Full and happy at Binondo's Chuan Kee

I love eating where food is good and filling and paying for it won't burn a hole in the pocket. And what do you know, I recently discovered an eatery that has become my favorite for these very reasons. It's Chuan Kee, a Chinese-style "turo-turo" in Manila's Chinatown, Ongpin St., just a stone-throw away from Binondo Church. 
That Saturday three weeks ago, I failed to have my camera repaired in that area because the service center turned out to have transferred someplace. Fortunately, we (my daughter and I) discovered this Chinese fast food restaurant where food is sooo good, making our Binondo trip still "fruitful" and worthwhile. Not content, we were back there the very next weekend. Haha! There's still a lot to try at Chuan Kee, I want to return soon. But so far, we've enjoyed:

Beef wanton mami, P125.
The bowl is huge so my daughter and I just shared one order of this. It's the best mami I've ever had! There's a lot in this bowl - tender chunks of beef, dumplings and strips of Baguio pechay.
The soup is packed with flavor. Delish!

Pancit Cha-mi, P110. 
This one's yummy, with lots of meat, kikiam and veggies, just the right saltiness and 
a tinge of sweetness.

Bola-Bola Siopao, P50.
Isn't it pretty? A purple siopao. :) 

Lots of filling, as you can see. There's chorizo and salted egg, aside from ground pork.  Delicious!

Siopao Asado, P50.
 This one's good, too, but I'm not raving about it because Bola-Bola is my favorite.

Siomai, P45.
Siomai is my comfort food. I loved this one from Chuan Kee.

Halo-Halo,P90.
Ahh, the staple of summer! At Chuan Kee, it's packed with "halo"; it won't leave you wanting but fully satisfied. By the way, Chuan Kee is owned by the same people who own 
Eng Bee Tin Chinese Deli, that's why you see the logo in the halo-halo cup.

Mango Shake, P55. and Lychee Shake, P55.
For cooling down some more. Yummy and oh-so-refreshing!

The other night, I watched a segment of the popular TV show "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho" featuring Chuan Kee and there I learned that this fast food restaurant is now 75 years old! Wow, it is that old! It was also showed that among the popular dishes there are Kiampong and Gokong. Truth is, I shied away from those authentic Chinese dishes because I didn't know what they were but now that I do, I promise to order them next time. The show's host, Jessica, said gokong could be compared to the Ilonggo dish Batchoy, while Kiampong is a Chinese-style fried rice mixed with bits of meat. Mmm..can't wait to try these. :-) 

At Chuan Kee, you're gonna be full and happy over good food at pocket-friendly prices. Aye! Aye!

Inside Chuan Kee

That's my daughter in the mirror. Hehe..

Chuan Kee is the one here on the ground level. Upstairs is Cafe Mezzanine, a fireman-themed restaurant, which, my friend Pammy said, serves food coming from Chuan Kee below. Same food but higher prices 'coz some of the proceeds go to volunteer firemen. 

Jade Vine: Better late than never!

While news of newly-opened restaurants in the metro excite me, I reserve bulk of my respect and admiration for the old, classic food establishments. Putting up a foodie joint is a breeze to those who have ready capital outlay, but it takes so much more to make business flourish and stand the test of time. An example of a classic restaurant right in the heart of the city of Manila is Jade Vine at the corner of UN Ave. and Jorge Bocobo St., which opened its door 
to patrons in the 1960s. Wow, five decades and counting!

 Last Saturday, I was excited to finally eat there with my daughter. Truth was, I worked in that area for four years and the church I'm attending as well as my HMO clinic are in the area but I'd never thought of eating there because I was kinda intimidated by Jade Vine's "image". To me it seemed that only the "don" and "doña" belonged there, and I just wouldn't fit in. This, I confirmed in my readings. In those early times, Cabinet ladies led by Eva Macapagal (the second wife of former President Diosdado Macapagal) met at Jade Vine. Members of the high society rubbed elbows there, too, the likes of Tingting Cojuangco, Chona Kasten and Elvira Manahan. 
But finally, I felt that it was time for me to go to Jade Vine. Not that I'm a "doña" myself already (haha!), but because I read somewhere that food there is good and not that pricey. So there we were after my time at the doctor's clinic in Times Plaza. On entering the restaurant, I was immediately impressed by the interiors - classic, with an old world feel, owing to the dominant earth colors, wooden furniture and decors used. It also felt ..uhhmm..exclusive. 
And we had these for late lunch/merienda:

Palabok, P120, with brewed coffee (just a promo, I guess)

Pancit Bihon, P110.

Clubhouse Sandwich, P160.

Iced tea, P35.

Brewed coffee (that came with the palabok)

Look at those old-fashioned, ancestral house-style chairs.

This 'platera' houses antique plates, one of the servers told me.

Tables for two by the windows

Display of cakes

This greeted us at the entrance and gave me a ranch house feel.

The door to a visual (for lovers of all things old) and gastronomic treat

 

The palabok was delicious. My daughter liked it. The pancit bihon, however, was quite bland though I'd say it was still good after I added some soy sauce and pepper to it. It had lots of veggies and was meaty, too. The servings of our pancit were hefty and really filling! Perfect for two famished humans who were eating late lunch and afternoon snacks at the same time. Haha! As for our clubhouse sandwich, we were happy with it. No scrimping here on  fillings - ham, egg, tuna and veggies. But there's another thing I liked about the clubhouse. Instead of potato chips, it was served with fried "kamote (sweet potatoes)", which were thinly sliced and fried to a crisp. Yummy and healthy! 
Meanwhile, I loved the coffee - strong and full-flavored.
So, will I be back at Jade Vine Restaurant? Surely and soon, hopefully, 
to try their main entrees and cakes.

It's 'halo-halo' season!

Just a few days ago, the onset of summer 2014 was officially declared by the government weather bureau. But even if you hadn't heard it in the news, you knew it by the feel of the scorching heat at daytime. Indeed, it's that time of the year when Pinoys crave for the ultimate summer treat - "halo-halo". This cool dessert/snack is a medley of various sweetened ingredients, usually "saba" (cardava banana), chunks of sweet potato, beans and gelatin. A teaspoon or two of  sugar is added, and then shaved ice, and topped with sweetened langka (jackfruit) and a slice of leche flan. A generous amount of evaporated milk is then poured over everything. In many restaurants, a scoop of ice cream will crown your halo-halo, oftentimes in ube (purple yam) flavor. 
At summertime, stalls selling halo-halo are a familiar sight on the streets, both in  cities and in the countryside. They proliferate, seen in almost every corner.

Halo-halo is also part of many restaurants' menu. But perhaps, the greater testimony to the deliciousness of this uniquely Filipino dessert is having been praised by CNN travel host Anthony Bourdain. In the second episode of his show last year, he got to eat halo-halo from a Jollibee store in Los Angeles, California (makes me wonder why Jollibee doesn't serve halo-halo here in the Philippines) and described it as "oddly beautiful".

Anyway, as summer's here, I thought about compiling pictures of halo-halo that I've had in different restaurants, from way back before I started blogging up to last weekend, to share 
with you. And here they are:

Chuan Kee (Ongpin, Binondo))

Cafe Via Mare (Landmark, Trinoma)

Max's Restaurant (Scout Tuazon, Quezon City)

The Mochi Halo-Halo at Karate Kid is one of those unique kinds that I know of. Because it has mochi, you know at once that this is Japanese inspired. You gotta try it. Delish!

Mochi Halo-Halo at Karate Kid (SM San Lazaro)

Panciteria Lido (UN Ave., Manila)

The Halo-Halo Ice Cream at Aling Banang (a carinderia that has about a dozen branches around the metro)  is one of a kind too because it has no shaved ice, only ice cream on top of the usual halo-halo ingredients.

Aling Banang's Halo-Halo Ice Cream (Visayas Ave., Quezon City)

Manong's Bagnet Station (Tomas Morato, QC)

Mang Inasal (Tandang Sora, QC)

Halo-halo in my hometown in Quezon Province

Whew! Lots of sweet icy goodness there! Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture of the one I had from Little Quiapo (an iconic restaurant, being one of the Top 10 oldest in the country). Anyway, I've decided on the best halo-halo I've ever had. We'll, it's a no-brainer: Razon's! Never mind that it only has three 'halo' or ingredients - macapuno, sweetened saba and leche flan. Its flavor just outshines the others because of its uber creaminess. It has finely shaved ice, thus it's very smooth, almost like ice cream! Very yummy!

Razon's (Robinson's Magnolia, QC)

So, why don't you cool down with a nice and lovely glass of halo-halo today? Enjoy summer!

Great tapa pizza and sandwich plus all-time fave Pinoy dishes at Rufo's

Rufo's Famous Tapa has been around since the '80s, but I hadn't paid attention to it because there used to be no branch near our place, both home and office. Last February, however, on my way to church on Taft Ave., I saw a tarpaulin indicating a Rufo's branch at P. Noval St. near UST, which isn't far from home, and which we always pass by on the way to church. I thought now I had the chance to finally try tapa at this "famous" place. You see, tapsilog (tapa, sinangag and itlog to those not in the know)  is one of my favorite meals any time of the day and I'm in search of the best there is in the metro. 

Well, I didn't want to waste time so the following week, my daughter and I were there at Rufo's-P. Noval for a late lunch before going to church. Once inside, I was impressed by the simple and neat interiors. My daughter commented that the checkered lower parts of the walls made the restaurant much like the diners that we'd seen in American movies. As we read the menu, I was also impressed that aside from tapsilog, Rufo's offers a lot of choices ranging from all-day breakfast, merienda, all-time favorite Filipino dishes like tinola and humba, and also "pulutan" that included sisig, chicharon and tokwa't baboy. 

We then ordered tapsilog, bulalo and tapa pizza, which we all loved. My top favorite, however, was the pizza which was quite unique as I hadn't known any other restaurant that offered this. As to the tapa which is Rufo's claim to fame, it didn't disappoint. It was the first tapa with sauce that I saw and tasted, and I liked it. It was on the sweet side, though, and had the tendency to give you the "sawa factor" toward the end of the meal. As for the bulalo, the soup was flavorful, the beef was tender and the bone marrow was filled with "utak". Sinfully delicious! An order could feed two persons and at only P166, it was very affordable. For dessert, we had the Creamy Fruit Fiesta, which wasn't so good, however. I had brewed coffee, which I didn't appreciate much, too. My fault, though, 'coz I put too much creamer and so it had no more kick. 
Anyway, I liked Rufo's so much that the following weekend, I brought our whole family there for lunch to celebrate the birthday of our youngest. We ordered quite a lot - Tapa Pizza, Tapa Sandwich, Tapsilog, Bulalo, Tocilog, Pork Sisig and Crispy Danggit. For dessert, we had Black Sambo and Leche Flan, which were both delicious!

Tapa Pizza, two slices per order, P46. 

Beef Tapa Sandwich, P68.

Tapsilog, P108.

Liempo, P146.

Tocilog, P104.

Pork Sisig, P146.

Bulalo, P166.

Leche flan, P39.

Black Sambo, P36.

Creamy Fruit Fiesta, P36.

Brewed coffee, P36 and Iced tea, P30.

If you're coming over for snacks, I recommend not just the Tapa Pizza but also the Tapa Sandwich. Both are uniquely Rufo's and are really delicious. For a full meal, there's a lot to choose from, as I've mentioned. 
Honestly, I now consider Rufo's as one of those restaurants I feel going back to because of its yummy offers, affordable prices and casual and relaxed ambiance.  The staffs are friendly, too. By the way, I want to share an interesting trivia about Rufo's. Did you know it was founded by a group of officemates and they named their business after their boss? When I read this, I thought wow, these guys' boss must have been a good one. Lucky them! Haha! Anyway, Rufo's Famous Tapa currently has 13 branches around Metro Manila. If you haven't tried it, don't waste too much time!

J. CO opens at Manila's sunset avenue

It used to be that we had to go to nearby cities if we wanted to eat J.CO donuts - those colorful eye candies that are such a delight to the taste as they are to the sight and smell. Not anymore, as J.CO now has a store at the famous sunset avenue of Manila, the Roxas Boulevard, at its corner with UN Ave. (It's really called J.CO-UN Ave.) But while it was just last month that I learned of this branch, it was actually in October last year that it opened. Oh well, better late than never! 

Last Sunday, me and my two daughters happily hauled ourselves off to J,CO-Manila to enjoy an afternoon of donuts, coffee and frozen yogurt. The two girls lined up - for one hour! - while I sat at the terrace looking at the street below, particularly at those horse-drawn carriages locally known as calesa, passing by every now and then. You still can't see the sea from this point but you're close enough to be able to see the sky change its hues as the sun slowly goes down the horizon. What a very relaxing afternoon it was to be sitting there just enjoying the breeze as I took pictures. But once our food and drinks came and I finished taking pictures, we transferred inside where it's cozy and homey, with the dim lights and the soft and comfy chairs. 

And then we enjoyed:

J. Cool, P95 (1 topping)

Cafe Avocado, Uno size, P120.

Iced Coffee, P85. (Uno)

Americano, P85 (Uno)

Glazzy donuts. Free with every drink.

Assorted donuts

..and then some more. Yum, yum, yum!

The terrace as sun deck at this golden hour

Yes, indeed!

Lovely, cozy interiors of J. CO-UN Ave.

We bought two dozens of donuts but each of us ate just one and then took the rest home as "pasalubong" to the hubby, two other kids and a niece and nephew. By the way, J.CO Donuts and Coffee, which was founded in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2005, now has nearly 20 branches in the country (one info site says it's 18, another says it's 19) since it arrived here in 2012. Two years already and the lines haven't gone shorter! That's what we've observed at the branches in Trinoma, SM North Edsa and here on UN Ave. That's how much Pinoys love this pastry brand - perhaps because it has many delicious flavors and all are just rightly sweet and don't overwhelm the taste buds. Also, their coffee concoctions come in many varieties, all yummy-looking you'll have a hard time choosing. And then, there's the healthy frozen yogurt (J. Cool) that you could order with your choice of fruit topping/s. Lately, they've added sandwiches to their menu too, named J. Club, which come in Katsu, Salami, Sausage and White Velvet varieties. I'm so looking forward to trying these. See you, guys at J.CO!