Shi Lin's Dimsum and More in Lucky Chinatown Mall, Binondo

Shi Lin's interior in Lucky Chinatown Mall

Shi Lin is a Chinese cuisine restaurant offering familiar dimsum dishes (such as siomai, xiao long bao, dumplings and steamed buns) as well as other specialty dishes. 

Thirst for Something New
My primary motivation for trying Shi Lin is for me to use up my ZAP Card to earn discount points, but other than that, I was really eager to try a new restaurant! With this, I decided to bring my family (albeit only those that are available) with me, and since I got my first pay that week, I took the liberty of being held responsible for the bill. 

Anyway, in this blog post, I'll be sharing with you the dishes we had during that fun-filled night!

Noodles with Double-Boiled Beef Soup || P155

Noodles with Double Boiled Beef Soup of Shi Lin

Although the broth tasted very much familiar and ordinary, the firmness of the noodles added fun to it!

Noodles with Sesame and Peanut Sauce || P165

The Interesting Noodles with Sesame and Peanut Sauce

I got pretty excited when I saw this on the menu, since it would be my first time to try something like it. Yeah, I consider it to be uncommon, if not unique! 

Its peanut sauce was sufficiently thick and held onto the firm nicely-cooked noodles!

Shrimp and Pork Shaomai || P195 for 6 pieces

The Xiao Long Bao-like Shrimp and Pork Shaomai

A closer look at the Shrimp and Pork Shaomai of Shi Lin

I didn't know that there is another way a siomai (or shaomai according to Shi Lin) is cooked, but I'm more familiar and fond of the usual siomai wherein the meat is full! On the other hand, Shi Lin's version of siomai seemed like a xiao long bao with light and "soupy" meat inside.


Black Truffle Xiao Long Bao || P218 for 6 pieces

The black-truffle infused Xiao Long Bao

The mild truffle essence effectively blended with the goodness of the steamed meat, and although the inside wasn't as "soupy" as I expected, it was still almost excellent! On top of all, it's my first time to have a xiao long bao with black truffle!

Salt and Pepper Chicken with Chili || P250

The tasty Salt and Pepper Chicken with Chili of Shi Lin in Binondo

What I like about this chicken dish was its tastiness and crunchiness! It can be likened to that of Sincerity but this is crunchier and, in my opinion, better.

 Fried Rice with Shredded Pork and Fried Rice with Mustasa and Radish

Both of these rice dishes were really tasty and complementary with other dishes. Although they may have been greasy, I was still able to appreciate them.

Now, before I end this blog post, let me share with you this photo of me and part of my family. 

A Not-So-Popular Kid (me) with the fam here in Shi Lin

Note: I don't understand why this last photo turned bluish when I upload it here. I tried re-uploading, but it keeps on appearing this way. It's pretty weird, but anyway, I'm still sharing it with you!

Shi Lin - Ratings

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Note: Unshaded stars are equivalents of half-stars. The ratings apply solely to this dining experience.
Place ★★★
Food  ★★★
Service ★★★☆
Value for Money ★★★☆
Budget needed: at least P300 per person (coming in a group of 4 and above) for the dishes above or something similar

How about you - do you recommend Shi Lin?

The food I've tried here in Shi Lin ranged from satisfactory to good, but what I liked the most was the tasty Black Truffle Xiao Long Bao. Unfortunately, there seemed to be something lacking that could have made my experience extra awesome. I'm guessing it's the dull ambiance.

Overall, I would still say that this place is nice and interesting to be tried! Friends, don't forget to help out our fellow foodies by providing a thumbs up or down above.

Shi Lin
Location: Ground Floor, Lucky Chinatown, Binondo, Manila

Reservation No.: (02) 516 0321 - Delivery