Chili challenge from a mob

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Master Siomai is the fastest siomai foodcart business in the Philippines as they claim on their website. I think I would agree to that because they have foodcarts almost everywhere. Like this one beside a street in a parking area in Makati City.

This couple were the only customers when I approached the stall.

There is not much of what are in the menu but for a food cart, they have fairly enough options on their list.

I ordered for sharks fin siomai. Right when it was served, the couple were done and left. I had the stall all to myself.

Instead of eating immediately, I took the opportunity to observe the stall more closely. I asked the crew if I can take photos and he said yes.

This tray of soy sauce, toothpicks and table napkins was right in front of me. This means that customers can just get from here instead of being served. The toothpicks are used to pick the dimsums instead of fork. It is a bit of a challenge since the toothpicks are very small but that is better than directly picking the food with unwashed hands wherever the customer came from.

Behind the soy sauce tray are these two containers. One has sliced calamansi and ready for squeezing into the dimsum. It is actually a perfect mix with soy sauce to make toyomansi.

Toyomansi is a contracted word for a Filipino condiment which came from toyo (soy sauce) and calamansi.

Next to the calamansi container is the one with squeezed and pounded chilis which look like our siling labuyo. On a scale of 1 to 5, its hotness is rated in Wikipedia as 4. I thought it should be 7 out of 5!

When I was going through Citizen Army Training (CAT) officership in junior high school, our officers made it part of our training for us to take a whole siling labuyo, chew it properly into very small pieces and stick them out on our tongue to show that we took the challenge of its heat and that we did not just swallow it. Part of the challenge was not to cry and I did not! I was so brave back then. I passed the challenge even if it was done a few times. I wonder where my courage went these days.

I positioned to take a shot of the whole stall and the crew hid on the side. I asked him to come out and be on the photo but he was shy.

I poured soy sauce on the dimsum, squeezed the calamansi over it, took a toothpick and went to eat at the right the side corner of the stall.

I thought I had the best siomai from another store but these ones tasted much better. What I immediately noticed is the soft and tender wrapper. Others that I have experienced were thick and dry that it seems I need to steam them up again. The meat inside is also tender and can pass for viand. I can have rice with these!

There were small packets of chili and soy sauce on the side counter.

"Wow, they have their own brand of condiments!" I thought but I wonder if it is really their own preparation and not repacked from existing commercial brands.

I asked the lady crew hiding behind the gulaman juice container if they are selling these small packets of chili and soy sauce. She said no without further explanation so I asked what they arefor. So far, she explained. These are for those who are taking their foods away. Okay...

Either I was not paying attention to my food or I got so clumsy with my chatting to the lady crew that I dropped my paper bowl with my last of the four dimsums in it. The bowl and dimsum split on the concrete ground. Darn! I picked them up and asked the lady crew for their trash bin. She held her hand and took my trash then put them in a bin at the back of their stall.

Very shortly after my fiasco, a mob arrived and lined up in front of the stall. Amazing! I wonder if my clumsiness caught attention that these people suddenly gathered around.

I fall into the queue and ordered for a cup of gulaman juice. When I was about to finish my drink, the crowd has subsided. The first ones in the queue earlier were done. I moved forward and handed my empty cup to the male crew. He took it without questions. It was understood that he needs to put it in their trash bin. I wonder why they don't bring the trash bin out of the stall so customers can clean on their own.

I was about to go when I noticed this bowl left by one of the customers on the counter. I stared and shivered at the sight of the thick chili. Whoever did this must be very brave! I looked at the others who were still eating and they also have chilis on their dimsums. Aahhh!