Loving Chinatown

Written by Zhey Chua |Posted on March 15, 2008 | Comments

(Cross-posted from Zoe Grapho, my other blog)

I love Saturdays. But I love today of them all, so far.
Warren and I hit Chinatown early today for a series of true-blue Chinese experience.

Our first stop: Ong Sieu

It is probably not difficult to consider Ong Sieu as an “institution” in Ongpin. Using an old Chinese technique, Ong Sieu is often sought for his expertise in healing pains in the body. I have been experiencing severe back pains particularly on the right upper area for several years now and though I hit the spa on a regular basis, the pain just always comes back. I have always thought that the pain is associated with what we normally call “lamig”, sometimes I think they are simply stress nodes. Imagine my surprise when Ong Sieu told me that it was just a misplaced and tightened vein on my right arm that’s causing the back pain. He loosed the vein on my arm (as shown in the picture above) which really hurt, by the way, twisted it once and voila! I’m back-pain free now!
Warren also revealed that Ong Sieu is a Shaolin.

Next stop: Lunch at Tasty

Now, why do I look bored here? Hehehe, actually, I am not bored at all. I am stuffed! Warren and I had pork chop rice and hong ma rice with kiam chai as side dish. We downed everything with hot tea and water. Don’t ask me how the food was cooked for I don’t know, but they certainly are both superbly ho chia ( delicious)! Warren told me that what we ordered today are Tasty’s best sellers.

Third stop: De Cut

After a relieving Shaolin massage and a gastronomically satisfying lunch, Warren and I headed to De Cut, a salon along Remedios Street in Malate. De Cut is run by Jackie Cheng, a Hong Kong national who is soooo good with his scissors. This is my second time at De Cut and I don’t think I will ever let anyone else handle my hair anymore. I am so glad that my hair met a fateful accident in one of those Angles salons back in January, Warren was forced to bring me to Jackie because I was crying in desperation over my burnt scalp after a “rebond” service. It so happened that Jackie also manages Warren’s hair so he knows just how good De Cut really is. They charge between P800-P900 but I tell you, it’s really worth every cent. Sometimes, you won’t even need a haircut for many months. Warren’s last haircut was in July and he still looked fine until now. If you want to try out Jackie, make sure that you call in first for an appointment, here are the numbers to dial: 522-4243.

Perks:

See this little cutie here? She entertained me while I waited for my turn at De Cut. She speaks Mandarin and Tagalog soooo fluently you would be amazed. And she is only three years old. A little perky creature, she gladly gave Warren this fantastic smile for a picture perfect moment. Her name is Erica, by the way.

The packaged dried herbs above is what they call si bot. Si bot is a mixture of four different types of dried herbs and is known to be good for the health because of its healing properties. It is commonly used in chicken soups and is commonly found in most Chinese kitchens.

Any sweet toothed person would know, one never leaves a place without the best haul for the day – sweets! I got these from Eng Bee Tin, a famous delicacy store in Chinatown. These are ube and plain pastillas and cashew marzipan… Hmmmm… Yummy…

And last but not the least:

This dried seaweed package in a vegetarian resto gave us a good laugh. Check out the expiration date. And go figure…

Anyway, so these are the perks of being married to a Chinese. You discover and get to explore a world that you normally won’t be able to unless you are chinky eyed and speak Fookien or Mandarin. It is fun to explore a different culture and try to embrace it as your own even just for a day. Especially one as alive and as bright as the Chinese’s.
Tosha.