The best things we tasted for Chinese New Year 2024

It’s Chinese New Year and many revelers think this is the best time for a food trip in Binondo!

We respectfully disagree. Binondo is already dense during regular days and the situation will be a lot worse with the influx of foodies descending into this section of Manila this week.

So for those who want to usher in the Year of the Wood Dragon with good Chinese food (and a little less hassle), here’s a list of options to consider.

SPECIALTY 8 FLAVOURS XIAO LONG BAO from Paradise Dynasty (P488)

Paradise Dynasty’s xiao long bao are among the best baskets of soup dumplings around. The base XLB is what this dumpling should be – paper-thin skin that’s strong enough to hold the soup in but is light enough to let diners savor the filling. For an added treat, the 8-colored xiao long bao basket with the Signature Original (white), Szechuan (red), Garlic (grey), Cheese (yellow), Korean Kimchi (green), Crab Roe (orange), Foie Gras (cream), and Black Truffle (black). You can order one whole basket of eight of one flavor if you find a favorite.

Paradise Dynasty can be found at The Podium, SM Aura, and S’Maison at the Mall of Asia Complex.

BEEF WANTON MAMI from Charlie’s Wanton Special (P330)

There are many versions of beef wanton mami in Metro Manila and few have the staying power of Charlie’s Wanton Special. I was introduced to this back in the late '90s by a good foodie friend turned godfather. Back then, this was only P120 and has increased to threefold the price. But in the decades that I’ve been here, it is still a huge heaping serving of noodles, with beef and pork wonton (or siomai) best dipped in soy, calamansi, and chili oil.

The serving is so big that they serve this in two bowls, one just packed with noodles, pork siomai and beef, and the other with soup. Some of the employees have even grown old with the eatery as I’ve seen the same faces through the years of coming back here again and again.

Charlie’s Wanton Special can be found at 265 Haig St. Mandaluyong.

FRESH AMOY LUMPIA from Muy Hong (P170)

This is not Filipino lumpiang ubod. Rather it’s a mix of finely chopped vegetables, some meat, some sugar, some garlic, some cilantro, some lettuce leaves, bound together by rice paper.

There are many contenders to the Amoy Lumpia throne like Little Store, China Mommy, King Jade, and those undiscovered eateries along Ongpin , each with their own recipe, each with their own salty-sweet sauce, and even their own even way of wrapping the lumpia, with lumpia fans each having their own favorite.

The most recent lumpia I’ve really liked is the one from Muy Hong over in Banawe where well-to-do Chinese friends (or their drivers) line up for these healthy fresh spring rolls. Even if I thought this version noticeably had less meat but had a lot more of that garlicky zing, it's still a pretty filling serving.

While Muy Hong’s lumpia is available for delivery, it’s still better off eaten fresh from the kitchen and worth the wait for a parking spot and a table.

Muy Hong can be found at 552 Banawe Street, Quezon City. For deliveries, the shop recommends searching for “muy hong menu” using your preferred search engine.

LUMPIA DIY KIT from King Jade Family Deli (P1,299)

Speaking of Amoy lumpia, it's one thing to eat it fresh at the restaurant. It's another thing to have it delivered as the ingredients can spoil when put together or will turn soggy if left out of the ref too long,

King Jade's solution is to have this as a lumpia DIY kit deconstructed with everything you'd need to assemble your lumpia at home with the filling, garlic, wansoy, lettuce, and sauces. Granted that it takes some effort to put and wrap it together but everybody can adjust the garlicky-ness and the spice to their own taste.

Each kit serves 10 and can be ordered through the channels listed in www.lumpia.ph.

EIGHT TREASURE CHICKEN/PATPOKWE from Wok With Mom (P2,480)

Every patpokwe that comes out of Gemma Lim’s kitchen is a labor of love. Each chicken is deboned and deskinned then each of the heritage ingredients like lotus seeds, mushrooms, grains, and hebi are soaked, deseeded and prepared. Only then are these stuffed into the chicken which is then sewn back together then fried.

Wok With Mom is purely a delivery service and the whole tray is a hefty and heavy one. It’s a ceremony in itself of taking this out and slowly portioning servings out to your guests, friends or family.

For more information and orders, check out @wok_with_mom on Instagram.

DRY TINGLY CUMIN NOODLES from Pilya’s Kitchen at The Grid (P470)

Northern Chinese cuisine is slowly gaining ground in the metro with its liberal use of mouth numbing Sichuan peppercorn and wood spices that would be more associated with middle eastern cuisine. Pilya’s Kitchen's Biang Biang noodles not only bring in these adventurous flavors to the forefront but pairs them with their chewy hand-pulled, and I guess, hand-cut noodles. I like this with lamb as the gamey flavor really goes well with their spice mix, though it is available with beef, and as a vegetarian option, Mushroom and Tofu. While I prefer this dry, you can also have this with soup.

Pilya’s Kitchen can be found at the Grid Food Market inside the Powerplant Mall, Rockwell, Makati City.

CURRY FISH BALLS from Honolulu Cafe

Honolulu Cafe gets so much raves for the bolo buns and the roasts. But there are underrated items like the noodles and the baked rice that deserve more of the spotlight. 

One of these often-ignored items on the menu are the Curry Fish Balls. For people who don't like spicy food, the curry is just right as the spice isn't in your face. Ten fishballs in one serving makes for a heavy snack or a filling meal when paired with rice.

Honolulu Cafe can be found at Robinson's Place Manila, SM Aura Premier, and Greenbelt 5.

EIGHT TREASURES ICE CREAM from Sebastian's Ice Cream (P150 per scoop)

Sorbetero Ian Carandang churns up his version of Chinese dessert bao bao fan for a limited edition Chinese New Year flavor. For this, he garnished Rice Pudding Ice Cream with red bean paste, jujubes, goji berries, gingko nuts, toasted walnuts, squash seeds, dried apricots and dried pineapple. The ice cream made with glutinous rice isn’t that sweet, so honey is drizzled to bind everything together. The bits of tartness from the jujubes and goji berries bound together by the honey and nuts are a pleasant surprise.

Sebastian’s Ice Cream can be found at The Podium Mall, Mandaluyong.

CHILLED COCONUT CRÈME, MANGO YOLK, AND LATIK from Crystal Dragon at NUWA, City of Dreams (P370)

Any meal at Crystal Dragon, Nuwa’s fine dining Chinese restaurant, should end with the Chilled Coconut Crème, Mango Yolk, and Latik dessert. Served in a double walled bowl and topped with a bit of gold leaf, this dessert tastes as good as it looks. The coconut cream is rich and custard-like and is a sweet ending when mixed in with the mango yolk, mango slivers and latik.

LEMON CHICKEN ICE CREAM from Gelato by Chef Miko (P275 to P350)

Chef Miko Aspiras has always been known to have an experimental wacky side when it comes to desserts. For Chinese New Year, he has a limited run Lemon Chicken Ice Cream which is a semi-sweet lemon sherbet topped with a piece of crispy chicken skin and a fortune cookie. It's unusual but does succeed as a cool version of that Chinese lauriat favorite.

Gelato by Chef Miko can be found at SM Aura.