Sarimanok (Macau)
Macau is not a huge place and if you are not a gambler I think one or two days is more than enough to view what this place has to offer. A short boat ride from Hong Kong is all you need to go here, you might not even need an accommodation when you travel really early.
There are two main part in this Administrative Region of China, the old town where you see a lot of Portuguese architecture and the Taipa where the modern big buildings and casinos are located. The first place we dropped by was the old town where we visited the Ruins of St Paul, Monte Fort, Senado Square and anything along the vicinity.
After our half day, here we started walking to grab a bus and while heading towards it we stumbled upon a street full of Filipino things, like parlours, sari sari stores and carinderias.
We were so happy, it’s like being back home and it was right on time as we were passing by the place at around 12 noon so we decided to have lunch at one of the carindera called Sarimanok. It was our choice because we saw Ilocano dishes which we love plus they also have Halo Halo. I felt like I warped back to my home town, it feels like Philippines and it smelled like the streets of Manila.
We then ordered from the counter pointing at the dishes we wanted, it was also cheap and they were offered in combos of 2 dishes, rice and drink. For our first option we grabbed some fried tilapia and pinakbet, we haven’t had tilapia since our very first trip in Hawaii 3 years ago.
For the second option it was dinuguan and kare kare.
and it will not be complete without chiharon bituka and dinakdakan. The last time I ate chicharon bituka most probably was 15 years ago, definitely this one is hard to find in other countries, apart from the Filipinos the only ones I know that eats pork intestines are the Chinese. Yes, chicharon bituka is a deep fried crispy pork intestine. For dinakdakan it was a long time as well but this one I can cook at home as the offal used for this dish, the pigs ear is easily available in New Zealand butchers.
Finally, we had halo halo and this completed the whole experience. Was the food good? well its quite a hit and miss, some are really good and some are just OK, but I don’t mind, what was important for me when I visited this place is the feeling of being back home again which they definitely fulfilled.
Sarimanok
Address: G/F, 89 R. da Alfândega, Sao Lourenco, Macau
