DISCLAIMER:
i am not a food blogger nor am i a cook.
I enjoy travelling, eating, and photos.
This review is entirely from an enthusiasts’ POV – so don’t expect any
culinary terms and references in techniques of food preparation :D
Binondo – we’ve
heard that there were a couple of walking tour (historical and gastronomical)
through the area, and we always wanted to go, but never really getting around
to it. We always plan ahead and say “ok,
we’ll go next week, Saturday.”
And came
this long weekend – we both decided to take on the challenge. Our tour was inspired by the Binondo street
food guide of FHM September 2010 issue.
It’s always been lying in our bathroom along with the other pile of
bathroom readables (all bathrooms have one, if you don’t have one, make a
pile. Like, NOW). On a side note, the article was also
authenticated by a good Chinese friend who is also familiar with Binondo.
What do you
do on the Muslim’s Eid el Fitr? Go to Binondo!
There was a
low pressure, in the north most part of the country – so
this made our tour WAY great. The weather
was 28-30 degrees Celsius and very overcast.
We planned
on parking near Quiapo church for a reason; at this point mayen was making
final adjustments to our route and stops.
Mayen and i decided to make the farthest food stop as our first, and
work or rather, walk our way back towards the car.
Going to
our first stop, we took a trike. Since
we didn’t have to spend on a walking tour or a guide which probably cost around
P1,500 per head, including food. We
figured it was ok to spend a little on local transportation.
Since Mayen
and i are into marathon / running we treated this as a race. We figured if we were going to finally do
this, we were going to do it right:
Dong Bei
642 Yuchengco street
Specialty: dumplings
Price: 10pcs for
P80.00
I love how their menu looks like a
hundred years old, aged like a pirate’s treasure map. Their menu and cartolina may look like it was
made in the 1800s but their prices are up to date.
While waiting for out order, mayen
was already updating our adventure race map which of course mayen tries to
explain to me; but i was just too absorbed by how we are already actually there and doing the tour – FINALLY!
evidently, others also seized the holiday.
LOOK! Real, authentic
Chinese chilli garlic sauce!!! It’s
dirty, its gritty, its greasy and homemade!
I love this stuff, it’s the best thing that the Chinese ever invented! THE BEST! Its been probably there for days,
and thousands of customers must have double dipped already! It was ok though, the best chilli ive tasted
so far is STILLL from Le Ching.
Hands down, the best
and tastiest dumpling i have ever tasted.
The size, of how little these things are, are exactly the reverse of the
flavour it packs. Its like the most
flavourful and potent dumpling i have ever bitten in to. We got 5pcs Kuchay and 5pcs pork dumplings.
No big kitchen, no
team or crew. This is the scene that
will greet you upon entering their restaurant.
One of the owners (in floral) work hand in hand with their trusted
employee.
Chuan Kee
650 Ongpin street
Specialty: Go Kong and
Kiampong rice
Price: P130 and P35
This is like a
Chinatown food court, serves anything and almost everything. No frills, and always bustling with customers
even at odd hours.
Check out their LED tags!
Shanghai Fried Siopao
Ongpin corner Bahama
street
Specialty: Fried
Siopao
Price: P16 each
Everything here is
simple, its just like a typical neighbourhood bakery store. You can get other tasty treats on the side –
but this stall is best known for fried siopao.
Ooh la la
Tasty treat, easy to
eat and carry anywhere!
This is how they make
‘em and this is how many they produce on a daily basis. These things took like 1/3 the space of the shop.
Suzhou Dimsum
Sabino Padilla street
Specialty: xiao long
pao
Price: 4pcs for P90
Mayen trying to use her blood line
(being ¼ Chinese), trying to read the menu
They taste good, in my opinion
better than Shi Lin and Crystal Jade – ALTHOUGH the wrapper was soggy and too
thick.
New Po Heng Lumpia
House
Uy Su Bin bldg 531
Quintin Paredes street
Specialty: Hokkien
Lumpia
Price: P50 each
Holy blindside attack batman! by far, this was the only stop that posed a
challenge to us. It was literally hidden
in one small corridor of a building lobby and if you don’t constantly look left
and right – you will SURELY miss this.
Walking in to the place was like
entering a drug deal. It was dark,
humid, and all we could hear are Chinese echoes from a distance which i can
only presume orders from their Chinese boss.
At last!
Walking in there was like waiting for a deal to go south. Do we bail? Do we retreat?
Then this store front slowly unfolds. We barely found the place, and as we walked into it – sideview pa ng restaurant yung nakaharap!
main source of light
The store front – nothing fancy, parang karinderya
The last stop in our adventure food
race; their display case didn’t have any other food on display so i assume they
only served the Hokkien Lumpia. It had
some crunch, sweetness was just right, and garlicky in taste (who doesn’t love
garlic?!). It's so good that we wouldn't mind having a second serving - if only we weren't full.
Other food items or dishes was
available for ordering in all the places that we went to – but we figured we’ll
just stick to their best sellers on this first try. Honestly, i was mildly disappointed with the
chilli garlic sauce also. In all the
places that we went to, none measured up to Le Ching’s chilli garlic
sauce.
End workout totals:
Distance: 2.3 kilometers
Calories burned: 200
Calories enjoyed: 500
Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Cost: P602.00 (including transpo and
parking)
Last tip: don’t drink soda or juice
for 1) so you don’t fill up and waste stomach space, 2) you get to keep your
palate clean and pure to really enjoy the authentic tastes that Binondo has to
offer and 3) lessen the cost, sodas and juices are all overpriced in
restaurants.
On our way back we passed by Avenida
where Mayen looked at some old school Casio watches which was either hard to
find in malls, or very expensive in amazon.
Casio CA53W – calculator, alarm,
chrono, and water resist
When mayen was still in college (not
so long ago), she had a college professor who was already 70 years old and had
this for a watch. She just found it so
cool that she wanted one for herself.
That is why we had to park near the
Quiapo church area.
Classic.
