Ying Ying Tea House has been making waves in the foodie scene over the past few years as one of the best Chinese restaurants in Binondo. This restaurant was the third stop in our Binondo food crawl. It's a bit embarrassing to admit but it's a restaurant that I haven't been to before until our good friend, Dennis, introduced Ying Ying to me and our fellow foodie friends during our first Binondo food crawl.
I'm not sure how long Ying Ying has been around and what the restaurant's history is about, but what I do know is they make pretty good Chinese food.
Read on to know more about our Ying Ying Tea House experience...
Hot steam baskets full of dimsum can be seen outside the restaurant, with appetizing aroma of freshly-steamed dimsum attempting to lure the unsuspecting passerby into the restaurant. The staff would often go out and get a couple of pieces from outside to serve to customers using plastic gloves.
The dimsum look amazing, with each piece looking like little treasures of flavor. It's very difficult to resist gobbling them all up!
The restaurant is transparent on what they serve, with the produce hanging around for everyone to see. This is quite important given how people often talk about Chinese restaurants being 'dirty'.
Ying Ying served a complimentary teapot of hot Chinese tea the moment we sat down. The staff were also very courteous and they kept on checking up on us to see if we needed anything. Upon leaving, they also gave us little 2016 calendars to take home! Now that's what I call quality service and we were very impressed.
The Chiu Chow dumplings (Php 70) are thin-skinned dumplings filled with meat, vegetables, and peanuts. Each order consists of 3 pieces. I really like the balance of savory and sweet from the peanuts and the meaty filling. The peanuts also give the dimsum a bit of texture, since you get an unexpected crunch when you bite in.
These dumplings are highly recommended, along with the more common choices of Siomai and Hakaw.
An order of Ham Suy Kok (Php 70) consists of 3 pieces buchi-like balls that are filled with pork. This dish was another play between sweet and savory, as the crust tasted like buchi (which you expect to be dessert if you regularly dine at Chowking like myself) but then you get a nice surprise of a savory, meaty filling.
It's admittedly not a dish I would eat often but it was pretty tasty and I would see myself ordering it again.
The Braised Frogs Legs are frogs legs braised with a lot of garlic and served with a sweet-savory sauce. This was the first time I had frogs legs so I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted a lot like chicken. Ying Ying actually did a very good job because it was savory and the pieces of meat weren't that tough.
If all frog leg dishes tasted like this, I wouldn't mind eating more of it!
Food Quality: 4.0
Service Quality: 4.0
Ambiance: 3.0
Overall Quality: 4.0
The only regret I have was that I wasn't able to try more of their bestsellers, but that just gives me a reason to come back very soon. I really recommend Ying Ying, it's a Binondo restaurant that I'm sure won't disappoint any foodie.
Ying Ying
233-235 Dasmarinas St. corner Yuchengco St. Binondo, Manila
(02) 387-2797, (02) 710-3856
(02) 387-2797, (02) 710-3856
Further reading you might like:
- New Po-Heng Lumpia House: Binondo's Famous Fresh Lumpia House
- Lam Dynasty: Bringing Back the Classic Flavors of Marquina
- Dong Bei Dumplings: Authentic, Affordable, and Freshly-Made
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Cheers,
Chef Jay
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