Wow, siopao!

MILLIE: My “Why Not?” friends are my “eat” and “laugh” friends. That’s all we ever do. When we are together, we talk about food. We check out newly opened eating places to have our fill of food and laughter. Sometimes, we even go out of town just to eat and laugh the whole weekend. There was a time when we would meet up for even just a few minutes to grab a snack and share a few laughs and I used to say, “I need my quota of laughter to keep me happy until the next get-together.” On one such occasion, I overheard Lizette Yujuico Licaros, whom I fondly call Luscious, asking Ditas Intengan where to order the jumbo siopao. It’s like my ears stopped listening to whomever I was conversing with and extended to hear what Ditas would say!

I asked for the contact number and called to inquire the very next day and could not believe when I was told that the jumbo siopao was good for six people and the double jumbo could feed 10! That same afternoon, I went to see it for myself.

KARLA: When I was younger, I was not a siopao fan. I had moods for the bola bola siopao, but I didn’t like the asado for some reason. I remember that my lolo Joe would insist on going all the way to Emerald Restaurant along Roxas Blvd. for lunch, just to eat their siopao, while I enjoyed their pigeon and kropek. Lolo used to love their asado siopao while mom always used to order the jumbo bola-bola with chorizo and would sometimes give me a piece of the bola-bola. For some weird reason, it grew on me and I started to like asado siopao.

One day, mom came by the office with two jumbo siopaos, one asado and the other, bola-bola, and another set in a different size, double jumbo siopaos. Literally the whole office stopped working and just watched us unwrap the giant siopaos. I tried to take a bite but it wouldn’t fit in my mouth. Haha! It wouldn’t even fit any of the plates we had in the office, so we had to use the golden chargers we use for catering. We had to cut it open with a kitchen knife to get a piece, but only after all the picture taking was done, of course. It was amazingly still warm considering it came from Mandaluyong and our office is in Makati. The dough was very soft. Seeing something that big, I was surprised to see the inside fully stuffed. You would think that it would be full of dough or air but no, the siopaos were siksik with asado and the other, bola-bola.

PVL Food Center has become a favorite neighborhood takeout and eat-in place offering sumptuous varieties of everyday food specialties.

The siopao queen

KARLA: We have been wanting to write about this jumbo siopao for some time now but I insisted that we ask for an interview with the owner. Finally, we found time to meet her this year.

Aling Norma Lim, owner of PVL, named after her only son, Paul Vincent Lim, has been in the business since 1983, that’s 30 years in the industry. She started with a carinderia along P. Guevara corner Wilson, but was slowly eased out due to increasing rent. She later found a house along I. Lopez St. and bought it. It was bought originally as a bodega for her husband, James Lim, and his repacking and packaging business, Edison. I’m sure most of you will find this brand familiar since they have a wide range of products out in supermarkets. When her husband saw that her restaurant was doing well, he eventually gave in and gave her the whole house for the restaurant. The poor guy had to look for another place for his business. As the business grew bigger, she started buying the lots nearby.

When we asked why she thought of making a siopao that big, she laughed and said she and some kumares were just toying with the idea until she actually made it a reality. They were in-spired by the little siopaos and figured, “Why not have a big one?”

Siomai love for you

The food industry was not a new venture for Aling Norma. Apparently, both her parents were Chinese cooks straight from China. Her father, named Ong Ching, was from the city of Amoy in Fookien province. He used to cook in restaurants in Ongpin. Later, he, together with his wife, Maria Tan, put up a restaurant along Shaw Blvd. where 7-Eleven is. It used to be called Er-linda’s Restaurant, where they served Chinese and Japanese food. Aling Norma relates how her parents put up the restaurant with only P200 in capital. Unfortunately, Erlinda’s Restaurant had to close down after a bus hit the restaurant and her mom died from the aftershock.

In 1965, Aling Norma then started her own business ventures where she would hoard fresh seafood from the markets and distribute them in supermarkets, including Unimart, Landmark and our favorite neighborhood grocery, Cherry Foodarama, which recently closed. Cherry Foodarama along Shaw Blvd. is a very special place for Aling Norma since this is where she first met her husband. Aling Norma relates that one day, a saleslady went up to her all excited that there was this gwapo guy who wanted to meet her. He’d been seeing her around for a while but did not get a chance to talk to her. James Lim, who used to sell polvoron and other repacked milk and other items in Cherry Foodarama, was love-struck and the rest is history.

Aling Norma singlehandedly runs the business together with 100-plus employees. From a carinderia, she has diversified into having a dine-in Chinese restaurant, a catering business, a more casual paluto area, a sizzling corner, a whole line of takeout items that are ready to cook, a coffee shop, and seven other food court outlets in TriNoma, Cash and Carry, etc. Her hard work, determination, optimism and passion for food has gotten her to where she is today. PVL offers everyday food to go such as chicken longganisa, pork embutido, beef tapa, rellenong bangus, bangus balls, and even frozen meats. We didn’t get a chance to try all her food specialties but judging by the way her business has flourished and now occupies the four corners of I. Lopez St., her food must be good!

MILLIE: The day we came for an interview, we were ushered to a Chinese restaurant next to the fast food area and the moment we entered Norma’s restaurant, I noticed her pictures on the wall with celebrities and government officials and I said I knew her. She greeted us with a warm and huge smile and said she has attended events we catered at Wack Wack Golf & Country Club.

We were also delighted to learn that she is a Plaza ham fan! This adorable woman animatedly told us her story and we were amazed to learn that she also popularized Policarpio Street in Mandaluyong when she decorated her house with Christmas lights and soon, every house on the street followed, trying to outdo each other until the entire street became a Christmas destination.

She struck us as a wise and fun person, keeping us entertained with her nonstop banter and as we parted, shared some words of wisdom. To Karla she advised expanding the business slowly but surely. To me, she said with a laugh not to get married and just wait for my grandchildren.
                                                                                                                                                                                                   * * *
PVL Restaurant is located at #81 I. Lopez St., Mandaluyong City. For reservations, food orders and inquiries, call 534-3812.
                                                                                                                                                                                                   * * *
Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.