LAO BEIJING : A TASTE OF CHINA IN MANILA!

Hey you guys!

I'm so excited to share this new post with you! I haven't posted any food adventures lately but if you're following me on Instagram, you might get some snapshots of my latest food obsessions! I think one of the best feelings in life is having that freedom to eat your favorite food with your favorite people. I dunno about you but one of the reasons I'd find myself working out like a beast sometimes is because I would love to have absolutely zero guilt once I start eating. I want to make space for my tummy and I want to get my metabolism going so I can eat some more! Haha! If you're currently on a strict diet, I wouldn't recommend reading this post for now. But if you're up for some food adventure, I'd like to share my absolute go-to Chinese restaurant. It's called Lao Beijing! Their Makati branch is located at Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, ground floor of City Land condominium. They recently opened up a branch at San Juan, but I haven't visited that site yet.

My good friend Christine (What's up dude?!) first dragged me here way back 2012, even before I worked in China. Back then, this place go by a different name. Not quite sure if they have the same owner/management. But ever since that first visit, this has been a huge part of my crazy city life. We'd hangout here and chat for hours as long as we know there are no other customers waiting to be seated. 

They are open 24 hours a day!!! There are times when I'd drop by this restaurant just before midnight to have my cravings satisfied. Whenever I miss authentic Chinese food, know that this is the place where you can find me! They serve dimsum, noodles and some rice meals too! I haven't tried everything on the menu but if there's only one thing that you should try, I highly recommend their best seller - XIAO LONG BAO! Almost everything is best eaten with their special chili oil if you're into spicy food. 

The place is not that fancy but during Friday nights or paydays, it's pretty hard to get a table here. The place is actually quite small, they only have 8 tables and 16 chairs for customers who would like to dine in. There are a few seats reserved for people who are waiting for their Chinese food to go. You can also sit there if you are waiting to be seated at a table. The best time to come here is after lunch, around 2 to 5 PM. There are fewer customers between these hours, so, you can take your time to enjoy almost authentic Chinese food at a very reasonable price! 

I have introduced this place to a few people as well, one of of them is my former roommate and good friend, Joy. Before she left for Australia a few months ago, I was able to convince her to eat here and she was impressed with the serving size and taste of these Chinese food. We love eating our favorite gyoza from Cash n' Carry, but I'm glad I was able to let her try the Chinese version for a change! 

When I was in China, I'd get by with chao fan and boiled egg for breakfast. But even if there's no rice meal for breakfast or lunch at our home office, you'd find either jiaozi (dumpling) or baozi (steamed bun/siopao) in the kitchen. I can really gulp down about a dozen of dumplings or more! Sometimes I'd eat five baozi in one sitting. Yes, I'm a monster!     

If you got some free time and empty tummy, I hope you guys can give this place a try! There are quite a lot of good Chinese restaurants in China town (Binondo), but if you live and work around Makati, I think this is the closest you could be to China! Gotta warn you about the number of Chinese customers as well. Please be patient with the way they talk and eat. If you hear them slurping as they eat their noodles, know that it's their way of giving compliments to whoever made/served their food. Seriously, for them, it's almost considered rude if you eat your food quietly. It's like you are not enjoying your meal and the chef would even be insulted. I know that it's way too different from how we were raised but, that's how they do it in China.