Dong Bei Shui Jiao

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Chinese
Location:	Binondo, Manila

One of the many things that I miss about China is the food. Because I stayed in three cities that are at least seven hours by train from each other for a minimum of two months each, I also had the fortune of tasting at least three different kinds of gastronomic delights. And because I stayed in TieLing the longest, I miss the food from the northeastern part the most.

Imagine my delight when I chanced upon a restaurant called Dong Bei Shui Jiao (Northeast Dumplings) in Binondo when I accompanied Akoh on one of her Divisoria trips. Because we didn't have time to stop then, I made a mental note to check out the place next time. And because I had, and still have, a very bad sense of direction, it took quite some time before I was able to find it again, still with Akoh's help.

We bought a few uncooked orders to be taken home for dinner. I was instantly hooked. Dumplings are not very popular in the Philippines. Our Chinese food is usually limited to the food in the Southern parts of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. I did not even know how important dumplings were in the Chinese culture if I had not gone to the north.

It was on our second visit when Akoh and I decided to stay there to eat when I read the article that the couple who owns the place are from Shenyang. Shenyang is about an hour away from TieLing! They're authentic Northeastern people! No wonder their dumplings are so good! I chatted with the wife for a while, finding out they've been in Manila for about three years and how it's not easy to get used to the heat. But then now they can't seem to stand the cold in LiaoNing. That was funny. I used to always complain about the climate too.

But the point of this review is for you to go and try their dumplings. There are two kinds available for dine-in customers: pork and chives. Both are great. You can get one order and have one-half of each. The sauce is to die for. Plus it's not expensive at all (this coming from a cheapskate).

While there are still a lot of Chinese food that I love (and I'm beginning to forget the names of!) that aren't available in Manila, at least I can scratch dumplings off my list.

How to get there: From Binondo Church, walk until the next street to the left. There should be a street sign: Oriente. That's the one with the Metrobank at the corner. Walk down that street until you can't go straight anymore. You'll see the yellow Dong Bei Shui Jiao sign to the right of a dress shop called YiFu. It's a tiny and unassuming place, as opposed to the commercialized feel of Tasty Dumplings. No, I haven't tried Tasty Dumplings yet but from the looks (and tastes) of Dong Bei, I don't think I would in the near future. I am THAT satisfied, more like ecstatic, of it.