Back when I was 4 or 5 I
remembered my grandfather taking me to BINONDO to a place known to us as ONGPIN
(Chinatown) The distinct smell and old school restaurants that line up the
streets of this old fil-chi district attracts various customers with a taste
for authentic Chinese cooking. Forget about Kowloon house and the Old Shangri-La
restaurants, authentic Chinese cuisine is best enjoyed inside the
establishments of the SENIOR Chinese restaurant owners that brew homemade
jasmine tea and coffee using beakers domes and espresso machines made with
copper pipe fittings.
My grandfather and I use to order
may favorite yang chow rice and bola soup (FISHBALLS in BROTH) after he comes
home from our meat shop. Those were the years when my taste buds were trained to
enjoy the best Chinese offerings that the old ONGPIN can offer.
Through the years the Binondo scene
was changed due to the rise of the various tiangges and establishments. Fast-food
chains were built to replace old establishments that almost placed these so called
(whole in the wall restaurants out of contention). But I disagree. Due to the
fall of quality from the so called Chinese restaurant wannabees such as Chowking
the old Binondo flavors are now back in full swing. And now I am to offer one
if not the best (IMHO) bang for the buck HOLE in the WALL establishment that
hit the Binondo Scene.
WAI-YING
Wai-Ying is a love at first sight
establishment that I accidentally discovered during college when one of my
friends asked us to play at the YMCA Masangkay area. Having only 150 PHP as
lunch money he volunteered bringing us to this humble establishment along Benavidez St. right
in front of Hope Christian School.
As I sat down I was worried that
my 150 peso budget may not even curb my hunger and I may end up wasting precious
lunch money on something that may taste out of this world. My friend started
ordering on BEEF WANTON NOODLES and THAIPAO (Their own version of SIOPAO on
steroids). AT first I was surprised that the serving was incredibly big for the
noodles, 3-4 slices of BEEF BRISKET and 3 PORK DUMPLINGS with a stalk of BOK
CHOI (Chinese Pechay) and healthy serving of old school salted MIKI. And then
came the kicker, I thought that the old bamboo steamer that was on our table
was containing 4 dim sum pieces and as I
open the still steaming lid, the biggest SIOPAO that I’ve ever seen in my
entire life was overwhelming both my eyes and imagination. AS I started peeling
the dim sum paper to start my siopao, I was expecting almost 50% of the THAIPAO
to be all MANTOU DOUGH but I was proven wrong.  |
| THAI PAO vs ORDINARY SIOPAO |
The THAIPAO was filled with a
good serving of beef asado, 1 whole salted egg, and 2 pork ball dumplings. On top
of it the sauce that accompanied the THAIPAO was made entirely of pure molasses and goes very well with the thick but moist MANTOU BREAD of the
THAIPAO.
 |
| BEEF WANTON |
After eating, I was expecting
almost 200 pesos on my bill, but guess what I only paid 135 pesos for the whole
meal. What a budget. This is the love at first bite experience that I had with
WAI-YING.
For years I’ve been a regular in
this establishment. WAI-YiNG Offers the best authentic CHINESE CUISINE for a
very good price (as you cans see in the menu, well prices may have gone up a bit
but still nothing beats the food quality you get for a very good price. I’ve bought
my family and cousins again and again here for
years and was even able to bring 3 different sets of officemates from 3
different companies In a span of 6 years. WAI YING is open from 7am onwards (as
long as there are customers they won’t close).
 |
| ROASTED DUCK RICE |
For starters if you’re a noodle lover I’ll go for their classic
BEEF-WANTON NOODLE (100 PHP) and THAI PAO-(60PHP). For rice lovers their
assorted RICE TOPPINGS) (110 PHP and UP on most items) range from their famous
ROASTED DUCK RICE and PORK ASADO DUCK Combo. Vegetarians Don’t worry their stir
fried beef with vegetables are super; imagine getting restaurant quality stir
fired vegetable at almost a quarter of a price is one of the best values you’ll
ever get. Craving for DIMSUM, for 120 bucks a dozen steamed dumplings freshly
wrapped will definitely excite those DUMPLING heads all day. From the classic
Beef balls, Kutchai (Veggie Dumpling). Sharks Fin, and my all-time Favorite HAKAW
(Tiger Prawn Dumpling) are all available for a very affordable price (85-100
PHP).
 |
| PORK SIOMAI |
 |
| HAKAW |
As a recommendation try their PATA RICE and Beef Wanton in Curry
for an out of this world taste experience. Appetizers available range from their famous
BRAISED-CHICKEN FEET and their BLACK BEAN steamed spareribs. Merienda lovers
will also enjoy their wide range of CONGEES that can have PORK, BEEF or FISH as
meat preference. All CONGEES are made to order and unlike other establishments
are wherein their variations are left to boil in the pot for the entire day,
giving you a very watery consistency instead of the thick rich AUTHENTIC CONGEE
that genuine Chinese Cooking as to offer.
 |
| Assorted GOODIES |
 |
| CHICKEN FEET |
For refreshments, fresh fruit smoothies, Black Gulaman, and my old time favorite NAI-CHA (Milk Tea) is a good way to wash down the Palette.
For those not used to the taste of roasted duck heed my warning. There's a GAMY poultry taste that others may find pungent yet it posses no problem for me consuming this coveted piece of meat. Servings are very good and cooking is always perfect (never had an issue with a bloody duck or chicken or even half cooked dumpling). You can even enjoy a frozen variety of their dumplings if you want to bring home the WAI-YING experience.
TYPICAL BUDGET-150-200 PHP-SINGLE PERSON
| Location | |||||
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| Hours |
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| Parking |
Street
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| Services |
Walk-Ins Welcome
Good For Groups
Good For Kids
Take Out
Delivery
Waiter Service
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|---|---|
| Specialties |
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Drinks
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| Phone |
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Again WAI-YING has been part of my gastronomic lifestyle for the past 8 years, and I’m still hungry for more. For more info please like their page from FACEBOOK. HERE
OVERALL RATING:4/5
ARTICLE BY: GIANCARLO ANGELES
