My siblings were happily celebrating the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. Penniless
as I am, I had to content myself in Binondo, Manila
which happened to be the oldest Chinatown in
the world. The enclave was established
in 1594 which makes it 418 years old. Archaeological evidence though shows that the Chinese have been trading
in the Philippines
as far back as the 10th
century.
Getting off the jeepney in front of Binondo
Church (officially the Minor Basilica
and National Shrine of St. Lorenzo Ruiz), it did seem like I was in Hong Kong. Establishments have their names in both
English and Chinese. And there were many
Chinoys walking around. The old church, however, was a dead giveaway as well as the jeepneys and the
occasional kalesa.
 |
| The centuries-old octagonal belltower of Binondo Church (1596) |
It was difficult walking along Ongpin as a crowd had already
built up. A lot of people were wearing
red, I guess many really wanted to be lucky this year. Given all the bad luck I’ve been having,
maybe I should have donned myself in red from head to foot.
I witnessed a number of lion and dragon dancers with their
bright costumes. Some of them were
entering shops to the delight of the owners.
Drums and cymbals accompanied the dancers and there was a definite air of
festivity. It was just disappointing to
see some outsiders taking advantage of the occasion to earn money. There was a fat man with his skin
smeared with charcoal wearing a shaggy wig and a gold breechcloth walking around with scrawny
gay escorts in red long johns. I
couldn’t see if there was any cultural significance in what they were doing but
they were ostentatious enough in asking for donations. Perhaps if there were any evil entities that
should be driven away, they're it.
 |
| Face-to-face with a lion |
 |
| Children accompanying the dragon and lion dancers |
After reading a few travel blogs, I wanted to sample some of
the cuisine myself. I was not bold enough
to try the infamous Soup #5 but I did brave the thick crowd and the long lines
to buy the special tikoy from Eng Bee Tin.
(Yes, I know I can buy tikoy from the department store but it felt different buying it from the source.) I wanted to eat at Wai Ying Fast Food as I read that they serve really
good congee and chong fan but it seemed that a lot of people wanted to eat there too. I had to go to another restaurant – Wan Chai Tea House – which served good meals at inexpensive
prices. The place was alright except
their comfort room was dirty and the service was not as responsive as I would
like. They’ve ran out of Peking duck
and hakaw but I got to sample their seafood congee, wanton soup, beef rice roll
and beef hofan (a bit greasy, this one, but delicious!). The great thing about
Wan Chai is that it was also the name of the place where my siblings stayed in Hong Kong. At least
I could tell them that I also had lunch in Wan Chai.
 |
| Wan Chai, Hong Kong? Nah... Wan Chai, Binondo! |
 |
| Wan Chai's beef hofan |
 |
| Wan Chai's beef rice roll |
I couldn’t leave Binondo without tasting the famous
dumplings of Dong Bei. It took me a
while to find the place as it was small and inconspicuous but when I finally
found it, there was again, a long queue of people waiting. I think it would be safe to
assume that Dong Bei does not actively advertise so they have the
blogosphere to thank for free publicity.
As it was nearing evening and I did not want to scramble for a ride
home, I had to buy uncooked dumplings and stuffing pancakes. I cooked them at home but I think I did not
get to fry them properly on my non-stick pan.
Still, they were quite flavorful and I couldn’t wait to go to Binondo
again to buy some more.
 |
| Fried stuffing pancakes from Dong Bei |
