Auckland,New Zealand now in Melbourne, Australia only wanted those as pasalubong last time we visited them.

I don’t have hyperuricemia or gouty arthritis yet, LOL, so there’s still time to enjoy those hopia. Do you like hopia ? What flavors do you crave ? There a lot now offered in Eng bee tin – ube, pork, pandan, etc… but my greatest favorite is the red mung beans! So I bought some for myself and as pasalubong to my wife Tina and son Gabby. My 4-year-old son loves it too.

Each 4 red mung beans / hopia packed in colored coded plastic is sold at PhP 32.

The sidestreets also have other good buys such as fruits, fancy chinese accessories and other oriental ornaments…

Other than Vigan in Ilocos Sur (a cobblestoned streets with colonial houses that were built long before Spanish period in the Philippines, a must-visit-UNESCO heritage city – province at the far north of the Philippines), it’s in Intramuros and Binondo areas where one can still see kalesas…

I only failed to ask the kucheros how much would it cost per ride within Chinatown and I haven’t tried it yet. Probably when I go back when my mood and Manila weather jive…

If God’s will years from now, since Tina and I already decided to build our dream home with contemporary Asian interiors and architecture, I wish to have a pair of Fu lions a.k.a. Chinese guardian lion statues believed to have mystic powers that have traditionally stood in front of Chinese temples, Imperial palaces, emperors’ tombs, and entrances of homes and offices since the rule of different dynasties until present times.

The Fu /Foo lions always come in pair – the male playing a ball and the female lion statue with her cub.

At the end of a 15-minute-walk from Binondo to Ongpin in Chinatown, it pays to visit Sta. Cruz Church. In front of the Sta Cruz Church is the Carriedo fountain. It should have been more pleasing if not for those electric cables that go haywire as a clear proof that Manila is a city in a third-world country and that begs for much improvement. The fountain too is gradually degraded by the moss or fungi that grow in its glory. Sayang! Mas matanda pa ata sa lola ko itong Carriedo Fountain…

The end of my lunch date with Manila’s sunshine was capped by a short visit to Sta. Cruz Church…

I always pass by this church on way home from work but seldom get to visit for the hurry to beat the rush hour traffic. What makes Sta. Cruz Church beautiful isn’t only its exterior but the main altar. It’s made of colorful mosaic of a lamb shedding its blood flowing to the Holy Host. It’s an artistic representation of Kordero ng Diyos (lamb of God) or God the Father’s Son who gave His life for our salvation. The altar is so poetic.

I am familiar with this since childhood whenever we’re brought by our parents here for our annual Visita Iglesia every Holy Week…

Even the doors of Sta Cruz Church have inclinations to chinese arts.

I enjoyed my three hours of being alone in Manila last Sunday. It was perfect to start a new work week.

May

MANILA EXPLORED PART 1

By docgelo 9 Comments

Categories: FOOD & MORE FOOD!
Tags: binondo, binondo restaurant, chinese cuisine, chinese food, chives, dimsum, docgelo, dong bei, food, foodie, kuchay, kuchay dumplings, manila, ongpin, Pinoy

This will be a three-part-or-so- chronicles of my extraordinary Sunday afternoon spent in OLD Manila for few hours…

Late this morning, after reading the Sunday’s broadsheets, I felt terribly bored and wanted to do something outside the comforts of home. So I told my wife Tina and my son Gabby that I needed to go out for a few hours to spend time with myself. It was a perfect timing since she, on the otherhand, didn’t like to go somewhere today, for no reason but to rest and enjoy the weekend.

I think it’s healthy for our own stomach soul if we find time, even once a week, to spend a part of our day alone. Magmuni-muni ba… And so I took a train LRT line 2 ride from our place in Quezon City and headed to Recto station. I just needed to do something as a break from my usual weekday activity, as tomorrow Monday will be a new start of another work week… I knew I had to, ehem, hmmm.. eat something uncommon from my daily diet. LOL… So I went to Binondo, Manila and finally found the best kuchay dumplings in Yuchengco Street, that’s the first street on the left, after few steps from Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Lorenzo Ruiz a.k.a. Binondo Church. The small comfort food place is known as DONG BEI DUMPLING…

Have you tasted any kuchay dumplings ?

Are you familiar with kuchay or CHIVES ? Here’s how it looks like and its difference from spring onions…

CHIVES / KUCHAY SPRING ONIONS

As sourced from Vegetarianism & Vegetarian Nutrition :
“Chives have similar properties to other allium vegetables, except that chives are milder, since they have fewer sulfur compounds. While garlic or onions are well documented to possess anticancer, anticlotting, hypolipidemic, antibacterial, antiviral, and decongestant properties, chives could be expected to possess similar, but substantially attenuated, characteristics.

Population studies have shown that a higher intake of allium vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of several types of cancers. The organosulfur compounds they contain inhibit tumor growth and cell proliferation, and arrest the cell cycle in tumor cells. Allium vegetables, including chives, especially have a protective effect against both esophageal and stomach cancer as well as prostate cancer. The highest antioxidant activity in chives is observed in the leaves, which are also rich in flavonoids.

There are no side effects or dangers from the use of chives. However, large quantities may cause stomach irritation.”

And so these are the kuchay dumplings from DONG BEI DUMPLING…The wrappers have that soft chewy consistency and the stuffings were so tasty! sarapppp!!!

I’ve tasted this kind from other chinese restaurant in a mall before, but IMO, the DONG BEI kuchay dumplings do not have that overpowering-taste, neither it has aftertaste.

Their dumplings are freshly made upon order. The thin dumpling wrappers are of special recipe made from scratch using flour that became dough in a matter of seconds, prepared in front of customers. The friendly service crew of that small air-conditioned food haven were so accomodating and allowed me to take photos of them while doing my order…

Here’s DONG BEI DUMPLINGS menu simply posted on one of the walls covering their small kitchen…

The kutchay dumplings are best when dipped in their soy and chili sauce… I finished a plate of 10 assorted dumplings (5 kuchay, 2 pork, 3 shrimp+kuchay) for PhP 100. I had another order for my take-away/to-go/take-out/take-home for my wife…… Burp!

Now I’m confident to say that I’ve tasted one of the best dumplings in Manila. The kuchay dumplings of Dong Bei is really one of the many reasons why a trip to Binondo is really worth it.

Apr

FOOD TRIP

By docgelo 2 Comments

Both Tina & I were off from work so we brought Gabby to Greenhills today
& had lunch at Le Ching Tea House in Shoppesville.

Le Ching Tea House offers very affordable but authentic chinese dishes.
It’s a good place to munch on comfort food if you dig chinese.

Anyway, here’s a peek of what we had for lunch today….

beef wanton noodle soup

The steamed dumpling that is uncommon in most local chinese resto here can be enjoyed in Le Ching.

eye love shrimp cheongfan

As written in Wikipedia, and I quote:
“Dim sum (literally meaning “touch the heart”) is the name for a Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light dishes served alongside Chinese tea. It is usually served in the mornings until noon time at Chinese restaurants and at specialty dim sum eateries where typical dishes are available throughout the day. Dishes come in small portions and may include meat, seafood, and vegetables, as well as desserts and fruit. The items are usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate. Yum cha (literally “tea drinking”) is the term used to describe the dining session, especially in contemporary Cantonese.”

Another bestseller dimsum from Le Ching is their Bola-bola siopao..

bola-bola siopao : savor every bite !

Then we had another favorite dumpling, hakao or shrimp dumpling…
In Le Ching, the shrimp is generous per serving, less of extenders.
Tina ordered chicken mushroom rice, I ate spareribs rice
which were both rice toppings
served in little aluminum bowls (that looks like smallarinola, lol)

more delish with chili soy sauce + calamansi !

Burp!

The entire meal only cost us PhP 642, inclusive of taxes & charges
& a can of dalandan soda, a bottle of soya milk & a glass of iced tea.
Cheap, right?
Good food need not always be expensive.

Le Ching Tea House
8-10 Level A, Shoppesville Arcade
Greenhills, San Juan City, Metro Manila.
___________________

Before we left the house this morning,
I received another package sent by my wife’s aunt (again) from London
who came home recently for short vacation & asked prescription from me.
It was my second package from her that contained sweet treats.
These were the contents of her gratis…

thanks, Tita Marie !

Feb

first try at MONGKOK and CERAMIC PAINTING

By docgelo Leave a Comment

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO and FOOD & MORE FOOD!
Tags: art, art work, ceramic painting, ceramics, chinese, chinese food, color me mine, dimsum, dimsum & dumplings, dumplings, family, fun, mall, malling, mongkok, paint, relaxation, shangri-la mall

It was unplanned but we surely enjoyed it.

Tina, Gabby & I went to Megamall last Sunday just to pick up the package from my 22-year-old sister-in-law based in San Leandro, California which she sent via her friend who went home to Manila for a reason. We got the package of branded shirts -Gap & Lacoste for my son Gabby and Lancome makeup & kit for my wife Tina at little past 11AM. Then we decided to go to Shangri-la mall for our lunch. Initially, I’d like to treat my family to Pepper Lunch at the basement of the mall but found long queue of hungry stomachs so we opted to eat somewherelse. We found our seats at Mongkok dimsum & dumplings at 6th level of Shangri-la mall. It was our first time to taste Kuchay dumplings and we like it!

After enjoying another chinese eat-out, our feet brought us to a lower level where a ceramic shop called Color Me Mine is located. Few seconds after and we’re seated at a table of that shop painting a ceramic candle holder that we selected from their shelves.

It was so cool! It was not only Gabby who had fun, but we all did. I haven’t done any art work since God knows when. (Believe or not, I used to collect medals from poster-making contests back in High School) And it was so RELAXING to enjoy selecting colors, doing paint-stencils in between, and just having bonding with my wife & kid.

One of the staff of Color Me Mine-Shangri-la was accomodating to my querries about the process that the ceramic art work will undergo after being painted by their clients. Customers will paint a ceramic of choice (price range from PHP300 plus up) with unlimited colors (for only PHP 180). The fee is inclusive of the unlimited (?)hour of stay (we stayed for more than 3 hours), paint, materials such as brushes, bowl of water, sponge, use of electric hair dryer and for the process that takes 10 days to complete after painted ceramic has been submitted to them. Once painting is finished, client submits it to the counter, pays fees and wait for 10 days before he can claim the art work. The 10-day waiting period is for the staff to glaze and bake the painted ceramic that will make it look as the client’s own ceramic masterpiece.
Claiming it on a specified date gives as another reason to try painting new ceramic(s) and enjoy another fun-filled art activity with my family.

Color Me Mine, franchise holder of a US-based company, has branches at Trinoma in Quezon City, Greenbelt-3 in Makati and Bonifacio High St. at the Fort both inside Hobbes, but the largest inventory is still at Shangri-la. Call 6870801 for information.

Jan

CHASING THE DRAGON : ONGPIN EXPERIENCE

By docgelo 8 Comments

Categories: EVENTS, FOOD & MORE FOOD!, TRAVEL and whatever
Tags: binondo, binondo church, binondo restaurant, chinatown, chinese new year, chinese restaurant, dimsum, dimsum & dumplings, dong bei, dragon dance, dumplings, eng bee tin, hakao, hap chan, hopia, lion dance, manila, manila chinatown, mung beans cake, ongpin, ongpin street, sharks' fin, tea house, tikoy, tsinoy, year of the ox

It was one sunny afternoon when we hit Manila. And it’s the first day of the year of the Earth Ox according to the chinese calendar. I and my wife Tina decided to go to the Chinese New Year celebration in Manila Chinatown : Binondo & Ongpin Streets. I blogged it before and I’ll state it again that we’re not chinese and there’s nothing in our bloodstream that speaks mandarin or cantonese but our brains & stomachs crave for something chinese! That strong urge gives us the reason to enjoy anything chinese even how they celebrate festivities just as much as the next chinese guy.

And so from Quezon City, we dropped off to Plaza Lawton in Manila where the Main Post Office is located. It is, in my opinion, our closest version of Lincoln Memorial in Washington. It’s historic & iconic, still functional amidst the age of email & SMS & City of Manila isn’t complete without it. It is where I began shooting photos intended for this blog.

Traffic was real heavy that we agreed to walk from Plaza Lawton to Binondo, crossing the bridge at Escolta and seeing exerted efforts in keeping the Pasig River garbage-free. Small steps lead us to the facade of Chinatown. It was overwhelming to hear that inspite of the humid weather & chaos in traffic, Tina still managed to say that walking in those streets and being excited to eat authentic chinese goodies bring back memories of our trip to Hong Kong a couple of years ago to celebrate the (non-chinese) New Year then.

Before enjoying anything, Tina & I went to Binondo Church, a.k.a. Basilica Minor del San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila. It was where the first Filipino saint spent his years as a sacristan and a server of God till his last breath. I remember my mom used to bring me with my dad & my 3 brothers to these 30 (read : THIRTY, representing 30 silver of Judas) churches every Holy Week, including this one, for her/our Visita Iglesia. That is why I became so familiar with most streets of Metro Manila even at a young age.

The Binondo church’s interiors hasn’t lost its grace and charm attracting not only Pinoys but the Filipino-Chinese-Catholic community as well bringing them closer to the Lord.

Few minutes of giving thanks to the Lord and we’re off to streets again. We forgot to bring ear plugs for fireworks and drum rolls signal the lion & dragon dances that halted the traffic and put everyone in the festive mood.

This is one of the reasons why people troop to Binondo & Ongpin during Chinese New Year. Aren’t those lions an eye-candy?

Even a group of nuns let their veil down and posed with those colorful lions for a souvenir shot. I found this so cool that made me take pictures of them too.

So I didn’t hesitate to have photo-ops too… hey, it doesn’t happen daily in Chinatown!

Thanks to my wife Tina who took my photos. We just felt our ”trip” was incomplete for not wearing RED that day, for good luck, as most people there that day wore crimson, scarlet, and other shades of red…

ENTER THE DRAGON that hopefully will bring us luck. Isn’t it lovely? Dragon is usually chasing what, a candy ball ? =)

That street in Binondo was once called CALLE SACRISTIA but renamed in 1915 to Ongpin Street. The monument of Don Roman Ongpin stands proud beside the Binondo Church that leads everyone to the street named in his honor. Chinatown, here we come!

And as expected, it was all properly draped for the occasion and decorated with red lanterns all over.

Few steps after the other and one cannot miss those purple signs of Eng Bee Tin stores that sell the most delicious chinese deli : hopia & tikoy, our favorites! Hopia is Mung beans cake while tikoy is a made of glutinous rice flour that is usually fried with beaten eggs. Those Eng Bee Tin stores can be seen in almost every streets of Manila Chinatown. They even had a purple lion on display for tourists (like us) for free photo-ops! Wish there were also hopia & tikoy give-away, hehehe !!! LOL !

Enjoying everything that meets our eyes, from many lion & dragon dances that paraded on most streets to red balloons being sold and charms & crystals on the sidewalks, to gold jewelry stores, we began looking for a chinese resto to satisfy our gastronomic craving for dimsum & dumplings…

We found our consolation to ease our fatigue of walking at HAP CHAN tea house. It was good that we entered the reastaurant with more seats still available because after we ordered food, people watching the festivities also came in pack to eat.

It was not our first time to munch there but actually have tried Hap Chan’s other branches at West Avenue in Quezon City & Market Market in Taguig…

Tina and I decided to eat merienda as if there’s no tomorrow – We ordered Hakao (shrimp dumplings), sharks’ fin dumplings, wanton noodle soup, seafood canton noodles and 2 glasses of Hong Kong lemon iced tea with free glasses of hot house tea. Sounds yummy ? Look and see what we enjoyed in our little afternoon chinese feast…

Some like it HOT : See how hot it was served!!! made me grin for more!

And our Chinese New Year experience in Binondo & Ongpin would not be complete without going to queue for whatelse but those Eng Bee Tin Mung Beans Cake or HOPIA and that deli made of sugar, starch & glutinous rice flour called TIKOY..

A second shot at our basket before hitting the cashier counter…

Our next Binondo / Ongpin date will include a visit at a small restaurant called DONG BEI that, according to other blogs, serves the best dumplings in Manila Chinatown and perhaps try eating at the ESTERO ( or eateries beside the creek ) Damn, we missed that ! Anyway, there’s always a second time (and a third, and a fourth, and so on… =)

Jan

UNLEASH the CHINESE in ME…

By docgelo 5 Comments

Categories: Attitude, FOOD & MORE FOOD!, HEADLINES, whatever and WISH LIST
Tags: chinese astrology, chinese food, chinese new year, chinese restaurant, dimsum, dumplings, hong kong, horoscope

Kung hei fat choi! It’s Chinese New Year again!

I’m a 100% Pinoy but sometimes I do wish to be born as a Tsinoy (Filipino-chinese).

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I’m always fascinated with anything chinese; from oriental crafts to architecture, to culture and yes, chinese FOOD! I always tell my wife that I can probably live & thrive in Hong Kong and other parts of China because of my “chinese inclinations”.

2142460281_87ddae835d3 I & my wife simply love eating chinese (besides italian & some jap) -from those steamed or fried dimsum & dumplings, noodles, szechuan and lemon chicken, sweet and sour whatever, thick richly flavored soups, to hopia and tikoy, black chinese jellies and other gustatory chinese cravings. hmmm, makes me want to rush to a nearest favorite chinese resto… My list of favorite local chinese eateries includes Mann Hann, Superbowl of China / Big Buddha, Flavors of China, Le Ching (in Greenhills & Trinoma; love their shrimp cheon fan that is to-die-for, LOL!). I’ve also blogged before the cheapest chinese buffet in Tramway Garden Buffet located at Timog Ave, Q.C. ( I & my wife’s next target is to taste the chinese delights from one of the cuisines offered in the buffet of Sprial in Sofitel Philippine Plaza which I heard is one of the best in the buffet around the metro).

I also like Chinese Astrology but did not become that religious fanatic of what the stars say about a day or the year ahead. I remember growing up with my mom who used to scan her daily horoscope from the broadsheets and learning from her that being born on the year of the dragon and under the sign of virgo explains the reason why I’m a bit perfectionist at most things. Like my mom, I do not allow horoscope or anything from chinese astrology run my life nor depend on them solely. It’s only as interesting as chinese cuisine.

My interest in anything chinese was noticeable during our wedding. I’m not that superstitious but I knew then that choosing an 8th day as our wedding day won’t hurt for in fact chinese belief says that the number 8 means INFINITY. So we selected the 1st month of the year and it’s 8th day 5 years ago as our anniversary date. My wife & I had something oriental on the menu at the reception and had changed into chinese shirt & cheongsam before our 1st dance as an official couple.

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longevity, wealth, love & happines

Tina & I also wish to build our dream house hopefully in the near future in contemporary oriental / asian theme with those chinese lanterns all over and chopsticks and nice sets of porcelain in the cupboards. sigh (*o*)

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