Grabbed the opportunity to do a photowalk of Chinatown even though I was running an hour late for our tweetup. I love Chinatown in the morning – it’s so busy and bustling with life. Also, I’m so excited for this tweetup – it’s been months since I’ve seen these people! Yay for tweetup and Chinese food = perfect combo!
Thank you Cafe Mezzanine for sponsoring our first tweetup for 2012
Kiampong. I love the nutty, machang-y flavor of the rice.
Asado. Best asado I’d had. Love that it ain’t too sweet.
Chinese Kikiam. Not a fan, but it’s fine.
Gokong. I love meaty soups. This one’s super pasok sa banga!
Cafe Mezzanine is inherited and now owned by Gerry Chua a.k.a. Mr. Ube (also, owner of hopiang ube fame Eng Bee Tin.) They serve Xiamen, or Chinese street style, which according to Mr. Ube himself is the major Chinese cuisine predominant in the Philippines. What makes this place special is that 100% of their profit goes to the Binondo-Paco Fire Department and to TXTFIRE.
Yellow row: Reg, Ramon, Raffy.
Firemen’s cup, eh?
Mr. Ube is so funny and animated. He told us stories of his business, his life, and his volunteerism. Such an inspiring man, if you ask our group.
Mr. Ube wanted to show us the TXTFIRE office and facilties, so he invited us over at their HQ. It was a bit surprising to find technology like this in the middle of Chinatown.
As if the day did not lead us to tire ourselves already, we found ourselves still walking around Chinatown. This time, in search of butter chicken.
Don’t let the signage fool you. They serve really yummy Chinese food!
Butter Chicken. Satisfy thy craving for chicken and fat. Perfect while hot.
Oyster cake. I can taste the sea in my mouth! Plenty of oyster bits in a glutinous omelette.
Scallops and broccoli. Our ONLY veggie meal, but equally delicious. I just wish there are bigger scallops in this dish.
Machang. Note to self: Do not eat this by yourself. Incredibly heavy rice cake with chunks (read: big) of meat inside.
Chinese Kikiam. Again, not a fan. But this one’s better than Mezzanine’s
We still weren’t done after eating like there’s no tomorrow. Coffee and Asado ensued at Cafe Sa Lido. Don’t ask why, it’s yummy and it’s reason enough to do it. No pictures though. Either I was too tired, too full, or too happy to snap one.
P.S. This is our longest tweetup ever. Lasted for almost eight hours! Are we gunning for 12 the next time, tweeps?
P.S.S. Wanna join us in our next adventure, follow us in Tumblr or like us in Facebook to know more about us.
Le connaisseur amoureux 