The undying allure of Chinese food

When my boyfriend, Nino, came up with the idea for this column a couple of weeks ago it was originally titled “Filipino fathers and Chinese food,” which would be quite accurate. But when I thought about it some more I realized that it wasn’t only the dads that appreciate some good dimsum but moms as well and a lot of balikbayans. So I decided to broaden the scope and talk about the enduring allure of Chinese food in general and especially here in the Philippines.

To say that Chinese food is popular here is a huge understatement. With establishments like North Park and Hap Chan full to overflowing daily one can say it is as common as Tapsilog and as sought-after as good longganisa. How did that happen? I honestly don’t know but I do know that it’s been a phenomenon that’s lasted for over 100 years, as one of my father’s personal favorites — Toho — has been around since the time of Jose Rizal and was actually frequented by our National Hero on several occasions.

Perhaps it is the relative ease with which it can be found that makes it a popular choice — especially at two in the morning when the stomach is rumbling and nothing is open. See, it’s fast food without being “fast food.” Confused? I simply mean you can get it fast but it still tastes like real food and a real meal unlike, say, burgers and fries. Besides, late-night Chinese has been available far longer than 5 a.m. chili and chips and I know so many who have ventured out in the early morning for some siopao and dimsum. And, on top of all that, it’s completely affordable.

I’d actually been thinking about this for some time now although the catalyst for my column and this current rumination is the fact that I’ve been eating Chinese far more than usual these last few weeks. So much so that I can honestly say I think I have had my fill — at least for a couple of days. Nino and I were discussing recently how his dad (whose favorite is Masuki out in Greenhills) and my dad (the Toho advocate) can literally live on Chinese food! This is not an exaggeration. San Jacinto, North Park, Luk Yuen and others may come in second to the top two but they are still higher up on the list than any other place. They prefer their lechon macau or their steamed shrimp dumplings more than any other restaurant food available.

And it’s not just them. My mother, too, is actually quite the Chinese food lover. Though she is not the biggest fan of dimsum and dumplings she is a huge fan of siopao. Indeed, even though I grew up in the States (where good siopao is extremely rare), I was aware of what it was very early on in life. She’ll venture far and wide for good siopao and I know this for a fact because I have gone with her on several occasions. Like her recent birthday, for example — I thought we may be getting a Chinese food break but we ended up heading over to the Highland Chinese Restaurant, which is basically the higher end version of your Mr. Poon’s and San Jacinto. The food was delicious (don’t get me wrong; Chinese food truly is), but it was just another day we once again indulged in fried rice and chow mein and the like.

And even though I’m writing this article from the point of a view of an “outsider,” so to speak, I’m not immune to Chinese food loving. I’ve been told many times I like “American” Chinese food and I think that’s pretty true. My favorite was this Chinese restaurant in the US called Tao Tao that was run by an Chinese-American guy named Joe. I practically grew up on cartons of cold Chow Mein in the fridge when I was young and I loved it! Now that Tao Tao is gone, though, I’m an avid fan of Panda Express and Half-Half… can’t get more Chinese-American than that!

Nino, on the other hand, is a far more adventurous Chinese lover. Himself a fan of Masuki, he’d sooner try a little hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant than a commercial establishment. Like when we went to Hong Kong and he completely avoided the big places and scoured the streets for something unobtrusive and quiet. We ended up stumbling into a little restaurant called Sun Hong Kay (I think) where no one spoke English and we had to order using sign language. The result, though, was worth it: amazingly delicious Chinese cuisine that was cheap and seriously put the commercial stuff to shame. I even ended up laughing at this because I was so worried about where we would end up I made us pass by KFC first (yes, in China!) in case I didn’t like the food. (I wound up taking the biscuit and fries home instead).

Even back when I used to train daily with Bakbakan we used to religiously eat at Hap Chan after every practice (sprinkled with North Park occasionally). We even used to say that the secret source of our power was the Salt and Pepper Squid they had there with Salted Fish Fried Rice. We even turned some of our American chapter members into fans and once for over a month one of them used to constantly ask me through e-mail if we had eaten in Hap Chan after training.

So, what is it that makes Chinese food so delectably irresistible and eternal? Is it the delicious taste (which — correct me if I’m wrong — doesn’t even fill you up for longer than an hour), or it’s ready availability? Or even the ease of eating, say, a bunch of siomai as opposed to a bag of chips? Whichever the case may be, Chinese food has intoxicated billions and has been doing so for over a hundred years. I have no doubt it will do so for another hundred and with Father’s Day coming up it doesn’t take a genius to figure out where we’re going to be eating.