How Mami Came To The Philippines

The popular 'mami' that we know today was said to be introduced by Ma Mon Luk, a well known Chinese chef from Guangzhou,China who emigrated to the Philippines specifically in Manila to find his fortune here. According to popular belief, Ma Mon Luk started by peddling chicken noodle soup in the streets of Manila. Among his frequent customers were students from various universities in Manila. A popular theory of the origin of the word "mami" is that "Ma" came from his name and "Mi" came from the Chinese word for "recipe"; thus "mami" stands for "the recipe of Mr. Ma. Soon however, Filipinos took the name as an amalgam of Tagalog words for chicken ("manok") and egg noodles ("miki").

Ma Mon Luk was able to establish his own restaurant, named after him, with siopao,siomai and mami noodles as their main attraction. In the 1950's, Ma Mon Luk and his mami became famous nationwide.

Ma Mon Luk's story is very inspiring, starting broke in the streets of Manila, he was able to turn his life around and become a famous chef and restaurant owner and made his mami business popular paving way for other entrepreneurs to follow his footsteps.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Mon_Luk)

Merienda na lagi kong kinakain sa hapon

Nung high school madalas lalo na pag sobra ang baon kong pera, diretso agad ako sa lugawan at mamihan ng kapitbahay namin along A.H Lacson Street sa Sampaloc, Manila. Bandang 4pm, matyaga akon makipagsiksikan sa mga taxi driver, tambay, kapwa estudyante na makakain ng lugaw, mami o palabok.
Noon 8 pesos ang lugaw na walang laman-loob, 15 pesos pa meron nito. Ang mami naman na sinabawan ng pork stock with pork meat at onion leaves ay 10 pesos pa. Ang palabok naman ay 10 pesos pag regular na ang noodles nya ay miki lang at ang special palabok na puro bihon ang noodles ay 15 pesos naman.
Patok na patok noon ay ang mami at lugaw. People from all walks of life ang pumupunta dito para mamerienda. Meron din tokwa atbaboy, lumpiang gulay, monay at softdrinks.
Tulo uhog mo pa gumamit ka ng sili na nakalagay sa mangkok na maliit sa mesa, di pa kasi uso noon ang chili sauce.
Kaya bago ako umuwi galing school,sinisiguro ko na lagi akong may dalang sobrang pera pambili ng mami o kaya lugaw.........