(01 March 2014) I woke up to a gloomy and lazy Saturday last week. Feeling troubled and anxious, I decided to ask my friend to join me in gallivanting the streets of the City of Manila. Wanting to savor good food, my girl friend, Bess, said yes right away as she was also in town for the weekend.
Feeling famished, we chose Binondo, Manila's Chinatown, as our first stop. We were lured by a sign that said something about dimsum that only costs Php 47.00 (~$1) per order. We went in a restaurant called Wan Chai and grabbed the menu. Their menu showed an array of Chinese dishes! Well, mostly costing around Php 200-300 (~$5-7.50). They offer fresh (and by fresh I mean live!) seafoods, like most Chinese restos in the metro. They also had several choices under the pork, beef and chicken categories.
Since we were so hungry, we didn't take much time in carefully choosing what to order. We just ordered the basics of Manila Chinese food. First off, the
Yangchow friend rice. It was good, albeit nothing special. The ingredients were generous though. For its price (read further for the check), I can say that it's worth it.
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| Yangchow fried rice |
The manager who attended to our orders quickly suggested that we try their specialty, the
lumpiang shanghai. Without thinking twice, we placed an order as suggested. After trying their
lumpia, I can say that it is really a bestseller-material.
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| Lumpiang Shanghai |
We also tried their clams in garlic and
tausi sauce. It was under their promo-price category so we only paid for Php 118 an order. Again, nothing special about this dish. Since we were in a seafood-y mood, we also tried their minced shrimps with mushroom. This is definitely a must-try! A bit pricey but I can say that the taste is peculiarly awesome.
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| Clams in Garlic and Tausi Sauce |
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| Minced Shrimps and Mushroom |
We had to wait for a bit for us to be able to avail of their Php 47/order dimsum promo. By this time, we were so full that we only had two kinds. At around 2pm, we ordered for their regular siomai and the Japanese siomai. Both their siomais were tasty! You can really savor the meat. Very few extenders, I suppose.
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| Regular Shrimp Siomai |
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| Japanese Siomai (served by 4, photo taken after eating the two. Ha ha ha!) |
Over-all, the experience was above-average. The place was clean as compared to other similar restaurants in Binondo. We were a little bit shocked with the bill though. We did not expect to pay around Php 1000 for the kind of food we had.
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| Bill, please. |
After our lunch-merienda, we roamed the streets of Chinatown for us to appreciate the Filipino-Chinese culture better. We saw various "general tradings" and charms stores. I tried looking for a heart-healing charm and the attendant recommended
rhodochrosite. I was on the verge of buying a bracelet when I suddenly realized that it is too high-a-price for such a utility. Ha ha ha. One rhodochrosite bracelet costs a whopping Php 3,800 (~$95). I'd be willing to waste such an amount if the possibility of a healed heart is high! Ha ha ha.
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| Random fruits for sale |
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| Filipino-Chinese Friendship Bridge |
Since Binondo was just a few kilometers away from Quiapo, we went to visit the Basilica of the Black Nazarene. As we passed by the crowded streets of Carriedo-Quiapo, we were attracted (or distracted) to know our fortune. We had a difficulty choosing who to hear our fortune from so we just based their "legitimacy" from our gut-feel. We chose Madam Teresa! She was offering palm and card reading services, so we availed of both. It was such a disappointment to find out that what she said to my friend was the very same thing she said to me. Perhaps they already have their spiels memorized! Tsk. We wasted Php 150 (~$3.75) each to listen to very general advices from a self-proclaimed fortune-teller. Oh well, we will just charge it to experience.
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| Bess getting ready for her "future" |
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| Our future according to the tarot cards |
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| Madam Teresa doing her thing |
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| Palm-reading session |
Feeling dissatisfied with everything that the fortune-teller revealed (?), we proceeded to the Black Nazarene church to offer our prayers. It was also my friend's first time to visit the church, so, according to an arbitrary Catholic belief, she is entitled to make a wish.
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| Quiapo Church's view from Plaza Miranda |
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| The intricate interior of the Basilica of the Black Nazarene |
Before heading home, we quickly changed our minds and visited Dangwa - the flower capital of Manila - instead. With just around Php 500 on hand, we bought several bunches of flowers including a dozen of roses, calla lilies, carnation, Malaysian mums, and the like.
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| Dangwa's bouquet choices |
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| Flower vendors along the streets of Dangwa |
We went home tired and kinda fulfilled with the bunches of flowers we bought. It is only now that I realized how flowers can alter your mood - from melancholic and pensive to jovial and thankful.
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| Marlon and Bess with our newspaper-wrapped flowers |
How to go to Binondo: Access Taft Avenue by any bus or the LRT-1, alight at U. N. Avenue and ride a jeepeney to Divisoria. Tell the driver to drop you off at Escolta or the plaza across San Lorenzo Church in Ongpin Street.
From Binondo to Quiapo: From Binondo, Quiapo Church is accessible by walking.
How to get to Dangwa from Quiapo: Go to Quezon Boulevard and ride any jeep with a signboard that says "Dapitan." Tell the driver to drop you off at Dangwa.
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