Our first stop was Binondo. This is considered as the oldest Chinatown in the world. Binondo is an enclave in Manila populated by ethnic Chinese living in the Philippines. It was established in 1594, the land granted by the Spanish government to the Chinese immigrants who converted to Catholicism. Binondo comes from the term, binondoc, a tagalog term meaning mountainous, since the land was surrounded by mountains in those early times.
This is one of the entrances to Manila's Chinatown.
CNN's confirmation that indeed Binondo is the oldest chinatown in the world.
And of course, it wouldn't be Binondo without the Food Tour.
Our first stop was the Eng Bee Tin Hopia store in Ongpin Street, famous for their ever-delicious hopia, now with a lot, lot of varieties to choose from.
After that, we went to Dong Bei Dumpling, a hole in the wall dumpling house, located at Yuchengco Street. This place is very hard to find. You can even miss the sign if you aren't that observant. Their xiao long bao and kutchay dumpling are worth the effort. You can even watch them make dumplings while enjoying your order.
Dong Bei's Xiao Long Bao (it is spelled with a "b" but pronounced with a "p")
Dong Bei's Kutchay Dumplings (Kutchay aka garlic chives, chinese chives)
Uncooked kutchay dumplings. You can see how they wrap it on the photo at your right.
After my boys had their xiao long bao and kutchay adventure, we hopped on to our next destination, Fried Siopao.
I love how my boys are not picky eaters!
On our way to our next destination, I showed them this Chinese shrine where one can light an incense and say a prayer. There is a coin slot where you can optionally drop a coin as donation. Seeing the shrine, my boys automatically knew what to do.
It wouldn't be a complete binondo tour without the history so I took them to the old Syvel's building along Escolta Street. Syvel's was the prominent department store during the 1960s. My eldest son, after seeing the abandoned building said, "Mom, how come, even if I know I didn't live during that store's heyday, I feel a pang of sadness seeing it now?" You're not the only who does kiddo.
We also went through Umbrella Alley (it got its name from the many umbrellas propped by vendors along the alleyway to serve as shade) to check if Quik Snak for a quick snack but unfortunately it was close.
After that side trip at Umbrella Alley, I took them to the old Don Roman Santos Building along Lacson Street, which housed the headquarters of Monte de Piedad, the first bank in Binondo. It was also here that late former Philippine President, Manuel L. Quezon worked as a bank clerk.
After this, I took them to the old Burke Building along Escolta. This was the first building ever in Manila that had an elevator. It was the most extravagant building in its heyday, named after the philantropist, William J. Burke.
We ended our Binondo Tour with a sumptuous lunch at WaiYing Fastfood House. My three boys enjoying their Fried Hongkong Noodles.
Part 2 of this blog will be about our Intramuros Tour.
