the place that time forgot

Ma Mon Luk, Quezon Avenue.

For many Pinoys and Chinoys across different generations, the mere mention of this restaurant evokes a bout of nostalgia.

The old-fashioned waiting area and cashier's counter. I'm guessing that the only thing new is the plant.

You're betraying your age if you know how this telephone works. Or used to work.

Isn't it fabulous how they insist that they're an "International Corporation"?

The great Mr. Ma still oversees everything. And the head waiter has also been here forever.

When in Ma Mon Luk, one must always order "mami-siopao". That's pronounced as one word, invariably.

The original mami. In the original bowl. (Don't forget to flavor the soup with siopao sauce!)

The asado siopao. You have to peel off the outer layer before you eat it.

The truth is, there are much better mami and siopao places out there nowadays. But where else can you go where everything is EXACTLY the same as it was when your grandfather used to eat here?

Within Ma Mon Luk's walls, time has stopped.