The best news so far for all the travel junkies in the Philippines is that Taiwan decided to extend their free visit visa to Filipinos until 2020. Not that I am surprised since I knew they would extend it and I decided not to rush my trip to Taiwan. But for those food junkies who actually want to have a taste of what Taiwanese cuisine taste like at an affordable budget; say no more!

There is a great Taiwanese restaurant called “Tien Ma’s that is perfect for a tight budget. Now, time for a little bit of history. Tien Ma is the name of Tien Liyuan who spent her childhood in Taiwan where she helped her mother cook meals for her siblings where she also perfected her Xiao Long Bao recipe while working in a restaurant. She is now retired and brought her secret recipe to the Philippines.

As every restaurant review, I look at the place. The tables and chairs are just about right. They also got couches for chairs. The air-conditioning was a bit too cold at night so I suggest to wear something warm. The best part is that they have free WiFi and the waiter was really nice and courteous. I was expecting him to speak Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese or something.

Now enough of history since it’s time to eat! Now if you haven’t tried Taiwanese cuisine before, I suggest to go first with the classic Xiao Long Bao. It’s soft, delicious and it doesn’t break easily. This is for all the Xiao Long Bao virgins out there. They have many delicioux dumplings but my favorite has to be the Black Mushroom with Truffle Oil Xiao Long Bao. I could order another set of this meal and eat this all day!

One of my favorite dishes at Tien Ma’s has to be the Three Cup Chicken. The Three Chicken is not fried chicken but has this distinctive Taiwanese taste to it. The best part is that the chicken is not too small and good enough for two people. To go with the Three Cup Chicken, you definetly need rice. Most Filipinos love plain rice but try to do something a bit different. I suggest to eat the chicken with the Taiwan Style Fried Rice. These two meals blend together so well!. I suggest this as a first introduction to the Tien Ma restaurant.

There are other great rice like the Pineapple Fried Rice with Pork Floss that is actually served on a pineapple. The Salted Fried Rice and the list goes on and on! I was craving for more meals. I got the Lucky Spareribs Adobo. This is also another good meal to add to your favorite rice. You need to eat it fast though or it will get cold and you wouldn’t like it. Haha

I decided to try some of their new dishes and I got the Siopao Bola-Bola. It’s like your regular siopao but you need to dip in the sauce. They crafted the siapo and made it look like Hello Kitty. Pretty clever. 🙂

I suggest to give this a try since it’s affordable and I would definitely be back. They current got (4) four restaurants around Metro Manila. They have a store in Quezon City, C5 Libis, KIA Theater and finally Makati. I am already stuffed and for all these meals it’s really worth it.

多謝 (to-siā) 感謝(kám-siā) 撈力(ló làt) Tien Ma’s!

In Taiwanese it means, Thank you, Tien Ma’s!

Tien Ma’s

• Address: T. Constellation St. Cor. Makati Avenue Brgy. Bel Air, Makati City
• Parking Available: Yes
• Customer Service: Really good!
• WiFi: Available
• Opening Hours: Mon-Thurs (8AM-2AM) Fri-Sat (8AM-3AM)