Just Get In!

No, that wasn't an order, I was telling you the name of this restaurant in Quiapo that recently became my favorite Chinese food place. Located along Villalobos St., it's named "Just get in" and looks interesting enough to make people "obey". Aside from the restaurant's quirky name, another thing drew me closer to the place--people crowding around a table just outside the door, buying fried siopao that looked yummy! So, I was one of those who "obeyed" and got in. Hahaha! The first visit was followed by another one, tagging along my youngest child. From the looks of it, a third visit is looming quite soon. We loved the food especially the fried siopao, which I buy 
for take out whenever there's an opportunity.

These are so far what we have tried from the menu :

Braised Beef Noodles
Half a boiled egg, noodles, chunks of beef, bokchoy and broth -- the elements of a perfect comfort food to warm a hungry tummy. This was delicious and the serving was huge it could feed two less hungry people. The strong Chinese spice 
(was it star anise?) might be adverse to some, though. 

Fried Chicken with Rice

My son's order. All kids love fried chicken, I suppose? But the mom, does, too, so I had a bite and loved the leg that was perfectly spiced and fried to a perfect crunch. I was 

a bit surprised - and happy to find halved boiled egg on this plate.

Fried Breaded Pork

This is originally served with plain rice but you can ask that it be replaced with fried rice, like I did. The saltiness of the breaded pork was just right but the crunch that I was anticipating when I bit into it was missing and that left me kinda sad. 

I loved the fried rice, tho.

Fried siopao
Now this, for me, was the "bomb" at Just Get In. The dough was firm but tender and the filling -- there was a lot and very tasty, too! The minced pork was gingery, with a hint of sweetness and soy. I love this fried siopao so much that I make it a point 
to buy some whenever I go to Quiapo. And then I make it 
my baon to work for a few days in a row.

My take out 
Look at the thick filling! 

Free peanuts and tea
On my first visit, I was served free adobo peanuts while I waited for my order.
There is complimentary hot tea, too, but you have to ask for it. 
They don't offer it. Lol.

Menu

Inside Just Get In

Fried siopao for sale outside

Just Get In near the end of Villalobos St. in Quiapo, Manila 
going to the Quinta Market.


Visit Just Get In, folks, when you're in Manila's Quiapo district. There's a lot to try here, whether you're coming for breakfast, lunch, meryenda or dinner. Enjoy tasty Chinese dishes at prices that won't break the bank. Dont forget 
to take home some fried siopao, too!
Happy eating!

Mai Wei Fang at Robinsons Place Manila

 Chinese cuisine has been embedded in Filipino culture for many years. Just think of pancit, siomai and siopao. These have been so much a part of our daily meals that we take for granted these are actually part of Chinese influence in the lives of Pinoys. 
I read, however, that what we are familiar with are only foods that are part of Southern China's cuisine which mostly consists of rice and noodle preparations. Apparently, we haven't known Northern China's cuisine 
that is mainly flour-based.

Enter Mai Wei Fang -- that cheery-looking hole in the wall at the Robinsons Place Manila (near the Adriatico entrance). This eatery has the "mission" to introduce to Filipinos Chinese cuisine from the Northern region. According to an online article, the owner (or one of the owners) toured Northeastern China for months to study the cuisine and gather recipes before building the menu for Mai Wei Fang, 
which, by the way, means "wheat mill room".
The restaurant occupies quite a small space but what invites one in is the happy-looking yellow interiors and the glass-walled kitchen that lets diners see all the action happening inside. What could be a better way to work up an appetite than to let one see his food being skillfully prepared? Well, the food being actually served right in front of you, I guess? Tee-hee. Anyway, I tried Mai Wei Fang with family last June and came back solo last Saturday before going to church. 
What we've had:

Sheng Jian Bao

This is Mai Wei Fang's signature dish that's similar to xiao long bao, only this one is pan-fried and the skin is a bit thicker and chewier. Just like its more popular version, these dumplings could be tricky -- and fun -- to eat. Because the soup inside each dumpling is hot, don't gobble apiece up, lest you scald your tongue. Bite into the skin just a bit to open up the dumpling and let the soup cool down awhile before popping the whole thing into your mouth. You may also dip it first into the vinegar that comes with every order of the dumplings. Now let your taste buds enjoy the play of flavors and contrast in textures coming from the softness of the dumpling skin at the top and the subtle crisp of the pan-fried bottom. What an enjoyable gastronomic 
experience it is, eating these Sheng Jian Bao!

Shao Bing Sandwich
Sandwiched in between flaky and crusty bread are scrambled eggs, pork floss, green onions and you tiao, which is an elongated piece of bread. You might be thinking, "What? Bread in bread?" Well, I was just as surprised as you are. I haven't had anything quite like this Chinese sandwich! Each bite gives an interesting interplay 
of textures and flavors. It's unique, savory, delicious and filling.

Chinese Fried Chicken

If you love chicken like I do, you surely would fall for this enormous serving of fried chicken breast that's juicy and tasty. Best with some steaming white rice! Share this with your sweetie or best buddy. Up to three persons 
may share one order of this chicken chop. 😊

Chinese Fried Chicken Rice Bowl

Going solo isn't bad if you want to eat in peace. Haha! Opt for this chicken rice topping if you're coming in alone. Unlike the extra large chop, the chicken here is drizzled with soy glaze sauce so it's sweet and savory at the same time. Yummy!

Cong You Bing

This is crispy green onion pancake. It's something light -- both in flavor and texture and might just be perfect when you're not really hungry but want to munch on something. This could be perfectly paired with a hot pot of tea.

Wintermelon Chilled Tea, Chinese Iced Lemon Tea

My gang ordered Wintermelon Chilled Tea to wash everything down while I chose Chinese Iced Lemon Tea as suggested by the crew who took our orders. I asked for a drink that wasn't sweet, and true enough, it wasn't at all saccharine, with a strong 
tea taste and a hint of lemon. Very refreshing!

As I mentioned, I went back to Mai Wei Fang last Saturday and ordered the Sheng Jian Bao and Chinese Iced Lemon Tea again. 

In and around Mai Wei Fang

Watching our food being prepared stirs anticipation, 
not to mention hunger. Haha!

Frying the Sheng Jian Bao

Menu

 Mai Wei Fang at the ground floor of Robinsons Place Manila 
near the Adriatico entrance

What Mai Wei Fang offers is a welcome deviation from the food offered by most restaurants, including those Chinese establishments that are too many to count in the metro. It's the perfect choice when you're kinda tired of the usual 
food in the usual places you go to for a meal. Try it now! 
Happy eating!

Cafe Mezzanine at Manila's Chinatown

Manila's district of Binondo prides itself in being a popular foodie destination, more than Maginhawa St. of Quezon City and of late, Lilac St. of Marikina City. In fact, some groups have been organizing a food crawl or gastronomic tour of Binondo, visiting the more popular Chinese restaurants, many of them several decades-old and 
still drawing old and new customers. 

One of such establishments is Cafe Mezzanine, which is on Ongpin St., very near Binondo Church. This restaurant is on top of another by the name of Chuan Kee. I believe that the two have one and the same owners because they offer menu items that are essentially the same. Cafe Mezzanine, by the way, is also known as the "firemen's restaurant" around here because its earnings 

go to the volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel of Binondo. 

Anyway, I've eaten twice at Chuan Kee before but it was my first time at Cafe Mezzanine some months ago. I was with 

my mom and two balikbayan sisters. 

Here are what we ordered:

                                                    Kiampong

                                               Pork asado with egg

                                 Shredded pork with century egg congee

                                                    Hema canton

                                                     Special tofu

                                                                          Spring rolls

                            Iced mocha java; Jasmin tea; Calamansi juice
                                                                              
                                                     Menu

                                            Inside Cafe Mezzanine

 Seen on the stairway

                         Cafe Mezzanine on Ongpin St. in Binondo, Manila

Some would expect Chinese food to be a little salty but everything on our table was just rightly savory. And we experienced none of the so-called Chinese food syndrome, thankfully. We liked it all, some in a lesser degree, though. But for me, it was the Kiampong that was tops. I was amazed by it, as I never thought rice and peanuts would be a good mix. The flavors blended well with the mildly saccharine Pork asado with egg, which was my favorite of the entrees that we had. My drink, the Iced mocha java was way too sweet, but the Jasmine tea was perfect and gave a nice ending to our lunch. 
All in all, it was a satisfying meal. 
Would I recommend Cafe Mezzanine? Yes, this place is worth your while and hard-earned buck. The prices, you surely noticed, are very affordable! And just think of the volunteer firefighters you would be helping. 
Happy eating!

Eat like they do in Hongkong at Tim Ho Wan

Love Chinese food? Most, if not all of us Filipinos do. I don't think there's one Pinoy who doesn't love to eat at least one kind of food that's of Chinese origin. Oh we do love siomai, pancit, lumpiang Shanghai and siopao don't we? I could annihilate a plate of pancit bihon and totally destroy an order of siomai anytime!  If I may inform you, these two are among my top comfort food and they could cheer me 
up on the gloomiest of days. 

Good thing there's a lot of restaurants where we could have our Chinese food favorites. They're even on your left and right in Binondo! Even then, newcomers are always welcome. Like Tim Ho Wan. When it came to the Philippines in 2014, it earned raves from foodies for its high quality of food at very competitive prices. After all, it's a Michelin star holder in Hongkong where it came from.  
Michelin star, says Wikipedia, "..normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest European hotel and restaurant reference guide, which awards Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a star can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. Michelin also publishes 
a series of general guides to countries." 

Tim Ho Wan is touted as the world's cheapest Michelin-star restaurant. It is not named after a person, as we might all be thinking ('coz I did!), but is actually a Cantonese 
phrase meaning "add good luck".

Recently, my sister gave us (sis, our mom and two of my kids) a treat at Tim Ho Wan in Robinson's Place Manila. Was I excited to finally 
try this raved-about restaurant!

Our orders:

Chow Mien Stir Fried Noodle, P130.

Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork, P160.

Prawn Dumpling, P160.

Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce, P120.

Spring Roll with Egg White, P120.

Jasmine Tea, P60/pot

Order sheet. It's DIY ordering here. Check your choices, write how many orders and give the form to the server.

It was one fine lunch that we had. The dimsum, noodle dish and all were flavorful in a subdued way, not so much as to assault the taste buds. The unique taste of everything just blended seamlessly, and consistently until the last mouthful. Also, there was no "sick" feeling afterwards, the way "vetsin"-laden Chinese food in some other restaurants could give you. While I liked everything we had, it was the Prawn Dumpling that I liked best. The white ball of goodness was delicious and fun to chew on.
And yes, we did order rice to go with all our savory food and of all that we had, the steamed rice was the only one I considered quite expensive at P70 per cup. Still, I was surprised that our total bill was only a little over P1,500 (we had two orders each of most of the food and we were 5 persons in the group). 
We failed to order, however, what is said to be the bestseller at Tim Ho Wan - the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork. But I remembered that my husband brought us some of it about a year ago. Good thing I was able to take a picture of it before making the " attack". It's much like an asado siopao, only the bun was a bit toasted and flaky as it is not steamed but baked. I knew it would be perfect to have for merienda when paired with the Chow Mien Stir Fried Noodle. I'm saving the idea for next time!

Baked Bun with BBQ Pork, P160.

Tim Ho Wan at Robinsons Place Manila

Try Tim Ho Wan if you haven't, folks. Aside from high-quality food, 

I promise you to have more bang for the buck. 

Happy eating!