The Tsinoy in us
Over the years, my long-standing love affair with Manila’s Chinatown has never waned, through the thick and thin of traffic notwithstanding. Even to this day, I feel the same wanderlust every time I go there. There’s always something new to discover — to eat and to shop for. It is as if I am setting foot in Wonderland — a foodie’s Wonderland, if ever there was one.
Sometime late last year, I got a chance to reacquaint myself with my old fling. Mary Ann and I joined a group of foodies on The Big Binondo Food Wok tour conducted by Ivan Man Dy, a self-appointed denizen and ambassador of Manila; a passionate, obsessive and saucy “street walker” who is determined to walk and talk about its history, culture and heritage. He believes that the best way to explore his city of choice is by foot and operates by a simple principle: to have you experience the best of historic Manila — one step at a time. It’s a lure to experience an urban adventure, visiting churches, temples, wet markets, historic homes, traditional shops, city walls, alleys, esteros and graveyards.
The Big Binondo Food Wok is a walking tour of Chinatown, literally nibbling our way down the intimate nooks and alleys of Manila’s Chinese quarter, imbibing 400 years of history in just four hours of indulgence. It was virtually a lauriat, albeit a progressive walking lauriat, visiting some seven of Ivan’s favorite restaurants, hopping and puffing, trying the best house specialties of each.
The tour starts at the 16th-century baroque Binondo Church, winding our way down to a miraculous Chinese shrine; gorging on Chinese treats here and there with Ivan explaining the history and character of each place through the context of food; shopping for Chinese delicacies for pasalubong; and following the Heritage Trail that took us to important streets, monuments and other landmarks in Chinatown. It was a fun-filled day rediscovering and appreciating the Chinese in all of us — if not in our blood, then definitely running through our veins with all the pancit, lumpia, sweet and sour pork, pigeons, and pata tim we’ve been feeding on for generations. To all our Tsinoy brothers: Kung Hei Fat Choy!
