Lugaw in Ling Nam

Delicious, quality and authentic Chinese noodles, congee, siopao and siomai – these are the stuffs that made LING NAM famous for more than half a century.

That's what their ads say, so I took the liberty of trying them out. It was with one of Rence Chan's food tours and he said that we should go to Ling Nam earlier to avail their congee (lugaw) since it's a best seller and they always ran out of it if you come in late.

So, since it was quite early I have the chance to see them still making their famous wanton and shomai. That's a lot of shomai. 

Ok, so here are the congee, plus some siopao. Here are some mixed congee (with some pork innards, tripe and liver) , a bola-bola lugao (with pork meat balls) and a fish congee. There are also some black bean siopao and pork asado siopao.

Ling Nam Wanton Parlor

616 T. Alonzo St., Sta Cruz, Manila

Tel No: (632) 733.5231 / 733.5234

Bee Tin Grocery - Your Asian Food Grocery

Are you looking for that tasty beef jerky, or are you planning to cook an authentic Asian meal to impress your mate? Well, here's a place to visit in Binondo - BEE TIN GROCERY.

Established 70 years ago, Bee Tin specialized on Asian food - ingredients from different Asian cuisine you can imagine. Not only Chinese food... Malaysian curry, Japanese, Koreans, you name it! They also have different Asian sweets. They specialized in oriental food specialties and spices and  it’s one of the few places we can find the superior Nissan noodles which are made in Hong Kong. 

So, Asian food is not impossible to cook. Thanks to Bee Tin Grocery.

BEE TIN GROCERY

735 Ongpin, City of Manila, Metro Manila 1000

 Call them @ +63(2)2433453 

Shin Din Kha Maki Place - Comfort all the way.

When you think about comfort food and Chinese food, the first thing that enters your mind is congee (lugaw). That is also what I thought, until I heard about what they call as "maki" soup.Now, maki is not the same as an egg-drop soup. Maki (or makimi) is a pork, chicken, fish or beef soup, with or without noodles, in a very thick broth. Now the broth is dark and has this velvet texture, from cornstarch of course. Maki is considered a comfort food, since a sip of the hot broth is quite filling to your stomach.

There is one place in Binondo where you can taste a real maki... and that is Maki Place.

It is just a small restaurant tucked in Benavides St., but a lot of customers have already known this place where they can get delicious maki.

They serve 3 different maki: Pork, chicken and fish and they also have other delicious Chinese delicacies to offer like their own fresh lumpia.

Now I was so fortunate to see a live demonstration of how they make their lumpia at Maki Place. Unlike the other lumpia that I saw, Maki's lumpia is not the usual log type... you know, long wrapped lumpia. Maki's lumpia looks like a large square-bag like full of goodies.

Another original is their ice tea, which is an original brew recipe. I think they put lime (or kalamansi) in their tea... very delicious.

 And the best combination... radish cake and maki. PERFECT!

Toho Antigua Panciteria = 126 years of good food and service.

Binondo is known for its authentic Chinese restaurants that serves authentic Chinese meals and some well known panciteria not only serve food but history as well. 

Toho Antigua Panciteria (now known as the New Toho Food).  This panciteria was founded by Manuel “Po Kong” Bautista in 1888. Legend says that Andres Bonifacio dated his wife here in Toho where they ate Toho’s special asado pork. It was also said that Jose Rizal was a frequent diner . Singer Katy de la Cruz and Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson are known to eat at Toho, so does both Fernado Poe Sr. and Fernando Poe Jr. were loyal patrons of this restaurant, and also the late Philippine Comedy King, Dolphy. 

One thing that Toho is very proud of is that their recipe didn’t change, so that means you will still taste what the Katipuneros eat at the very same place.

In my experience of eating at Chinese restaurants, I've noticed that they always start with a soup. So, we were served large bowls of Nido soup (Sopa de Nido). Nido soup is the Philippine version of the famous Bird's Nest soup. It is made from the nest of swiflet AKA Balisawsaw (Aerodramus fuciphagus) and the black-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus maximus) that are found in El Nido, a region in Palawan.

Some people say that the fried chicken in Toho is very much like a certain known brand, but when I tried it, I think compared to that brand, Toho's chicken is more tender and juicy. The outer layer is so crunchy that you will be surprised to see the inner meat so tender and juicy.

The Shanghai Fried Rice is superb! The taste is balance and with all the peas, vegetable bits and eggs, I think you can eat it even without anything else in between.

Now these are Chinese-style Que-Kiam (Kikiam). Fried to perfection, these kikiam are soft and they definitely smell so good. You can dip it in a vinegar sauce or you can just eat it as is.

Another must-try is roasted pork asado. Legend has it that this pork asado were the favorite Gat. Andress Bonifacio and the Katipuneros. They say that unlike those other "asado" you will find in other restaurants, Toho's asado was cooked very slowly and it didn't use any artificial coloring and flavoring. The meat was slowly smoked till cooked using choice woods. 

I've noticed that the meat was really very tender and it has this certain "smoky taste."

Not only does Toho boast good food but also good people. The attendants are quite respectful and friendly. Service was really good, wait time was short. I really recommend this place for you, your friends and your family. With this kind of food and service, it is not a surprise why this panciteria have been with us for almost 126 years.