There's Something Good Cooking At Delicious (Last Part)

After 10 minutes, my order has arrived. The syrupy Beef Maki was served first in a regular sized bowl. The breaded beef chunks and long pork strips form like submerged islands that resurface every time the bowl is stirred. The thin garlic strips provide a neutral flavor to the sweet succulent taste of the dish. Madame Tan later said that Beef Maki is a favorite companion to another favorite – the Ma-Chang - a steamed pork porridge dish dashed with dried mushrooms and wrapped in Taro Leaves.

Immediately after the Maki has been served, the Miki Bihon Guisado soon arrives, still steaming and sweating of vegetable oil from its oblong-shaped platter. This dish, which is a rich menagerie of ingredients that include thin Bihon Noodles, large Pansit Miki, generous amount of beef strips, sliced squid, pork siomai and another dimsung called chopsai forms the base of my heavy meal. A single spoonful of this dish and you know, the mix of sweet and salty flavors would leave a lasting imprint on your tongue; making you craving for more the next time you return. It took me less than 15 minutes to eat everything on my plate, but its heaviness on one’s satisfied tummy is still felt during breakfast, a day later.

Madame Tan says all ingredients – from pork kekiam to shrimp dumplings and other dimsum toppings are prepared in-house. She claims that no supplier could duplicate Tan Aiao’s secret recipe exactly the way he prepared it, that they took some effort to make the ingredients themselves.. Their army of loyal suppliers dating back to the time of Aiao, has remained the same. This ensures the quality of meat, seafood and vegetable ingredients delivered to them every day.

In a time where many authentic Chinese restaurants have either closed down or evolved to adapt to the changing tastes of their customers, Delicious kept the old, authentic Chinese fast-food charm they have been known for generations. Their loyalty to the original recipe and servings, while keeping their prices well within the capacity of an average salary worker has earned them the respect and admiration, not only from their growing clientele of Filipinos eager to have a taste of an original Chinese cuisine but also from the old Chinese clique that still runs the rest of Chinatown, who enjoys the old nostalgic feeling of being in a place that witnessed how their own business empires grow and prosper in this part of the city.

My personal journey towards finding this place has been long and memorable. It began many years ago, when my father still lives. Sometimes, late at night, he would come home unexpectedly, bringing a big plastic bag of pancit with him as pasalubong. The whiff of heavy oil and steamed noodles, the sweet-salty texture and strong flavorful aroma of the large sliced dimsum and meat strips that usually overwhelms the noodles, and the distinct, soft taste of the bright-orange shrimp and purple-black slices of squid makes us look forward to this unusual midnight treat.

Years passed, I found a job to support myself. My taste has diversified and still, this lingering memory of unexpected midnight treats still hold a special place in my heart. Overturning the alleys of Ongpin and deep into the heartland of Chinatown, finally one afternoon, an unsuspecting bystander pointed me to the place, which turn out to be within the peripheries of Avenida. Gathering all my thoughts and sweet memories of that mysterious, captivating pancit that my father brought us, I ordered a noodle dish trusting my instinct alone. One taste, one bite and then the memories surged again like a dammed river bursting from years of longing. And the memories now keep coming back, whenever I am into soul-searching, for I know, Delicious is not just a mere restaurant to me. Like all others who come and go to this place,

I know, this is home.