Even if I grew up in the Philippines, I confess that I’ve never gone to Ma Mon Luk Restaurant. It took decades before I found out that they started mami and siopao in the Philippines! Sure, I’ve eaten that combination many times, but in other restaurants. When I visited the country last year, I was on a mami mission that, finally, led me to Ma Mon Luk. You can find the history of the man behind the restaurant here.
My dad initially refused to go. He said the place is old, nothing fancy. What’s worse, parking is usually difficult. But I insisted, “it’s historical!” He relented. As luck would have it, my dad didn’t even look for a parking space. We found one easily close to the entrance. “See? It’s meant to be!” I announced proudly.
I admit, my dad’s right. The place IS old. The tables were worn-out. Even the utensils, plates, bowls and glasses look so dated, it felt retro already. Look at this nice ol’ phone though.
We waited to be seated for a good 10 minutes. Most of the tables weren’t even bussed yet. Dirty dishes were on the table, waiting to be cleared. I had no idea who and where the bussers were, but my parents wanted to sit down. We just went to a table and signaled to an employee to clear it up. Finally, a server came to get our orders.
Just look at the very simple menu.
We ordered Lumpia Shanghai, Pancit Canton and small bowls of the Original Mami. The price? Crazy cheap. The bowl of mami I had for P95 is equivalent to $2+. Siopao Asado for P45, $1+. Almost $3 each for the pancit canton (P130) and lumpia shanghai (P130).
Of course, I ordered the eternal pairing of mami and siopao. The Original Mami had both chicken and beef. This is noodle soup rendered in the simplest manner, free from affectation. You can recognize what you’re eating and boy, it tasted good! Since I’ve never had their mami before, I can’t say if it still tastes the same or not. It’s not the best mami I’ve ever tasted, but if that’s how the original mami is supposed to taste like, then I respect that.
If you’ve never been to Ma Mon Luk Restaurant, they offer a very basic and affordable no-frills menu. The place seems virtually unchanged through the years. I admire their respect for history. While I looked around the place, the photographer in me rendered the place in black and white. Imagining how it looked like decades ago was a piece of cake. It’s a product of a bygone era that will, hopefully, continue to thrive well into the future.
Address:
Ma Mon Luk Restaurant
Banawe Street, Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines
And how did you find the food? The last time I went there was 7 years ago. Went with food bloggers and did a food tour in Binondo. The best part for me was Dong Bei’s steamed kinchay dumplings. It was a lot of fun!