Ma Mon Luk

Ma Mon Luk(simplified Chinese:马文禄;traditional Chinese:馬文祿Cantonese Yale:Máh Màhn-luhk),was aChineseimmigrantbest known in the Philippines for his eponymous restaurant, and for being the popularizer and alleged creator ofmami(anoodle soup) and popularizer ofsiopao(a steamed bun based on thecha siu bao).
Ma was born in 1896 inHeungsan,Canton(now Zhongshan, Guangdong) inQing China. Because of poverty, he was only able to finish junior high school. Heself-studiedin theChinese classicsto improve himself. He later became aschoolteacherinCantonbut earned a lowly salary.
In 1918, Ma left for thePhilippinesto seek his fortune in order to win the hand of his sweetheart, Ng Shih, whose parents disapproved of him because of his poverty.
Arriving penniless inBinondo, Manila, Ma decided to peddle his own version of chicken noodle soup. He soon became a familiar sight on the streets of Manila, plodding fromPuente de España(nowJones Bridge) to as far asIntramurosandSanta Cruzwith a long bamboo pole (pingga) slung on his shoulders and two metal containers on each end of the pole, similar to the equipment oftahovendors then and now. One vat contained his especially concocted noodles and strips of chicken meat, while the other vat stored thechicken brothheated underneath by live coals. With a pair ofscissors, he would cut the noodles and meat to serve to his customers. He called his concoction "gupit", after theTagalogword for “cut”.He would finally name the dish “mami". Later, he would addsiopaoandsiomaito his menu.
Ma became known as “Ma Mon Luk” and from a small shop along Tomas Pinpin Street inBinondo, Manila, he would open his first restaurant with the name “Ma Mon Luk Mami King” at the nearby 826-828 Salazar Street. He would promote his restaurant by giving away free samples of siopao. If he ran out of siopao samples, he would give hisbusiness cardwith hissignatureat the back to signify a free bowl of mami at his restaurant. The restaurant would transfer to Calle Azcárraga (nowRecto Avenue) in 1948 and eventually move to 545Quezon BoulevardinQuiapo, Manilatwo years later.By the 1950s, Ma and his food were nationally known.
With his success, Ma was able to return to China and seek the hand of his beloved Ng Shih.He would establish his family home and main restaurant at 408Quezon AvenueinQuezon City, which still exists to date, during the 1950s.
Ma died on September 1, 1961, due tothroat cancerand is buried at theChinese CemeteryinManila.
After Ma's death, his children (all surnamed “Mamonluk”) would continue the restaurant, expanding to as many as six branches in the 1980s. By the end of the 20th century, however, only the original two branches established by Ma would remain.In 2020, the Quiapo branch closed down and the Quezon City branch became the sole restaurant. The restaurant operates under the family-owned Ma Mon Luk International Corporation.
Ma Mon Luk billed himself as the "Mami King" and maintained thatmamiwas named after himself, i.e. “Ma mi” (simplified Chinese:马面;traditional Chinese:馬麵;Cantonese Yale:Máh-mihn;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Má-mī), literally meaning "Ma’s noodles", so that he was its "inventor".The company maintains this up to the present. Alternately,mamiis thought to come frommanok(chicken) andmiki(a type of egg noodle).This is supported by beef or porkmamisometimes being known asbami, frombaboy(pork/pig) orbaka(beef/cow). (The Ma Mon Luk restaurants serve both chicken-and-pork mami and beef mami as separate dishes). Regardless, the claim that Ma "invented"mamiis likely untrue. According to linguist Gloria Chan-Yap,mamiis derived fromPhilippine Hokkienmaq("meat") andmi("noodle") and isFujianesein origin, notCantonese. Like thesiopao, the noodle dish already existed inFilipino-Chinese cuisinebefore Ma popularized his version.