Binondo: Chinatown Food Crawl

Just before the Chinese New Year, we've decided to go to Binondo, in Manila where the world's oldest Chinatown is, for a food trip. We were supposed to go with a couple friends but they backed out the last minute because of some medical reasons. Too bad. It was supposed to be their first time to go and eat there and were really kind of excited to come along.

Me and the girlfriend usually, about once or twice a year, go there for authentic Chinese food. I love Chinese food. The girlfriend? She just loves eating. Lol! Now, since it was just the two of us, we've decided that we'd go to those places that we don't usually go to. We have our usuals and we've decided to be a bit more adventurous. Besides, you'd never go wrong with Chinese food, right?

So, our first stop was Quik Snack. It's a famous place for their noodles or pancit. I love pancit but never had the chance to eat here yet. We didn't know what to order so we've decided to go for a miki guisado and their Kuchay Ah which is like an empanada or stuffed bread.

_{Miki Guisado}

_{Kuchay Ah which has kuchay or chives as the main ingredient and also contains ground pork.}

Now, when doing food trips, what we do is just order one of what we really like or want to taste than ordering for each of us. That way, we get to eat more.

Next stop was the famous lumpia (spring roll) house of New Po Heng. Their Lumpia Sariwa, a Chinese-style fresh lumpia is really, really good and I say this because the girlfriend loves it. And she doesn't like lumpiang sariwa. Period. But this one, she can eat.

_{Lumpia Sariwa which looks like it had been massacred. Sorry, lumpia.}

On to the next stop which is a place where we love xiao long bao. Now, I know I've said not our usual places and Cafe Mezzanine is a favorite of ours for this dish, but the thing is, they usually don't have their xiao long bao because it's always sold out. In fact, when we ordered, the waitress told us that they ran out of it just last night. With a long face, we stood up and were about to leave when the manager told us that their delivery just came in and so we can have it. Lucky us!

Xiao long bao, for those of you that haven't heard of this yet, it's usually called soup dumplings which is served in bamboo baskets. There are a lot of places in the metro where you can get xiao long bao but for me, this is the best place because it's really bang for the buck.

_{Really, really good at the price of PHP180 or $3.45 for 10 pieces.}

The girlfriend had a craving for milk tea but we don't know where to go. So, we just decided that we just go to Ying Ying. The girlfriend is already full. But me? Still got to stuff my face with some more dumpling. I ordered hakaw and siomai and she just ordered her milk tea.

_{Hakaw or Chinese shrimp dumplings and siomai or shu mai.}

_{Milk tea which we find too sweet to our liking.}

Finally full from all the eating, we've decided to walk the streets of Divisoria which is like this one huge massive market that has everything. And cheap, too! No pictures taken when walking around Divisoria. Sorry. Oh! Just these succulents.

_{Succulents for PHP50 each or $0.95. We bought two. But we learned from a friend that there's a place in Quezon City where you can get it cheaper, 3 for PHP100 or $1.92.}

Now, all these walking made us thirsty. Not hungry, sad to say. So, we went to Wai Ying for some refreshments. Wai Ying is our go-to place for hakaw and siomai but as I've said, we're mixing things up. So, I got kuchay dumplings which we usually get some place else.

_{Coffee jelly for me and black gulaman (jelly) for her. This hit the spot. Cold with just with the right amount of sweetness.}

_{Still not done stuffing my face even though I'm kind of full already. Good kuchay dumplings but not the best kuchay dumplings for me.}

So, I'd say that our food trip was a success. All in all, I'd say that I would come back again to Quik Snack for their pancit. There's a lot more in the menu that I haven't had the chance to try. That's for next time, I guess. New Po Heng's lumpia, I'd love to have it again. And I'd still choose Wai Ying's hakaw and siomai than Ying Ying's. Cafe Mezzanine's xiao long bao is still good for me but not that great compared to when I first ate there and the girlfriend agrees.

I miss eating our usuals but I wouldn't say that I regret trying new food. Always try something new, right?

There's still a lot more places and food to taste and discover in Chinatown. My tummy capacity is never enough for a day of eating. All the more reason to keep on coming back. I just love going to Chinatown. My greeting may be late but Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone.

_{Ended the day with a quick visit to one of my favorite churches in the metro, the Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz. 🙏}

l love to travel but my money doesn't allow me to do that as much as I want. If not traveling, I'm just usually at home, binging on everything. I'd really love it if you follow me, though, so that I can share more with you. _ @ninyax ✌