Binondo Eats: Ang Tunay na Beef House

Another Chinatown post courtesy of my beloved Chinese boyfriend. 

A few weeks back, Gus and I found ourselves in Chinatown, again. This time, I was running an errand for my dad, who wanted to find out the price range of gold rings here in the Philippines (he's in the US).  He requested that we look for it in Chinatown. After going around Binondo, looking for daddy's gold rings, we decided to have lunch before heading home. Since Binondo is like a big pot of delicious, varying delicacies and dishes, we had to spend a few minutes walking around, deciding what and where to eat. We finally decided to eat where Gus' angkong usually eats every Sunday -- Ang Tunay na Beef House.

Ang Tunay na Beef House is like a cleaner, more posh carinderia-style restaurant. It is air-conditioned with very simple tables and chairs. The different dishes they offer are posted on a menu board on the wall behind the food counter. Unfortunately, the prices are not posted.

Most of their dishes can be seen behind this long, stainless steel food counter. Dishes are placed either on plates or in rectangular chafing dishes. Other dishes are made-to-order and are not on display. A serving staff usually comes up to you to take your order once you reach the stainless steel counter. Just tell her which dish you want (and if you're not sure what the dishes are, just point and ask her what it is -- the serving staff are Filipinos.)

Long Hai Restaurant

Dragon Sea Snacks. At least that's what I think the Chinese characters on their menu say. A few weeks back, Gus and I went on a Chinatown adventure. We were supposed to go bargain hunting in Divisoria when I realized the prices were a bit higher, or just equivalent, to that of the products one can find in Greenhills. So instead of shopping, we decided to just enjoy food-tripping in the nearby Chinatown, Binondo.

We literally scoured through the whole of Binondo, trying to look for a new place to eat. A place we wouldn't find elsewhere in the metro, or at least, within the limits of where we both lived. We saw familiar restaurants like Hap Chan, Mang Inasal, Starbucks, MXT, Ling Nam, and some more. I told Gus I wanted to try something new. Something new, but traditional. A place we haven' been to, which serves authentic Chinese dishes. We were getting pretty hopeless since we've been walking (yes, WALKING) for nearly two hours, and nothing seems to fit our lunch qualifications. We did pass by a Chinese fast food, but we were hoping to find something more "uncommercialized." I really wanted to experience China in Manila. 

After nearly two hours of walking around, we were almost decided to head back to that Chinese fast food we first went to, when we came across this little "hole-in-the-wall" type of restaurant. It didn't even look like a restaurant because there were no big, colorful signage anywhere, no attendants outside the door, no smell of food coming out of the place. One would think of it as a shop, since the place was made of glass, and you could see tables inside when you come close enough to it. The only reason we noticed it was because of this one poster on the left side of the store that had pictures of dishes and prices. That's what made us come closer, and notice this small flyer posted on the other side, which had a complete list of all the food items they were offering. A Chinese lady came out when she saw us checking out the menu, and started talking to us in Chinese! She and Gus talked for a while, and then Gus asked if we were good in this restaurant. After looking at their menu again, we decided to give it a try.

Before entering the restaurant, I already told Gus what I wanted, to avoid having the owner talk to me again. Not another nosebleed, please! Hahaha. I decided to get a bowl of Sate Beef Noodles, choosing this over the more common Garlic Chicken Noodles, and kikiam. Gus ordered their Beef Rice dish, and since I felt like eating rice too, I ordered a cup of kiampong.

Gu Ba Mi (Sate Beef Noodles)

P90