Ma Chicken Mami House - Bago Bantay

I am a frequent customer of this joint especially when on a tight budget. HOWEVER, it cannot be implied that food here ain't great 'cause no foodie would be coming back for a distasteful grub - no matter how cheap it was. I am a big fan of Ma's Binondo Mami and Siomai but the mood I had with my current visit, earlier this day, made me select an order of Wanton Mami and Lumpiang Shanghai over rice in hotpot. Though I have already tasted the other choices on the menu from the Over Rice in Hotpot, it was my first time to order the Lumpiang Shanghai. It was a big piece of Shanghai sliced into three (3) served on top of hot fried rice and sided with sweet and sour sauce. Their fried rice was always a winner. I like the way they cooked it and I love the rice grains they used in it - it was the "buhaghag-kind" of rice. It had bits of meat that made it special. The Shanghai was not something spectacular but the fried rice (which obviously is my favorite) made up for it. The sweet and sour sauce was well-balanced and great with the Shanghai. The Wanton Mami - which has a generous serving of noodles with two (2) pieces wanton, was a good alternative for my Binondo Mami. Though I must say that without a rice meal, I would always opt for the latter. Generally, my experience here was always good. And, I will keep coming back despite the fact that they already have a price increase. Thing is... this won't be my tight budget stop anymore - but would be in fact, a joint-of-choice. :)

Rainy days and Im craving for mami but we ended up ordering rice bowls. We had the special kikiam rice. It was okay and affordable. We also had their siopao which was flavorful. Servings were enough. The place was simple yet neat.

Ok, we ordered the combo meal here. Here's what we got: 2 cute siopao 2 ma's special noodles (smaller version) and water. The ma's special was ok v.s. price. It's more than you get of what you pay for. There's chicken, siomai special beef and veggies. ok tlaga. for the siopao, it's kinda taste familiar taste like north parks' siopao. The place itself was kinda small and a lot of people are eating here when we came. Also, one good thing is that they allow you to bring in food from outside or from nearby restaurants. kinda awkward sometimes that service crew from another restaurant will go inside and deliver your ordered food from them. anyhow, im looking forward to dine here again.  TIP: if you find the broth to plain or kinda dull, you may add siopao sauce to add in extra flavor. Hindi ito yucky! FYI another chinese restaurant does this too. and please don't order their fried bread. It sucks all the oil from the pan. it sucks. Also it's a bad idea to take out their crispy noodles, because when you get home, its not crispy anymore. kinda commonsense. O yeah

Ok, we ordered the combo meal here. Here's what we got: 2 cute siopao 2 ma's special noodles (smaller version) and water. The ma's special was ok v.s. price. It's more than you get of what you pay for. There's chicken, siomai special beef and veggies. ok tlaga. for the siopao, it's kinda taste familiar taste like north parks' siopao. The place itself was kinda small and a lot of people are eating here when we came. Also, one good thing is that they allow you to bring in food from outside or from nearby restaurants. kinda awkward sometimes that service crew from another restaurant will go inside and deliver your ordered food from them. anyhow, im looking forward to dine here again.  TIP: if you find the broth to plain or kinda dull, you may add siopao sauce to add in extra flavor. Hindi ito yucky! FYI another chinese restaurant does this too. and please don't order their fried bread. It sucks all the oil from the pan. it sucks. Also it's a bad idea to take... read more

My favorite place to go to for affordable noodles and rice meals. I always order the lumpiang shanghai with yang chow fried rice (Php 99 only!) and the kikiam (Php118). Last night I opted for the sweet and sour pork. The pork was perfectly fried but I found the sauce too sour I had to balance it with soy and chili. Will definitely go back but stick to my usual orders.