Chinatown Food Trip (1 of 2)

November 14, 2010 (Sunday) ..... I had to drive my parents to a wedding  reception in one of the 5-Star Hotel near the Roxas Boulevard Area.  Since I have a few hours to spare before I pick them up again, I thought  about going for a food trip on my own. And I guess for sheer love of  noodle soup, my destination was to be chinatown.

Parked my vehicle in one of the Parking Lot near Soler St. and decided  to go on foot ....... my first destination??? Someplace where I haven't  eaten in many many many years.

MASUKI
Benavidez Street, Manila

If I'm not mistaken, this noodle house used to be called Ma Mon Luk,  then eventually changed to Ma Kong and is now called Masuki (did I miss  any other names?) Either way, the look and feel of the eatery remains  practically the same (give or take a couple of paintjobs) ...... why  even up to now, they didn't even bother to put up airconditioners when  most of the other establishments have.

I'm still quite amused and feeling nostalgic at these thick glasses they  used to put the tea.

Though the menu has somewhat changed what with more varieties in their  noodle dishes, I still opted for their Original Flavor.

 

The variety is basically the difference in the toppings, and with the  original flavor, they have some sliced chicken and pork on top of the  noodle soup. (one can opt for purely pork or purely chicken) The noodles  themselves are kinda thinner versions of linguini.

Accompanying my order for the noodle dish are some chopped spring onions  and the sweet sauce which everybody mixes with the noodles. (heck i  think it can even double as the sauce for he siopao)

The flavor of the noodle soup (in my opinion) has not changed all these  years, it still has that distinct aroma that very few other noodle  houses carry. What I still like about their noodles is that its not very  oily although I'm still wondering why they still cannot enhance the  flavor. Its still typically bland and would need the sweet sauce to give  the dish that kick. But I guess that has always been the charm which  still attracts many diners up to this day.

I didn't order anything else because I'm saving space for another go at a  different noodle house.........


------------------------------------------------

NORTH POINT LONG KEE BEEF NOODLE RESTAURANT

This noodle house is somewhat near the Estero ........From the the  center of Chinatown which is at the intersection of Ongpin St. and  Gandara St. (A Philtrust Bank & Mang Inasal branch serves as  landmark) Go into the direction of Espeleta. Just pass this restaurant  to your right (I think the name is Royal Garden) you will see a dark  alleyway, turn right and immediately you will see the eatery. (if you go  further down the alley, you will end up in the estero eateries)

I just asked the waitress what their specialty is and she suggested the  BEEF CAMTO

This noodle soup definitly has a more beefy flavor though it does come  with a very subtle oily aftertaste. I like it in that they sliced the  beef (which by da way are tender enough) into bite sizes which makes it  easier to eat when using chopsticks. They used these very thin type of  noodles which if I'm not mistaken is Cantonese Style Noodles. (which  unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of)

So after two bowls of noodle soup in roughly an hour, I opted for a  little cold drink ....... Just for trying I ordered their HONG KONG  STYLE COLD MILK TEA.

Its basically just cold tea mixed with some condensed milk and served  with ice. I was a little amused that they used those long straws for  softdrinks and not the bending type. The waitress approached me and  asked me how the tea was. My reply to her is that it just tasted like  TEA TAHRIK. She smiled, but I was pretty darn sure she had no idea what I  was talking about. (I would think that I might be the first customer to  order that tea drink hahahaha)

------------------------------------------------

My mind is still craving for one more noodle house to try, but my  stomach just couldn't take it anymore ....... Oh well, I suppose there should be a part 2 sometime in the very near future.