In one of my foodtrips, I have been to Ma Mon Luk, in Quiapo. traversing the hot and humid manila streets , I saw the old and quaint noodle house that is more popularly known with older folks.
Boy the smell from ma mon luk was awesome. dead awesome. I smirked at the possibility that a dead rat is within my stepping radius. I managed to look around, scouting for a seat. while the place was still reeking from the odd smell of an unknown source, my eyes were thoroughly peeled from the clips of newspaper glued into neat frames that dolled the wall– and I thought, this is not your ordinary chinese noodle house. wooden panels, marble wooden table tops and hard wood chairs. And I was back to a place I never imagined I would have been into.
Special Mami. Served in a bowl that was no bigger than the servings of rai rai ken, was the source of this special smell. Special in way, that I couldn’t forget. It was a soup that I saw from the first time. beef and chicken soups usually had clear ones, except for the heavy thickened northpark noodles. it’s consistency reminded me of a cream-based concotion, but there was really no cream on it. a calamansi was on the side, and the waiter consistently reminded us to pour in this sauce into the noodle soup mixture. No,I dont want any siopao sauce in my noodles. thanks.
bite-sized chunks of beef and chicken peppered my bowl, and beyond the stink, I helped my self of the unique-tasting broth. It was an exhilarating experience. I never knew that beef and chicken broth can be combined really perfectly. I slurped and chewed all my way down until I reached the bottom of the bowl and realized that there was nothing left.
I stretched my back and relaxed as I savor the remaining flavors. reading the few clips near my seat, I was amazed at how this place can be so great and simple at the same time. I also looked around, realizing that we were the only young customers. (except for the kids, who were tagged along by their parents/guardians) there were a steady supply of old folks, eating, while its as if time slows down to their rate. I liked this feeling. your own time.
Among the few amazing things I knew about mamonluk is that, the word ‘mami’ originated here. ‘ma’ for the owner’s name, and ‘mi’ the Chinese word for noodles. which also leads to the argument that the word ‘mami’ is an amalgam for manok and egg noodles (miki).
from here
well, I’m defintely going back to ma mon luk,