siopao | beyond toxicity

Posts Tagged ‘siopao

Mar

JOY IN SIMPLE THINGS

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, Film, FOOD & MORE FOOD!, ILOVEPHOTOS and MALAYSIA
Tags: amateur photography, beyond toxicity, break of dawn, buddhist temple, buhay ofw, butterworth, Butterworth Malaysia, butterworth penang, catholic church in malaysia, Catholic church in Penang, congee, dawn, daybreak, dim sum, disney movie, doc gelo, docgelo, dumpling, entertainment, expat life in malaysia, family blog, family life, food, food in penang, foodie, grocery, happy meal, hawker food in penang, hawkers, john carter, john carter movie, keoy teow soup, Life, mcdonald, mcdonald's, mcdonald's happy meal, morning, movie, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Penang, nikon, nikon D7000, nikon photography, NVBM, ofw, pao, penang food, photography, photos, photos taken nikon D7000, pinoy abroad, saturday morning, shutterbug, siopao, snack, spongebob, taylor kitsch, weekend, you tiao

Don’t be deceived by the photos above, they may look as scenes taken at wee hours of the morning but it was almost seven o’clock when I captured them in a blink, en route to the first scheduled Catholic Mass one weekend (read : Tanghali na kung sumikat ang araw sa Malaysia at gabi na ang paglubog nito). I hopped on the bus at 15 minutes before 7 in the morning with my family in tow. After the short bus ride, we strolled our way to the church. Gabby, Tina, my mom and I heard the 30-minute Mass in English in this parish called Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Hello, Mr. Sun!

Gereja Katolik = Catholic Church. The NBVM Church is located at the back of this old chapel.

That old chapel (or was it the parish office now? who knew?) in front of the church compound was always kept locked, or perhaps it was still early to open it. Nonetheless, I found a visual stimulus in its rustic metal padlocks over textured wooden doors.

Because it was only half hour past seven in the morning and the mall and the grocery are still closed, we decided to take our first meal of the day in one of the local food stalls across the street. The eatery or carinderia for us Pinoys, or as Penangites call it, hawkers is situated in front of a small Buddhist temple which apparently caught my attention.

The caridenderia’s big enough to sit 100 people; well ventilated and offers a variety of drinks and tummy fillers.

No, we are definitely NOT ALOCHOLICS but we have this LOVE AFFAIR with a variety of COFFEE available in Penang. Just in case you want to check out the common beverages offered in food stalls here.... one ringgit = more or less fourteen Ph pesos.

PRICELESS morning smiles…

Children, say, KEOY TEOW SOUP…

LOVE at 8 o’clock in the morning…

With warmed stomachs, we took another bus ride to one of the malls in Penang mainland.

Lunch was done in McDonald’s, in favor of Gabby’s collection of Happy Meal toys currently featuring his favorite, Spongebob. Then we decided to see a movie at around 12:30PM. It has been a while since we last munched caramel popcorn inside a cinema.

Disregarding the fact that Taylor Kitsch's "airport hassle" issue that happened in Indonesia and NOT in the Philippines, JOHN CARTER wasn't that bad movie. We were entertained, actually! But we read via online news this Disney movie plummeted at the box office; who's to blame? *just asking*

After the movies, must buy groceries…

No-Plastic-Policy in groceries and shopping malls in Penang. Let's Reuse, Reduce, Recycle!

After the groceries, must satisfy growling tummies again! We had purple yam balls which we didn’t like (nothing’s special), taho or what they call here, tofoo far with brown sugar syrup, 3 bowls of dried scallop congee that we topped with fried bread called yoo tiao from the restaurant called, I love Yoo. The congee bowls were made even more tasteful with a dash of soysauce and sesame oil. A tall glass of cold soya for Gabby, and a cup of white coffee for me completed the light meal. Solb!

Merienda over a very affordable restaurant called, I LOVE YOO (not yoU! mind you!).

We could not be unhappy when there are more reasons to be grateful!

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.

Mar

SIOMAI MAMI + CRISPY PIENCIT CANTON

By docgelo 24 Comments

Categories: FOOD & MORE FOOD!
Tags: chinese food, crispy piencit canton, doc gelo, docgelo, family, family and living, family life, food, food blog, foodie, ma chicken mami house, mami, noodle dish, pancit, pancit canton, siopao, trinoma

Can you remember the day you learned to eat with chopsticks ?

I must admit I’m jologs a late-bloomer; I was already in my pre-med back in the mid 90s when I started using chopsticks when eating Chinese and until now I am not an expert. I mean, i still prefer spoon and fork particularly when eating fried rice. What about you?

Tina and I smiled our widest again when Gabby enjoyed a bowl of siomai-mami using chopsticks. It wasn’t his first time to use a pair but previously, he would just poke kani tempura with them and that’s it. But last weekend’s eat-out was really a milestone for him as he almost finished the entire bowl of mami with his chopsticks.

We had our late lunch at MA CHICKEN MAMI HOUSE in TriNoma last Sunday. It’s one of those small food places near the cinemas of that mall. We only had light meals before we hit the grocery.

Although with barely 4 to 6 tables, we noticed people coming in to buy siopao and siomai to-go, and some to dine in. I thought it was a positive sign that we’re in for a good meal.

We sat comfortably and noticed the laminated menu on our table. Tina can’t help but ask the waitress about the spelling of PANCIT (a local-Chinese noodle dish) on their menu.

The waitress smiled and told us she didn’t know either. Was it wrongly spelled? Can anyone tell ? I’m too lazy to google. At least it really caught our attention to give it a try.

So we ordered CRISPY PIENCIT CANTON (PhP 168) served with 2 FRIED BUNS (other option was to have it steamed but since we’re having BOLA-BOLA SIOPAO (PhP 48) too, we opted our buns fried; turned out to be nice; not that oily. We like it –a bit crispy outside and soft inside. The Crispy PIENCIT Canton’s also distinctly yummy!

I ordered SIOMAI-MAMI (PhP 68) because I wanted to sip a warm broth but when it was served, our son gave it a look and asked me if he can have it. Who am I to say NO?

Their siopao’s smaller than the usual size but nonetheless worth a try. The filling has slices of mushroom (we like mushrooms!) that made it more flavorful. Sarap but too small for my appetite.

And since it has been months since the 3 of us vowed not to drink sodas anymore, we settled to their RED and BLACK GULAMAN (PhP 68 per glass) which were both refreshing.

With affordable and delicious meals, Ma Chicken Mami House deserves more visits from us.

It’s so nice to find a slice of Binondo in Quezon City.

Enjoy the rest of the week, everyone!

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 2)

By docgelo 29 Comments

We love Chinese foods.

It would probably require me or my wife, Tina (or worse, wait for our son, Gabby who’s only in Kindergarten) to enroll in culinary school (which we love to do in the near future) or to have several attempts at home-cooking before we can come up from scratch, a perfectly prepared and steamed dimsum!

We value money.

How do you stretch your budget nowadays on food without compromising your own cravings? Your thoughts may be relative with mine –either you cook at home, or eat out at those food places where figures on the menu won’t injure the pockets.

We love value-for-money Chinese foods!

We’re just glad that we have finally tried EMERALD GARDEN right across US Embassy and beside Bayview Park Hotel in Roxas Blvd., Manila. Yes, you read it right; it was only yesterday that we’ve experienced what we’ve been missing! We’ve proven truth to a few posts about how this restaurant offers affordability coupled with great tasting dishes!

This Chinese restaurant is unique on its own. When we entered Emerald Garden, we were politely greeted by the wait staff who immediately led us to our table. Gabby liked its spacious dining area that’s far from being intimidating. Emerald Garden, in fact has a homey-casual ambiance without pretentious decors whatsoever. We also noticed that all servers, neatly clad in office attire-looking uniforms, were generally geriatric ’matured’ compared to other restaurants’. We took that as a plus points on them for being focused and attentive, most of all friendly to their clients.

On our table :

FRIED CRAB STICKS, PhP 140 + and HAKAO, PhP 75+

One of Gabby’s favorite finger foods (at least for him) is kani tempura in Japanese or fried crabsticks for Chinese; so automatically, in the absence of pizza that he also likes, this should be ordered. Emerald’s version is simple, logically priced and more importantly, it satisfied gabby’s picky appetite.

I love almost anything with shrimps, so Hakao is also a must for us when dining Chinese. Tina and I shared similar views on Emerald’s Shrimp dumplings : they were only 3 compared to other restos that serve 4 per order; their Hakao’s wrappers were a bit dry but at least they came with those plump shrimps!

It was only 2005 during our 7-week-vacation in Auckland, New Zealand when Tina and I first tasted steamed dumplings called Cheong fan after we enjoyed a lunch treat by one of my cousin’s relatives. After the first bite, it has always been one of those Oriental dishes we look in a menu. But sadly, not all Chinese restaurants here offer Shrimp Rice Rolls a.k.a Shrimp Cheong fan. We haven’t explored the rest of the Metro’s food places yet but I only know of Le Ching’s Tea House and Gloria Maris that serve these shrimp goodies until we truly fell in love with Emerald Garden’s.

SHRIMP RICE ROLLS, (I forgot it’s exact price but probably more or less PhP 75+ too). Believe me, they actually taste greater than how they look in my photos. The wrappers were not-too-thin-neither-too-thick; they’re almost perfect in consistency. Its sauce isn’t too salty nor too sweet.

Despite our instant infatuation for Emerald Garden’s Shrimp Rice Rolls, most of its loyal patrons would never let a dining experience pass without having SIOPAO!

BOLA-BOLA SIOPAO, small PhP 30; large PhP 85. We were still lucky to order even the small ones at nearly 2 in the afternoon for we heard they easily ran out of these great steamed yummies especially the large siopaos as early as few minutes after 7AM (Emerald Garden opens at 7AM; closes at 2PM and reopens for dinner at 6PM onwards).

I cannot blame them. These Bola-Bola Siopao are really delicious! The buns were the softest like that of Kowloon’s. The filling has those chives but surprisingly not overpowering and just flavorful! We would not mind having these for breakfast!

After stating my 2-cents worth about some yummies from Emerald Garden, our votes also go to this noodle dish that sky-rocketted our palates to other planets, LOL

EMERALD FRIED NOODLES, small PhP 140 (also available in medium & large orders). Look at those fuchsia colored quailed eggs that are far from being usually orange! Aren’t they enticingly different? This Fried Noodle dish has generous volume of veggies and very tender breaded meat, all cut into strings and mixed with its tasteful thick sauce! The noodle itself was so good sans other ingredients making this as one of the best I’ve tasted! …Excuse me, I’m salivating as I post this.

In one phrase, it was absolutely, heaven on a plate!

How many restaurants can serve all these or at least similar dishes for less than PhP 700 all in ?

Before me paying the bill, my wife with her sweet smile asked me if there’s Emerald Garden branch near our place in Quezon City; an evidence that this resto won even Tina’s discriminating taste

We’re going back, definitely!

Have you tried dining at Emerald Garden? What dishes do you like best?

Where do you go on your usual Chinese food craving?

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EMERALD GARDEN, 1140 Roxas Blvd., Ermita, Manila.

PS : Why do you think Tina, Gabby and I had to be in Manila on a Tuesday afternoon ? Abangan!

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 ?

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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.

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.

Feb

OUR ISLAND COVE ADVENTURE

By docgelo 8 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, FOOD & MORE FOOD! and TRAVEL
Tags: animals, bakasyon, bakasyonista, breakfast, buffet, buffet breakfast, butterfly, Cavite, Digman, Digman halo-halo, Eastwood, Eastwood City, family, family blog, family bonding, farm, Filipino, Filipinos, food, food blog, foodie, Gilbert Remulla, good food, halo-halo, Island Cove, Island Cove Hotel & Leisure Park, Kawit, leisure, leisure park, Life, manila, merienda, monkey, nature, ostrich. ostrich egg, parks, Philippines, Pinoy, recreation, recreation facilities, relax, relaxation, resort, resort in the philippines, resorts in asia, sam milby, sandosenang halo, siopao, Something Fishy, summer, summer adventure, summer escapades, summer trip, swimming pool, tigers, tourism, TRAVEL, travel blog, traveling, travelling, vacation, vacation place, zoo

It’s natural for mothers to constantly make efforts for family bonding. And my mom is no exception. She usually schedules trips, eat-outs or anything for us to do or to go somewhere and enjoy. On the same month of last year, she booked a hotel accomodation for 3 days and scheduled a trip to Baguio for us to experience Panagbenga Flower festival. This year, we agreed to go to Island Cove Hotel & Leisure Park in Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite; a small town of about an hour drive from Manila (less the traffic). My parents went there 2 weeks ago to celebrate the anniversary of their elopement. We saw their photos taken from their overnight stay and did not expect that our whole family will be there 2 weeks after.

Last Saturday, February 07, we were fetched before 5AM to catch the buffet breakfast at Something Fishy at Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City. The buffet breakfast is offered from 12MN to 10AM daily at PhP 114 pax exclusive of drinks; reasonable price for a wide variety of breakfast yummies. It’s a favorite not only of families but most employees usually call center agents around the area. Something fishy’s buffet breakfast includes arroz caldo, mami, sausages, mini pancakes, beef tapa, boiled and fried rice, fried scrambled eggs, palabok (local pasta with rice-based sauce), pancit canton (chinese noodle), tinapang bangus (smoked dried milkfish), adobong manok, kakanin (rice cakes) like bibingka, biko or some call it sinok-mani, and maja and others.

As we were escorted by the staff to our reserved seats for 11 adults and 4 kids, my brother’s fiancee’s eyes quickly spotted Sam Milby as he dines with his friends. And before he went out of the resto, my mom, as candid as always did not miss the chance and asked for a souvenir shot from Sam with my son Gabby and niece Kelly who are frequent viewers of his teleseryes. One of Sam’s friends was nice to volunteer to take the picture for them.

mommy-3461

After Eastwood City we headed straight to Kawit, Cavite where Island Cove is located. It’s a leisure park stretched in a 36-hectare island with swimming pools, animal land that includes an aviary, a butterfly house, a monkey & aligator farm, recreational facilities for badminton, volleyball, basketball, tennis, billiards and even a gym. It also has function rooms, bars where concerts are held, a spa, playground for kids, and a 96-room hotel other than the 17 cottages where one can relax. I also found out recently from a broadsheet article that the managing director of this tourism spot is the TV celebrity & former Congressman Gilbert Remulla. No wonder Island Cove is apparently well maintained to be a place where one can commune with nature.

I was so impressed with the cleanliness & availability of facilities; never expect to find electric sockets even in cottages & huts to plug in mobile phones, laptops and other electronic gadgets. Island Cove is also a wi-fi area so I got to check my e-mails and did some updates on my social networks. My favorite part of Island Cove is the Fishing Village where we had our lunch in a hut on stilts, enjoyed the sea breeze, while being serenaded by roving local string band and singers. Those dining and resting areas on huts on stilts are the best part of Island Cove where one can feast on Filipino food and get to breathe fresh air and think of nothing but enjoy nature. It’s really a relaxing sanctuary. I really appreciate that I had a chance to forget my worries at least for a day when we were there. You have to experience it, or at least, enjoy first my photos here…

1_616659024l

I tried feeding the ostrich myself with leaves I found on the ground…just for a photo-op of a kid-at-heart

ostritch

Ostrich remains to be the biggest flightless bird and probably with the biggest avian egg as well…

111

My 4-year-old son Gabby & his 7-year-old cousin KC : who’s taller err, longer than crocs & ostrich ?

And here’s the ultimate gateway to relaxing dining experience : the entrance to the Fishing Village…

211

That’s our hut #20 on stilts ….

221

What’s a Fishing Village without trying to catch something to grill or fry; but luck was not on our side…

Gabby with his Lolo Ben (my dad) did some fishing…

Three generations of fishermen-wannabe…

Staff of Fishing Village doing the fish bait made from flour & water as a substitute to an actual fish feeds…

Another sight to behold : Fishing Village’s menu…

Here’s a peek at what we had for a family feast…

Post-prandial smiles… perfect kodak moments (LOL !)

My son, nephew and nieces enjoyed the swimming pools with clean and impressive facilities of Oceania Water Park within Island Cove. Swimming or not, one has to pay the entrance fee of PHP250 which includes the entrance to animal land and aviary etc.

Proof that amenities & facilities are available in Island Cove…

631

We left Island Cove at around 4PM and decided to take merienda at Digman in Bacoor, Cavite on the way back to Manila. Digman Halo-halo with sandosenang halo originated in Cavite before they branched out to SM malls nationwide.

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