First Date at Mann Hann

There’s a lot of changes when one gets married. It is the period of settling down and raising a family. But these changes don’t mean that husband and wife should stop dating. That’s why we went to our very first date as married couple for our wedding monthsary.

We went to Mann Hann, located at the underground floor of SM Megamall.

Mann Hann is a restaurant that offers Chinese delicacies. Their menu lists noodles, tea, Chinese style rice, and more. We selected fried squid (285 Pesos), Chami (285 Pesos), and garlic rice (160 Pesos). We ordered fresh fruit shakes (95 pesos per glass) for our drinks.

Mannang is another restaurant located beside Mann Hann. We were informed that Mannang is the “sister restaurant” of Mann Hann. That’s why customers can order Mannang’s food at Mann Hann. Mannang offers Filipino dishes.

Our food came after waiting for about 15 minutes. The garlic rice reached our table first.

Than followed by the fried squid...

...and then the chami noodles.

Our fresh fruit shake were pineapple and watermelon flavor.

My Beloved Wife (MBW) was surprised when she saw the chami. What she wanted was a noodle dish that is dry. We thought that chami is dry.  What my wife actually wanted was bihon. But we enjoyed eating chami, nonetheless.

The star dish of the evening was the sauce of the bagoong isda (fish paste). MBW liked it so much that she wanted to ask for more and then bring it home. The sauce is the dip for the fried squid, which we agreed to be a very good combination.

The dishes that we ordered were good for 3 persons. The food was so plenty that my stomach almost burst, especially that I had to eat most of the garlic rice since MBW don’t eat much and I’m sure that that rice will go to my already bulging belly. We took home the leftover chami and that we reheated the next morning for breakfast.

We enjoyed our first date at Mann Hann. Their food tastes good and their people are courteous. And yes, a waiter took our photo. :-)

A Parade of Delicious Chinese Dishes

Binondo Chinatown is just a small area in the City of Manila but it has nooks and crannies that delights the blogger in me. The whole town town is brimming with culture, history as well as food. That's why I believe that I can make a whole blog that is just focused on Binondo Chinatown, especially on the restaurants found in its every streets.

This belief of mine was affirmed when I, together with some officemates, went to small restaurant located along San Fernando Street. The name of the restaurant is Hou Kui Tea House. My officemate said that Chinese restaurant is as narrow as a corridor but many people eat at the place.

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My officemates are especially hungry, that's why they ordered a lot of food. The dishes that they ordered came one by one, as if they are in a parade. The first dish that reached our table is a plate of lomi (100 pesos), which is good for 3 to 4 persons. I enjoyed eating the lomi, which definitely tastes better than the ones in Chowking. 

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Big plate of lomi and my cup of rice.

Since it is a tea house, the lomi is accompanied with a cup of tea.

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Another delicious dish that we ate is this fish dish in sauce with onion springs.

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I focused too much on eating that I forgot to know the name of that Chinese fish dish.

We also ate beancurd (tokwa) with salt and pepper (120 pesos), which was hghly praised by an officemate. Another dish that I liked is the Taiwan pechay in oyster sauce (120 pesos).

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We talked about other restaurants and food shops in Binondo Chinatown that offers delicious dishes. My officemates mentioned a lot of restaurants that made my mouth water. I will find time (and money) to visit those restaurants and discover the yummy things that Binondo Chinatown has to offer.

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Tikoy for New Year

When I was still a kid, my auntie usually send us a box of tikoy for the Chinese New Year. I still remember the oily and sticky tikoy on my plate during breakfast. This memory of the yummy tikoy compelled me to buy some of it last Chinese New Year.

Just like the majority of Filipinos, my family only celebrates the New Year of the Gregorian Calendar. The New Year of the Chinese Calendar is just an ordinary day for us. But this doesn't mean we shun eating popular Chinese New Year delicacies. We love Chinese food, especially tikoy.

Tikoy or Nian Gao is the most sought of food every Chinese New Year and many people queue just to buy from Eng Bee Tin and other food shops in Binondo Chinatown. Ongpin Street is crowded with vendors who only sells tikoy.

Aside from hopia, Eng Bee Tin is also popular for its tikoy. However, I already tasted their tikoy that's why I decided to buy a box of tikoy from Eng Ho. I already posted about Eng Ho when I talked about their mamon cake.
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I bought the medium sized tikoy for 180 pesos. That tikoy is for my family and siblings. The small sized tikoy, which costs 60 pesos, is for my beloved. I bought the small sized tikoy not from Eng Ho but from Filipino-Chinese vendors who set up shop along Ongpin Street.
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The large tikoy is white because its ingredient is white sugar while the smaller tikoy's ingredient is the brown sugar.

My mother sliced the tikoy into strips and mixed it with beaten egg. She then fried it. The final product is this:
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Yummy!

Belated happy New Year to my Chinese-blooded friends. Hope you liked my tikoy.

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