Category: Featured

Wai Ying Fast Food in Binondo, Manila

I am a big fan of Chinese food and I love dimsum A LOT. But, my desire to roam the streets of Binondo in Manila to taste the most authentic Chinese cooking/cuisines was heightened the night my mother brought home the best dimsum soup and siomai I’ve ever tasted.

I’ve asked a couple of my friends who are familiar with the Chinese restaurants in Binondo because my mom forgot the name of the restaurant. When my mom and I were at Divisoria last November, we decided to head over to Binondo and she’ll just try to remember where it was located.

After almost an hour of looking for the restaurant, the pedicab driver finally led us to Wai Ying Fast Food. As soon as my mother saw the front of this Chinese food joint, she immediately exclaimed we’re at the right place. Finally, I thought. I was already hungry. 😀

Wai Ying Restaurant in Chinatown in Binondo, Manila - CertifiedFoodies.com

Wai Ying Fast Food is a two-storey restaurant at Buenavidez Street in Binondo, right across Manila Chinatown Hotel. Wai Ying has been around for over a decade and they are very popular in Chinatown. Front of Wai Ying Restaurant in Binondo - CertifiedFoodies.com

At the very entrance, you’d see ducks and chickens being roasted by the window. They have a mini kitchen at the entrance so you can actually see them preparing food.

If you want a relaxing dining experience, you might not completely enjoy at Wai Ying’s. They’re just a small Chinese fast food restaurant. So, if you’re planning on bringing friends along with you, prepare to wait for tables or head on upstairs for more tables.

Anyway, as soon as we were handed the menu, it was funny to see my mother ordering away. 😛 So, we ended up with around seven (7) different dimsum dishes and other plates of Chinese food. 😀

First, we ordered 2 cold Lemon Tea (Php 50). It was really refreshing, especially after what we went through looking for Wai Ying all over Binondo (sorry, I can’t get over it :D). The lemon slices and the genuine taste of tea made it one of my fave iced lemon teas.

Wai Ying's Lemon Tea - Php 50 - CertifiedFoodies.com

Oh, by the way, while I was taking photos of the menu, the guy who was waiting on our table approached me and gave me a copy of their menu. Nice, eh? They’ve got very accommodating staff, even during that very busy lunch hour.

Front of Wai Ying's menu - CertifiedFoodies.com

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Cebu Style Pork Steamed Rice Recipe

This recipe is from our previous contributor, Mai who is a Cebuana and now a chef. Oh, and yes, we’ve been to Dimsum Break at SM North Edsa many times already. Check out our review.

Everytime I go home to Cebu (fyi, I’m a pure Cebuana), I always see to it that I get to eat at Harbour  City Dimsum. One of their most popular, and my favorite, dish is their Pork Steamed Rice. For me, they serve the best steamed rice in Cebu! They also serve the best dimsum I’ve had in my life. Seriously!

Dimsum Break's Original Steamed Fried Rice

We’ve actually tried finding a place here in Manila where they serve Steamed Rice cooked just like in Cebu. But, so far, we haven’t found any Chinese restaurant that serves it (if you know of one, let me know at the comments section!). (UPDATE: Dimsum Break finally opened in Metro Manila in 2012! Woot!)

So, just like with any other dish I crave for, I decided to make it at home and serve it the same way Harbour City Dimsum does. And, I’m sharing my homestyle recipe with you.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
(Apologies if there are no measurements. We’ll try to improve on that next time! But, we usually just taste, adjust or add more, ’til we get the desired taste — We added the measurements.)

Servings: 3-4 bowls

  • 1/4 to 1/2 kg Pork Tenderloin – depends on how much pork you want in there
  • 5-8 pieces Shrimp
  • 1/4 cup Green Peas (not the canned ones please!)
  • 1 small Onion,  chopped
  • 2-3 pieces Garlic, crushed/pressed
  • 2-4 tablespoons Soy Sauce – adjust based on your preference. We used Kikkoman.
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 tbsps. Cornstarch
  • 1 cup Pork Broth
  • Rice

Note: Please read the comments as one of the posters mentioned that adding rice wine and clam juice, plus a different soy sauce, made a difference.

Note 2: There’s another recipe shared by one of the comment posters (Ann), and you can see it at the bottom of this post.

 

PROCEDURE:

1. Pour oil in a hot pan and sauté onions and garlic for about 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add pork and mix until the pork’s fat starts to ooze out. Then, add shrimp and stir for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then, add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce.

3. Adjust heat to medium and stir. Add a cup of pork broth (you can use pork cubes dissolved in a cup of warm water) and let the mixture boil for 5 minutes. Then, add 2 teaspooons of Worcestershire sauce.

4. Dissolve cornstarch in a half cup of cold water, then, add it to the pan, just enough to thicken the sauce. Stir continuously, then, add the fresh green peas.

Note: Please do not use the ones in can.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice Recipe - CertifiedFoodies.com

 

5. Let it boil for about 3 to 5 more minutes and, then, serve it on top of rice.

I served ours in our soufflé bowls so they’ll look a bit closer to how Harbour City Dimsum serves their Steamed Rice.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice - CertifiedFoodies.com

 

Cebu Style Steamed Rice in Manila - CertifiedFoodies.com

I wasn’t really able to get the exact taste from Harbour City Dimsum, but, the result of this recipe really tastes good. Michelle and I both enjoyed it. It sure did help satisfy my craving and how much I miss Cebu Style Steamed Rice.

Update: We’re sooooo happy to know that Dimsum Break finally opened here in Manila!! Check out our review (branch: SM North Edsa).

This recipe is from our previous contributor, Mai who is a Cebuana and now a chef.

 

Steamed Rice Version II

UPDATE 2: We received a ton of suggestions on how to make this taste closer to Dimsum Break or Harbour City. Here’s one of the recipes shared by Ann (see comment below this post) that you might want to try. Many have mentioned that the actual recipe calls for sesame oil, which is included in the recipe below.

1. Fry the rice with garlic and oyster sauce, then set that aside.

2. In another pan, sauté garlic until brown.

3. Add the cubed pork with some fat (tastes better than just lean pork) and sauté.

4. Add chicken stock or if using chicken Knorr cubes, add water.

5. Let it boil until pork is tender, then add chopped shrimps (you can use the cooked salad shrimps too), then the frozen peas.

6. Add soy sauce per your taste, a tsp. of rice wine to enhance the taste, and sesame oil.

7. Then add cornstarch, diluted in cold water, gradually, to your topping mixture, while stirring until it reaches a thicker consistency.

8. Sprinkle chopped green onions. Place the fried rice in individual bowls, and pour your gravy/topping over the rice.