ON ONG PIN SOUTH BRIDGE (王彬南橋) OBSESSING ABOUT CHICKENS

Fried frog legs, fried chicken, various types of rice-sheet noodle, mami, fried tofu, lumpia... plus lechon. And congee, egg-noodle, and cold beverages.
Also: avocado shakes.

[One avocado, peeled and stone removed, osterized with a hefty scoop of vanilla icecream, half a cup ice, two tablespoons of sugar, and a cup of milk or evaporado. Plus a teaspoon of lemon juice to keep the avocado pulp from browning, and a pinch of salt to accentuate the sweetness.]


Avocados are a health food.

All this and more contained between Recto Avenue, Juan Luna Street, Rizal Avenue, and Escolta. Binondo is not nearly the same as San Francisco Chinatown, not by a long shot, but there are a few similarities.
Instead of a Canton - Hong kong focus, you should think of Foochow with a touch of Shanghai. Mostly Fujianese (Hokkien).
The neighborhood began centuries ago when merchants from the Fujian coast settled north of the Pasig river, and over several generations made their restricted neighborhood the financial heart of the city.
Emporiums, restaurants, benevolent societies.
Banks, schools, and hospitals.
Very modern.

By the beginning of the fifties, a number of non-Hokkien speakers had trickled south from places like Shanghai, and some immigrants from Hong Kong had also settled there, so dim sum eventually became available, albeit a selection more suited to strictly local tastes.

Both Hokkiens and Filipinos are major fatty pork peoples.

Still, Hong Kong eaties can be found in Binondo.

If you absolutely need a taste of home.

And don't like Mickey D's.


You just have to know that it won't have the same names there as it does here. For instance, what we know as 'mein' (麵 'min') is called 'mami', and rice stick noodle (米粉 'mai fan') is 'bihon' ('beehoon'), roast pork rice (叉燒飯 'chaa siu faan') is called 'asado rice', tripe (牛肚 'ngau tou') becomes 'goto', 'congee (粥 'juk') may be called 'lugaw', and so on. Filipino English is also a little different. Or an awful lot.
Instead of reading the menus in "English", do so in Chinese.
There will be much that is familiar.
And all delicious.

For instance:

嶸榮小食館 WAI YING FAST FOOD
810 Benavidez Street,
Binondo, Manila.

Just north of Estero De La Reina (Queen's creek), a short distance west of Ongpin Street. And not far from Ongpin North Bridge (王彬北橋).

A full selection of tasy snack foods. Dim sum items, noodles in soup, dumplings, buns, drinks.

The curried beef brisket rice plate (咖喱牛腩飯 'gaa lei ngau naam faan') is precisely what you remember. It's good, very good.

[In Hokkien pronunciation: 'ka-li gu-lam p'ng'.]


Speaking of such things, another place to try is a few blocks south of there.
Go down Onpin, across the creek (Estero De La Reina'), and turn left at the second corner, which is Yuchengco. Keep on walking, past where Gandara and Sabrino Padilla meet, to the corner of Dasmariñas.


嶸嶸茶餐廳 YING YING TEAHOUSE
233-235 Dasmariñas Street,
Binondo, Manila.

[Former location of the President, which was an institution. Remember the black bean eel? Plus kangkong. And no, I do not have a clue why the 'ying' (嶸) in the previously mentioned restaurant is pronounced 'wai'. English and Chinese names of businesses often don't match. Consider Yummy Dim Sum on Stockton Street, for which the characters read 'kam faa faai chan ("golden elegance fast food"). Anyway, Ying Ying is well-known for their 'white chicken', which to many Cantonese is the measure of cuisine.]

This, precisely, is what happens when a Hong Kong style cha-chanteng ("tea restaurant") meets Filipino food. All the HK favourites, plus lechon kawali, mango shakes, hot and cold condensed milk beverages.
And an entire section of frog on the menu.
Ribbit.

As well as Okiam Chicken: 南乳焗雞.

Okiam describes a typical marinade much used to flavour such things as chicken wings and pork knuckles. Mix red fermented beancurd (南乳 'naam yiü') with a lesser quantity of rice wine (米酒 'mai jau')) and a jigger of sesame oil (麻油 'maa yau'), dash of soy sauce (豉油 'si yau') for colour, and a teaspoon or three of sugar (糖 'tong'). Rub over, or use to marinate for several hours at least, before roasting at a high temperature.


I suspect that o-kiam chicken may be derived from 鹹雞 (salty chicken; Hokkien pronunciation 'kiam ke'), made with red fermented beancurd as a Hakka influence, though traditional Hakka salty chicken (客家鹹雞 H: 'keh-kia kiam ke') uses only salt, water, and ginger, not fermented beancurd. But 'kiam' also means brine (as in 鹹菜  H: 'kiam chai'; pickled gailan or brassica spp.) and by extension, condiment (鹹酸  H: 'kiam s'ng'; salty-sours).

[Note: in some Hokkien dialects, chicken is pronounced 'ki'. Standard Hokkien often has 'ke', and rarely 'kwe'.]


Some famous Hokkien chickens

Ke ang we (雞公煲): cock in a pot. Lo-kiam ke (鹵鹹雞): soy-brine pickled chicken. Mwa-yiu ke (麻油雞): sesame oil chicken. Ngo-hiang ke (五香雞): five spice chicken. Sa-pwe ke (三杯雞): three cups chicken; chicken stewed with one cup each soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil, till dry and sizzling, almost smoking. Sugar and ginger are frequently included in the recipe. Sie ke (燒雞): roast chicken.
Tswui tso ke (醉糟雞): glutinous wine-lees steamed chicken.
Swi ke (水雞): frog; literally "water chicken".



AFTER THOUGHT

Filipino food is very good, and so are the many Hokkien dishes in Manila Chinatown. If you have a taste for Chinese pastries, there are a number of places to satisfy your cravings; lots of little things with red bean paste or linyong. Plus different versions of tikwe.

A friend is heading over to Manila in a week, so I dug up notes. I really wish I had been much more inquisitive, and asked probing questions about cooking methods and ingredients. But people over there tend to be vague or secretive about key details, especially when it comes to something they proudly claim as their family's own, or a part of their business and fundamental to their fortunes.

I should have kept better records.
And I'm hungry right now.
Time for tocino.



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