Mami and Siopao is Ma Mon Luk

...”Mami” a bowl of hot broth, meat and noodles is as generic word as Colgate, Frigidaire and Xerox to Pinoy consumers. Ma Mon Luk was a grade school teacher in Canton, quit his job migrated to the Philippines. He carried his hot mami in containers suspended from the ends of length of bamboo slung across his shoulder. The container held the noodles, boiled chicken, bowls and Chinese soup spoons. He peddled carrying his hot mami through Ongpin, Gandara, T.Alonso, F.Torres and in the afternoon stayed at the foot of San Fernando Bridge on Plaza Calderon de la Barca (now Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz). The original name of his dish was “gupit” not mami, it came from the chicken that was cut with scissors and so as the noodles. Business was good because of his hard work and the unique comfort food he introduced, saved money and set up his first shop on Calle Salazar cross street Ongpin, near the estero. 

“Ma” and “Mi” which is the Chinese word for noodles but for Ma Mon Luk’s “suki” insist that it is “Ma” for “manok” (chicken) and “Mi” for “miki” (noodles). Mami eaters simply can not have a bowl without having an oversized pork mixture inside a dough called “siopao” with it. Ma Mon Luk was not only a good businessman but also a great PR and marketing man, he knew the importance of endorsement from personalities for his product. He gave donations to the poor around his neighborhood, to Espiridiona Bonifacio (sister of the hero), gave free mami and siopao to actors, politicians, athletes, newspaper columnists at the same time having a photographer with him to take pictures. He goes to yearly Chinese stage shows on Ongpin, showed his Kung-Fu skills. After few years from his original Calle Salazar restaurant came different Ma Mon Luk restaurant branches in the whole Metro Manila. After building a mami empire he passed away September 1st 1961 at the age of 65 and leaving in the mind of Pinoy consumers that “mami-siopao” is Ma Mon Luk.
- ka tony
29th of July ‘18