Valentine's and New Year at Ying-Ying Tea House

Chinese New Year at Chinatown Binondo, ManilaYou'll never go wrong with Chinese food--- never go bankrupt, never go out of taste, it's just the best. With the recent Chinese New Year falling on the same day as Valentine's, it was weird but funny to see couples celebrating, the supposed to be intimate, quiet time, in an opposite atmosphere, chaotic and really noisy--- Chinese restaurant, more so restaurants in Binondo--- on the day that is most noisy. 

Ying Ying servers running like roadrunners.

Originally it is served in fours, but we were in a hurry to take the bite.

Siomai: Pork Shrimp are just the best, tasty even without the soy sauce, chili and calamansi. Served juicy hot in the dimsum steamers. You can taste both the shrimp and the pork, there's no overpowering taste, after every bite there's still the feel of freshness, or rather refreshing not to heavy to digest.

Taro puffs are the best dimsum ever invented and serve at Ying Ying.

Crunchy puff outside with perfect taro stuffing inside, plus if sauced out with Hoisin 海鮮, it will elevate to something divine. I don't know what's in that Hoisin sauce but it is the perfect pair for taro puff. *Hoisin mean seafood, but it is said that it doesn't even contain fish. Weird.

Cold Cuts of Asado, Seaweed, Chicken, Century Egg.

These cold cuts are also refreshing, but I am no fan of the chicken because of its little bones. Their Asado are just the juiciest (Ying Ying and Wai Ying have the best Asado in Binondo). I don't eat century eggs, even before Richmond told us not to, because China stopped its production due to some health reasons.

All in all Ying Ying is one of the best Chinese restaurants to serve authentic Chinese food, that you can only find in Binondo.
PS. The billing was only around PhP400.00+ and we also had Nido soup plus one Nai Cha.
Ying Ying Tea House233 to 235 Dasmarinas Street, corner E.T. Yuchengco ext.Street.Binondo, ManilaTelephone: 387 2797, 710 3856, 241 6323Open daily 7am to 2am

Oyster Cake

This is the first time I've had Oyster Cake, and I think this will be the last of it. Or not. But this first time experience really sucked. I don't know if it should taste that way or what. At first bite, it has a little salty taste, and then few more bites digged--- Blah, it's a bit bitter, and tasted like unfresh, really stinky thing, I don't know how to explain. I don't know how *Americans can eat this dish and still be 'people that eats most number of oysters'.

Family Birthdays | Preparing Filipino Foods

It has been a custom in the Philippines to prepare dinner for the whole clan, when someone is celebrating a birthday. Relatives would be joining the celebrant in his place, other brings something, but most of the time they just bring their appetite.

If it's family members, usually you give them "take outs", so you don't have to place all the food on the table, you can serve it like these:

Then, if it is already going empty you can just refill it, to avoid having spoiled food. There are staple dishes on dinners like these; we have the Pancit Malabon (because we live in Malabon,either from Nanay's or Ida's and the other one--- Pancit Malabon Restos), and the Kakanins, like the Sapinsapin, Ube Halaya, Garbansos (it's either from Dolor's or the next kakanin store, but they are relatives so I guess the secret ingredients are just the same), the Kare-kare, Lengua Pastel, Seafood dishes like steamed Hipon (Shrimp), steamed fish, Adobong Pusit, (two were not available that night), Lumpiang Shanghai or sariwa (Lumpiang Sariwa was present; popular among the oldies) and then there is the famous fried chicken among the kids--- and kids at heart.

This is Pancit Malabon *as we all know Pancit (Hokkien term pian i sit, which means something conviniently cooked fast) dish came originally from the Chinese, but have been adopted to local cuisine, infusing available local ingredients and sealing with the local taste, having been colonially occupied several times I'm sure the Pancit Malabon, have many influences.

And then here is the Lumpiang Sariwa, or Fresh Spring Rolls, it is called fresh because it is not fried, and served fresh, it is a light dish, with mixture of fresh lettuce, ubod, chicken strips, and some crushed peanuts--- again it's originally from Chinese. The dish is popular among Southeast Asians, because of the wave of Chinese from Fujian, it is called lun pia 潤餅(run bing) in Hokkien language.

Here comes the fried chicken, *did you know that more that half of all chicken entrees ordered in restaurants are for fried chicken? And yet again, China (China, China!!!) has the biggest population (not of people, only) of chicken with 3.6 billion, but they're not the chicken capital of the world--- it's Gainesville, Georgia, where there is a law that states, that they can use fork to eat chicken (yeah, atleast it is not prohibited to eat chicken).

Shrimp, that are steamed are the best, because after, if you have leftovers like these--- you can toss them in a pan with garlic and butter, already cooked up and then you have the buttered garlic shrimp. Yummy!

Okay this is Lengua Pastel, I don't eat this, it's yuck, it's pig's tongue. SO I don't have any info about this. It looks like it's yummy but it is not, the tongue is slimmy.

This is the popular Kare-kare (pardon my picture, I forgot to take the photo before getting for my plate, but the veggies are usually overflowing, and the sauce is thick) known in English as Ox Tail Stew, it is best paired with steamed rice and Bagoong or shrimp paste. The best Kare-kare is tasty, not too sweet and not too salty, perfect blended peanut butter (the peanut butter consistency of the spread is different from that of the one mixed in Kare-kare, but the spread will do), and grounded rice, creamy. Tasty but not complete without the bagoong.

This is the product of all cuisines mixed into local masterpieces--- it's a party! All party or dinners of families here are topped with kareoke--- Happy Birthday Uncle Noel Ariel "Bebot"!

That's me, my aunt, my shobe and cousin.

North Park

Salted Garlic Squid

Deep friend squid coated with salt and pepper,

garnished with sliced chili and garlic

Sandy came home from Australia, and so we decided to eat out and have the longest chitchat ever. I think the best place to have long chitchats next to coffee shops are Chinese restos. Sandy was near Quezon City than Binondo, so we end up at TriNoMa North Park.

Wanton Noodles

We ordered, ofcourse the staple Wanton Noodles, and then added Shrimp Dumplings, Salted Garlic Squid (which I insisted, because it's my favorite). Then after some gossips and shocking revelations the food disappeared, and we're still hungry, so we ordered round two (same dish). They loved the SGS, I think if NP would bring us the *largest squid (55 feet long and weighed two ton) ever caught (on November 2, 1978) in Thimble Tickle Bay, Newfoundland, we would still be craving for more.

Shrimp Dumplings

Shrimp Dumplings are just the best, crispy and juicy, love it even without the dip sauce.

But I think the food served in restos like North Park with branches, depends on the branch cook, on how to make it really good. I have two or three bet branches, one in Wilson Street, in Greenhills has the best Salted Garlic Squid, like with TriNoMa North Park too, Market Market North Park, hmm best in Sweet and Sour Fish?, I can't decide, I had my 11 months lunches there, so I guess most of the food prepared there are good. Ahh, Mafo tofu--- the best, just the right spicy-ness.

No words are needed to describe the food in details, as I have said we ordered the same dish twice. There was just one thing--- with the Wanton Noodles, you must eat it right away, as in right away, because it doesn't taste good when it's cold already (aircondition's fault).