Saturday, September 13, 2008

SHANGHAI HAND-PULLED NOODLES ON RETIRO


It is simply the best I had ever tasted in the entire Metro Manila area. I have been there several times and the chicken has become my favorite, though the beef, dumpling and fish are just as tasty. The broth alone is incredibly scrumptious.

This small, unpretentious eatery is located on Retiro (now N.S. Amoranto Street) near corner Banawe in Quezon City. Telephone number: 732-7061.

Go and try it for yourself!



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Related links:

The Eateries Along Banawe



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21 comments:

  1. You should stop these food reviews Eric, my list of eateries to visit and eat is getting longer!

    Any good hostel around the area so I can live there for a week? Hehehee.

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  2. Dear Eric

    Thank you again for this info about good food. I love exploring hole in the wall and cheap, clean and great tasting food anywhere in the world.

    I love that post you made on a dumpling place in Ongpin--- a whole plate for a 100 only. Saan na nga po ba yun?

    By the way, please tell Bernadette that I will soon reply to her email. just a bit swamped lately.

    God bless,
    Daisy

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  3. okay eric... you just made me feel sentimental again with this post since your'e on the topic of noodles

    a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine flew to singapore and won't be back for a long time. we did a little celebration by going to places both of us visited with our parents when we were kids. one of these places was MA MON LUK.

    i haven't been to that side of quiapo for a loooong time and when i stepped into ma mon luk, i felt i stepped into a time machine and was transported back to an age of innocence. it was a very sentimental journey. we talked of things past. reminisced on old friends, old habits and anything and everything from our own recollections.

    lol, it was a pretty heady experience and we both dug through our big bowls of special mami and huge siopaos!

    it was a good experience. nay, it was a sentimental experience. :-)

    having seen those noodles in your pictures, i shed a tear of recalling what was. :-)

    thank you.

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  4. I'm truly amazed at the number of good and affordable eateries in Manila, Mario. And I haven't even included the many other gourmet restaurants, but we have a bunch of fellow bloggers who specialize in higher end cuisine. I like the everyday simple good food :)

    Hostels? Hmmm ... apartelle, maybe ... hehehe!

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  5. My pleasure, Daisy!

    Here are entries I've posted in the past about my usual haunts:

    1) Dumplings and Pork Chops
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2006/11/dumplings-and-pork-chops.html

    2) On Siomai, Dumplings and Siopao
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2008/02/on-dumplings-siomai-and-siopao.html

    3) Wai Ying Fast Food & Mang Inasal
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2008/08/waiying-fastfood-mang-inasal.html

    4) Going Veggie at Quan Yin Chay
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2008/02/going-veggie-at-quan-yin-chay.html

    5) Food Bingeing at Chinatown, Binondo
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2006/08/food-bingeing-at-chinatown-binondo.html

    6) Pinsec House
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2008/03/pinsec-house.html

    7) A Restaurant That Lives Up To Its Name
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2008/02/restaurant-that-lives-by-its-name.html

    8) Carvajal Street, Binondo
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2007/06/carvajal-street-binondo.html

    9) Chicken at Savory's
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2006/11/chicken-at-savorys.html

    10) Quiapo's Famous Lumpia
    http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2006/11/quiapos-famous-lumpia.html


    Bob appetit!

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  6. They have another branch on Quezon Boulevard near Banawe, Daniel, with the same retro ambience as in the Quiapo branch. I've taken some balikbayan friends over there. This branch gets extremely crowded from early afternoon til evening.

    I remember one hot and humid afternoon when a friend and I had mami and siopao at the same Quiapo branch you went to. Boy, was I dripping with sweat after only a couple of spoons of that piping hot mami soup!

    The restaurant's ceiling fans weren't enough to cool the patrons. Perhaps 40 or 50 years ago they were effective, but with today's global warming .... hehehe!

    They really ought to consider air-conditioning.

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  7. I can eat this noodle dish anytime ! Lucky we have hundreds of Chinese eateries here to satisfy my craving hehe :)

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  8. I had gotten addicted to these hand-pulled noodle soups, BW ... lol!

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  9. I happen to live near the area and having a wife who's very much into noodles, I'll most probably be paying that place a visit soon. :) By the way, I just stumbled upon your blog in my search for historic information on Divisoria...

    Wonderful blog you've got here :)

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  10. Hi BCS!

    It's good and definitely worth trying :)

    Many thanks!

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  11. Oo nga! I forgot that you are a foodie just like me! I'm quite curious about this shanghai hand pulled noodles. Have you asked if the noodles are actually hand made here? You know, the endless shaking and rolling action from clump of dough thing?

    I've always wanted to watch an authentic old style noodle maker. That's why I asked!

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  12. Hi Dorie,

    You may watch the kitched staff through the glass window how they make the noodles!

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  13. Hi Eric, I pushed through with what I said I was planning to do in my earlier comment. I went there last night with my wife and son.

    The Shanghai chicken noodles is super! However, my wife (who ordered beef) did not enjoy it as much as I did... she said she likes Ling Nam's better (to be more specific, that of their branch in Chinatown, near Arranque. Somehow, the food in other Ling Nam branches don't taste nearly as good as those served there.)

    My 3-year-old son, however, loved it. My wife was feeding him her beef noodles. By the way, I'm using the word "love" in the context of my son readily opening his mouth when being fed. Hehe...

    Thanks for the tip... I have a feeling that we'll be going back there, someday. :)

    By the way, in case Dorie will come back and read this:

    @Dorie - they have a Chinese guy who does all the noodle pulling. I asked one of the waiters if he was the owner of the place. The waiter told me he's not and that he's an "import". Interesting. :)

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  14. Wow! Many thanks, BCS, for the review! And I'm glad your son enjoyed the beef noodles ... hehehe! He has good taste!

    By the way, would you have any post on Ling Nam's? Would that be on Soler Street?

    Thanks again, BCS! Really appreciate it :)

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  15. Unfortunately I don't have any post on it yet... but it's along Teodora Alonzo Street. A rough estimate would be halfway between C.M. Recto Avenue and Ongpin Street.

    Just to give you a better idea... if you're coming from Recto (facing Arranque Market), T. Alonzo street would be the street to the left of the market. Walk down that street and head towards Ongpin. Ling Nam is on the left side of T. Alonzo.

    You might also want to try Lido out, it's located very close to Ling Nam except that it's on the opposite side of the street.

    I hope I didn't confuse you with that. :P

    Oh by the way, don't forget to tell me what you think when you get to try it out. :) But then again, I have a feeling that I'll be seeing a post from you about it. :P

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  16. OH NO! I've just re-read my comment and there's an error there... :(

    T. Alonzo is to the RIGHT of the market if you're coming from C.M. Recto (facing the market) and not left as I wrote earlier.

    I'm sooo sorry for any trouble this may have caused you, Eric... so sorry. :(

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  17. I know where Lido is, though habven't been there, yet. I will use that as the landmark to find Ling Nam.

    Many thanks, BCS. I shall share with you my findings :)

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  18. No harm done, BCS. What I will do is start from Ongpin and T. Alonzo :)

    MIght do it today if not raining.

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  19. Thank goodness!

    Somehow, I'm feeling quite excited about this. hehehe...

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  20. I found it, BCS, but was running late for an appointment so, will have to check it out another time. Not too hard to find, Thanks!

    Will post my critique on it once I've tried its noodles :)

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  21. That would be great... I'll be keeping an eye on that :)

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