What Pinoy doesn't love siomai? Enjoyed on its own with soy sauce and calamansi as a dipping sauce, mixed with noodles, or eaten with rice, the versatile dimsum (the Cantonese term for small bite-sized portions of food often served in a small steamer basket or plate) has come to captivate our national palate through the years.
The Cantonese version of this beloved dimsum uses dough wrapper and contains seasoned ground pork, whole or chopped shrimp, and small bits of Chinese black mushroom. Through the years, many cooks have added their own twist to the siomai. In the Philippines, siomai is usually made of ground pork or beef, or chopped shrimp, among others. It is often mixed with minced carrots or other extenders and wrapped in wonton wrappers. It is either steamed or fried resulting in a crispy exterior.
For this list, we are sticking to good old pork siomai to see which siomai places have the best in terms of flavor and value for your money.
(By the way, SPOT.ph would like to disclose that Mini Stop, along with our affiliate Summit Media, is part of the JG Summit Conglomerate.)
10. DIMSUM 'N DUMPLINGS
Operating hours: Varies per branch
Price: P43 (4 pieces)
Dimsum 'n Dumplings has a growing fans base for its pork siomai. What we like about their siomai is that the seasoned ground pork, which is very tender and has extra bits of pork fat to make it chewy, has a very light sweet taste to it. The wrapper is soft, yet it does not fall apart even when you're just using a toothpick to pick up a piece. Some may find each piece too small, but we found it perfect for just one or two bites.
9. HEN LIN
Operating Hours: varies per store
Price: P34 (4 pieces)
Despite the existence of numerous dimsum stalls, Hen Lin is still a standout when it comes to siomai. The Hen Lin pork siomai contains the right mix of lean meat and fat. It's salted just right, too. It's the perfect grab-and-go pasalubong siomai.
