Remember the famous line from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner? "Water, water everywhere, but not a…read moredrop to drink." Sometimes I feel that way with Chinese food in the Philippines especially when it comes to dimsum. There's a lot of Chinese food everywhere at very cheap prices but most of them fail to impress. There really are times when I want more than the lifeless congee, the predictable siomai and sharksfin, and the old and boring pancit that most stalls and cheap fast foods offer. But going to an expensive, quality Chinese restaurant is also not always an option; save them for special occasions. For your ordinary day craving for Chinese foodd an affordable but quality alternative is Mongkok. They offer a good variety of delicious, filling dishes for all courses: appetizers, soups, dimsum, noodles, fried rice and rice toppings, main dishes, and dessert. While the prices of their dishes are not dirt cheap, they are certainly reasonable.

Hen Lin has a siomai flavor unique from the rest, and that's one thing I love about them. The…read moreexperience can only be perfect and complete for me if I have at least 4 pieces of siomai, rice, calamansi, and chili sauce. (It's also a reference to one of my favorite meals back in school.) Unfortunately, I have to go easy on the chili but it hurts to know they don't sell rice. Nevertheless, I still somehow enjoyed what we already had. I was surprised to see the soy sauce now being distributed in sachets. Looks like the soy sauce bottle was abused back then. :p

I love Ilocano food and I was surprised that Fariñas actually serves Ilocano dishes. I thought this…read morestore only serves Ilocos Empanada but I was wrong. They offer a lot of my favorite dishes like Pinakbet, Ilocos Longganisa, Bagnet, Poqui Poqui, Dinakdakan, and a lot more. I love veggies and Pinakbet is definitely a must try. Their serving for this dish is good for 2-3 persons. They went beyond the traditional "Bagoong Isda" based sauce but used tomato sauce to further thicken the sauce. It has a lot of veggies like ampalaya, talong, okra, sitaw, sigarilyas and it also goes with 3 strips of bagnet. I love their Poqui Poqui! It's an eggplant dish sautéed in garlic, onions and tomato. It's a must try especially if you love tortang talong. I love their longganisa and of course, who wouldn't like bagnet? These two are some of my comfort foods so yeah, I'll definitely order this one. So if you are craving for Ilocano food, better go to the nearest Fariñas branch and enjoy their affordable food.

For the best lechon kawali in BF Homes, try out Jeany's Food House. For just Php 75, you already…read morehave a good amount of lechon kawali served with a sauce similar to Mang Tomas. With skin so crispy and meat so tender, you'll just keep coming back for more of their lechon kawali. You won't even mind if the place has no air-condition! They also serve other Filipinof foods such as silog meals, bulalo, sinigang, pansit and lots more. Jeany's Food House is like a karinderya type but no worries with the cleanliness of the place. In fact, you'd even see people in corporate attires eating here during lunch time.

This place serves Singaporean cuisine especially Hainanese style Chicken, shrimp and pork. The food…read moretasted authentic and was served with various Singaporean dipping sauces like sweet sour, spicy hot, chilly oil and shredded ginger. You can enjoy the Ayala triangle view from inside the restaurant. It's a fair walk from nearest parking options but worth it if you have ample time. The sweet and sour soup, chicken egg fried rice and noodles are staple sides.

Located in the heart of Makati CBD so very accessible to fill that craving for Singaporean food…read morelike Hainanese chicken, laksa and cereal prawn. We went here for early dinner and got ourselves the personal chicken set - one steamed and the other roasted. They both taste good, enhanced by the condiments (chili, ginger paste and sweet thick soy sauce). Price is reasonable too.

This kiosk at Alabang Town Center's food choices will give you a taste of authentic Chinese food at…read morean affordable price. Their combo meals are budget-friendly and even though they don't have an actual restaurant, the presentation of their food is good. I've tried their Pancit Canton and it's very tasty, not bad for its price. Their Lumpiang Shanghai, Sweet & Sour Pork and Lemon Chicken are pretty yummy as well. I've observed that most families go to the more known restaurants in the mall whenever they crave for Chinese food but El Presidente of Binondo is actually just as good. Well that's if you're comfortable with the environment of a food court.

I tried this restaurant for the first time, thinking it was going to be another common Chinese food…read moreplace. However I was surprised. We ordered the traditional roast pork , Yang Chow Rice, Sweet&Sour Fish and a couple other side dishes. All of the dishes were really delicious! Eager to go back and try some other dishes.

I've never really been much of a fan of Chinese food, but with my very Chinese lobster's prodding,…read moreI'm slowly beginning to love it. Great Chinese places like Lido's help a lot too, because how the hell do you say no to Chinese food when it's been served in front of you, looking all tempting and delicious? In terms of Lido branches, this one is the go-to place for families, so you might be at a disadvantage if you eat here alone. It's always packed so it's best to call ahead, but once you're there, be prepared to forget all your worries and troubles as you dig into their excellent (and surprisingly cheap!) food. This is also the branch that has the best service so they got that going for them.

"So what is this dish called?" I asked Chef Bryan of Kapeng Mainit. He goes "I don't know. Let's…read morecall it a Veggie Bowl." This is because he just whipped up an awesome meal for me on the spot. My family and I dined here for Father's Day, and he was nice enough to accommodate the difficult vegan (ehem... me). I really do appreciate it so much when restaurants try their best to accommodate the needs of their customers, because a lot of places here in Manila do just flat out say NO when they're being asked if it's okay to make a bit of changes to the dish so it can suit vegans. Not this place. He served me this really delicious plate of tofu and mushrooms, slathered with their own fishball sauce concoction/teriyaki sauce thing. It's served with some refreshing pico de gallo on the side, and perfectly cooked brown rice. GREAT MEAL. If you're vegan/vegetarian in BF Homes, do expect another place to add to your list of the few places with decent veg options in this neighborhood, as he told me that he is adding a vegan option to his menu soon! And it will be this "Veggie Bowl" They also do have kimchi rice! It's a small, charming place and is quickly gaining quite the following. Their meals come with a cup of local barako coffee, too.