Make it Lumpia

They say that if you're in Binondo and you're looking for the best lumpia,  then the place to be is in the New Eastern Garden Restaurant.

Ok, Ok... First, what is a "lumpia?"

Lumpia is the South-East Asian version of the spring rolls. It can be eaten fresh or fried. Both fried and fresh versions, were brought by Chinese immigrants from the Fujian province of China to Southeast Asia and became popular where they settled in Indonesia and the Philippines.

In New Eastern Garden, they make different varieties of lumpia. They will even ask you if you prefer a spicier version. They use the freshest ingredients and they make the sauce based on their own original recipe. 

Hey! They even make lumpia for vegans as well Hahahaha!

Even with such delicious and fresh ingredients, their lumpia is so affordable. They just sell them at P50.00 (jumbo) to P38.00 and P45.00 for the regular sized. They also serve other Chinese dishes such as Duck Miswa, Pork Maki with Noodles, Chupsuey and Fried Chicken (Eastern Garden Style).

Visit their restaurnt now @ NEW EASTERN GARDEN RESTAURANT. (NEW EASTERN GARDEN RESTAURANT). 954 Ongpin Street, Manila.

Authentic Chinese Dumplings in Binondo

The place is called Dong Bei Dumplings and it is located on the far-end of Yuchengco Street, yet still people flock to buy their home-made dumplings.

One of the reasons (other that it tastes great) is that they make authentic Chinese dumplings, based on the northern China recipe. Ok... When I first heard that term from Mr. Rence Chan, I didn't know what he meant by that, but further research says that Northern China means the regions of Peking and Beijing.

So Dong Bei make dumpling based on how people in Peking and Beijing makes them. Another nice feature is that they are so affordable yet the lower price doesn't sacrifice the quality of the product.

Visit them @ Dong Bei Dumpling Restaurant, 642 Yuchengo (Nueva) Street, Binondo, Manila.

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

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!

Sincerity Cafe & Restaurant - Dining with pure intentions.

Located in Binondo is a Chinese restaurant with a not very Chinese name... Welcome to Sincerity. But don't be fooled. The restaurant was a dream of Uy Mo Koan and Uy Lim Bee. They were trying to introduce authentic Amoy dishes in Manila. With only 600 pesos capital, they opened a small noodle house in Binondo in 1956 and because they serve the customers with sincere intentions, they decided to name the restaurant as Sincerity.

Today, 58 years later, Sincerity Cafe and Restaurant is still serving its customer with sincere intentions.

The ambiance is just great. A modern atmosphere with traditional Chinese touch. The plates were like Japanese Bento... aha! Oriental I might say.

No, this is not a Japanese Bento Box, but oriental nevertheless. A good serving of Chamisua, Fried Chicken, lumpiang Shanghai and fried rice.

They also serve winter melon tea (tea made from kundol)... Sorry I don't have the picture, but it was so refreshing. They say that the winter melon tea they serve in Sincerity is their own special brew.

Unlike other fried chicken that I have eaten so far... well... Sincerity Chicken is quite unique. They have chopped the chicken into easy servings that you won't distinguish which part you are eating. Then the chicken is coated and deep fried so you get a crispy golden brown in the outside, yet juicy chicken in the inside. Serve with sweat and sour sauce, the chicken is very Chinese yet uniquely Sincerity.

Now, this is what they call a Cha misua. No, it's not Chami nor bijon. Cha misua is stir fried using thinner noodles (is that why it's called a misua?) with lots of peanuts. They say that this dish is quite simple, but I find it quite tasty.

Sincerity also serves Filipino dishes like this Halo-Halo.

Here other noodles that they serve...

Lomi

Cha Bihon

No wonder, Sincerity was visited by famous celebrities, which includes TV / Radio host Winnie Cordero, Korean TV Host - Ryan Bang and the Queen of Philippine Talkshow herself, Ms. Kris Aquino.

Sincerity Cafe & Restaurant

497 E.T. Yuchengco St. (formerly Nueva St.), Binondo, Manila

Telephone Numbers: 241-9990 / 241-9972