Monday, January 23, 2012

Siopao, Mami, and the Giant Siomai


KUNG HEI FAT CHOI! GONG XI FA CAI! XIN NIAN KUAI LE!
 
No matter how you want to say it, we at The Glutton Guide would like to greet you HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! :) And because we like following themes, why not a review of a Chinese restaurant, yes? I'm sure the water dragon will approve.


Masuki can be considered a hole-in-a-wall restaurant. More popular to the Chinese residents of Greenhills, Masuki has now grown to be known by Filipinos outside Greenhills, mainly through blogs like this. But, even before they established their branch at San Juan, they started at a place where Chinese food would be best - Binondo, Manila. Yes, they are one of the food places you can find along the busy streets of Chinatown. Not everyone knows this, but Masuki is the younger (and hipper) son of Ma Mon Luk. Yes, that really old restaurant in Quezon Avenue. Before it was named Masuki, we believed the food place was called Ma Kong Mami. If you're in the Binondo branch, try looking for the somewhat hidden engraved 'Ma Kong Mami' signage inside.


Masuki is well-known for their mami, siomai and siopao, which coincidentally is what Ma Mon Luk is known for. Like father, like son, eh? And because we wanted to try nothing but the best, we ordered the said three best sellers.


Excited? Well, here goes:


Pork Siomai, 30 php per piece

Glutton Guy: I have tried numerous pork siomais in my gluttonous life, and believe me, I have never tried siomai as big as this. I didn't even bother dipping it in any sauce because it's that good. You could really taste that authentic Chinese dimsum taste in every bite. It's not the type of siomai you would find in steamers, but don't get me wrong, it's really really delicious. Why make them this big, you ask? I actually have no clue as well. Who would even want to know in the first place? As long as they remain this good, it doesn't matter if Masuki makes siomai as big as Godzilla. : )
 
Glutton Girl: This is not your typical-sized siomai. By large, I mean LARGE siomai. I dare you to munch this in a mouthful, because really, I don't think anyone can. You know what they say about big things right? That they don't pack as much flavor as the small ones? Well think again. Masuki's siomai is both big in size and flavor. I personally like dipping it in the special sweet mami sauce.


Pork Asado Siopao (Saipao), 50 php

Glutton Guy: Well, we were in a Chinese restaurant, right? So, it would only be proper to try the siopao as well. Masuki's siopao was fluffy and really filled inside. It didn't need the help of the siopao sauce because it was super flavorful. Is it true that siopao fillings are made from cats? Nah. I don't think so. If it was, it wouldn't be this good. You could really taste the pork in Masuki's siopao. Plus, it was bigger than the usual siopao I couldn't even finish it all by myself. I would love to try the bola-bola siopao on my next visit. : )


Glutton Girl: This siopao tastes like the ones my mom usually takes out from Ma Mon Luk before. It's tasty and the bun is fluffy, not the mabubulunan-ka type. I prefer the siomai over the siopao though as partner for my mami.


Beef Wonton Mami, 150 php (Regular); 160 php (Special)

Glutton Guy: This is not your normal beef wonton mami. It's actually good for two persons. But if you're that hungry, then I guess you could finish it all by yourself. This is authentic Chinese mami at its finest. From the noodles, to the soup, to the wonton, everything is perfect. I have tried beef wonton mami's in other food places, but they're not as authentic and not as good as Masuki's. I wasn't familiar with the special sauce of the mami though. They served it in a small bowl, and it looked like siopao sauce. So I thought it was really for siopao. Glutton Girl laughed at me saying that it was not for siopao but for mami. How should I know? But, I did have a feeling that it was for the mami. I was kind of wondering why they were giving us so much if it was only for the siopao hahahaha Nevertheless, with or without the sauce, the mami is still super duper good. It's hot when served, perfect for a snack or for times when you want delicious comfort food. Now I have a benchmark when it comes to excellent beef wonton mami. : )


Glutton Girl: It's not my first time visiting Masuki, but it's my first time to order the beef mami. I usually order the chicken one (personal preference), but because I was with Glutton Guy, he urged me to try something new. Why not, right? The beef wonton mami was good! It wasn't as oily as I expected it to be (that's my main apprehension when it comes to beef mami). It went well with the special sauce. By the way, the trick in eating mami in Masuki is NOT to mix the special brown sauce into the mami bowl. This makes the sauce diluted in the mami soup. What you do is you get sauce using the soup spoon, get noodles from the bowl using your chopsticks, and dip the said noodles in the soup spoon with sauce. Then eat! That's the way to eat Masuki noodles. :)


Needless to say, we had a great, filling meal. What's greater about Masuki is it's very affordable. Student-friendly, we must say. No wonder the ICAns and Xavierians flock the Greenhills branch. If you're looking for an authentic Chinese snack, then Masuki's your best bet. We're sure your meal will be "hao chi" (delicious). :)


Here's how we rated Masuki:

Food:
            
Price:
            
Place:
Service:


(Masuki has3 branches: 1. 931 Benavidez Street, Binondo, Manila. It's just near Wai Ying and Wan Chai; (2) 2nd Floor, Sekai Center, Ortigas corner Madison Streets, San Juan City. It's just past Greenhills Shopping Center if you're coming from EDSA. Just keep looking to your right; and (3) Ground Floor, SM Megamall Building B, EDSA corner Julia Vargas Avenue, Mandaluyong City.)

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