upon entry to sincerity cafe and restaurant, you'll know that you're in one of binondo's finest. framed magazine and newspaper articles featuring the restaurant tell you that this is truly a must-try for foodies like me.
we tried their signature dishes: sincerity fried chicken, oyster cake and kikiam that goes well with their sincerity fried rice. we also had polonchay, frog legs and pancit.
their fried chicken is almost the same as your typical "baon". a little variation is the perfectly blended batter, not so salty and not too much on the flour. the tender, juicy chicken make it worth a second, or even a third serving! gravy was also served, though there's nothing really special about it. you can eat the chicken by itself and enjoy the same goodness. the oyster cake, as other foodies describe, has a very thick consistency because of the cornstarch, nevertheless, it is rich in flavor, using good quality and tasty oysters. the fried rice has a generous amount of chorizo and bits of ham, it makes you say, "kanin pa lang, ulam na!". again, it is neither too salty nor oily.
according to my chinese aunt( in-law), their kikiam is close to the authentic homemade kikiams their chinese parents prepared for them. it is not the usual street food kikiam that we all know. itis stuffed generously with what seemed like pork used in asado and there wasn't a hint of any extender in the filling. the sauce that came with it is a perfect match.
the polonchay cooked in garlic and oyster sauce is the same as our crispy kangkong, though these chinese leaves are a bit more flavorful, bitter even to many. good thing, the sauce made the taste even, you won't notice you already had a big serving of what was bitter initially. the crunchy stems make it even more appetizing!
i didn't try the frog legs, though the family said it also deserves a thumbs up! it tasted like chicken adobo, but the thought that i'll be eating frog legs made me chicken out (though i used to eat this when i was younger). the pancit was nothing so special. but we ordered it for my husband who was also having his belated birthday celebration, chinese tradition, of course.
the servings are small for our family of 10. when the menu says small, we have to order 3 small servings of the same viand, or 1 big serving and 2 small ones. the price though, was competitive enough in that area, and you also have to consider that the restaurant already have a name in their line.
in a nutshell, i would recommend this to foodies who want a taste of home-cooked chinese goodness. if in binondo or ongpin, this small but homey cafe and restaurant should be a stopover in your itinerary.