Binondo Food Wok with Ivan Man Dy

Nothing beats being introduced to the place full of rich cultural heritage and history while eating your way through them. That is what I have experienced at the start of this year when I joined fellow foodies at The Binondo Food Wok with Ivan Man Dy of The Old Manila Walks.

When we were told that our tour isn’t going to be the popular tried and tested Big Binondo Food Wok but rather a tour of Ivan’s personal favorite just in time for the Lunar New Year, I knew that I needed to extend my holiday vacation. On January 23, we will be celebrating Chinese New Year that is why I deemed joining the tour couldn’t be more apt.

I am not really familiar with Binondo. As a matter of fact, for the fear of losing one daughter in the streets of Manila, my father took some of his time to drop me by at the Binondo Church, the meeting place for the tour. It was an unchartered territory since the only restaurant that I am familiar with at the area is our family’s favorite, The President Tea House. So, alongside with some of my favorite foodies, I took the fun and exciting gastronomical 4-hour walk to Binondo.

After meeting at Binondo Church, Ivan led us to a narrow street called Carvajal. It houses food vendors selling variety of fruits, vegetable, dried fish, and other produce. It is also the location of our first stop, The Quick Snack. A hole-in-the-wall foodie place that has been in operation for almost 50 years. Although Chinese by nature, their menu has an Indonesian influence since the Chinese owner came from Indonesia. I find it fascinating that some of the food attendants have been with them for more than a decade or so now.

Ivan told us that we are going to have our “Appetizers” here. So, I expected a small portion of food which can even be eaten even while standing up since the place looks pretty jam packed for me. Then these manas from heaven graced our table.

One of the first dishes that were served to us was the Fried Lumpia (Php 55). I am not a fan of lumpia, but this one was so different it made me a convert. Packed with minced meat and vegetables, this fried lumpia’s crunchy texture was such a treat that goes perfectly well with the white vinegar. Kuchay Ah (Php 40) resembles that of a meat pie or empanada, only it has kuchay inside. It has a great tasting pastry and generous stuffing which can fill one up easily. Oyster Cake (Php 180) was an interesting dish for me. It was a welcome change from the usual baked oyster that I normally order from restaurants.

Sate Mi (Php 135) is a noodle dish which taste I find really interesting. I guess its authentic taste that regaled my palate that time, but whatever it is, I’ll surely order for it the next time I visit. Indonesian Tauhu (Php 75) is a fried tofu dish, only a million times better. I almost missed trying out this one because it looked spicy to me at a glance. Good thing that Richard talked me into trying it because hail to the mother of all tofu; it was so good I could eat the dish for the rest of my life! Crunchy outside but unapologetically soft inside, it goes perfectly well with the sweet sauce hinting of lemongrass.

fter our stop for Ivan’s definition of “Appetizer” we continued walking towards Nueva St. until we reached the corner where Holland is located. Known for its Hopia and other Chinese delicacies, Holland showcased different hopia flavors which I find really interesting. A Tikoy shaped like a Coy fish was also showed to us aside from other goods that Holland carries.

After more walking from our last stop, we found ourselves by the most photographed street signage at the area which reads “ONGPIN” with a quirky inverted letter N printed on it.

Then we head on to Salazar St. where Po Chuan Tin Bakery is located. Home of the original hopia in Ongpin, this downright simple bakery is owned by a Chinese couple that have been keeping their traditional way of making hopia alive all through the years.

We also passed by a Chinese turo-turo which boasts of wide variety of viands and other food that they sell. If all turo-turo in Manila were as nice looking as this one, I may need all the time in the world for more food tripping.

We also passed by some of the food establishments I have heard of but have not tried yet. The more we unravel the streets, the more reason I gather for me to steel my resolve to go back at the area in the future.

When we stopped by at the corner of Salazar and Masangkay St., Ivan pointed us a National Historic signage which isn’t really noticeable if you happen to passed by the area. Turns out, the original manuscript of Jose P. Rizal’s NOLI ME TANGERE was kept hidden in the place for a time. The remains of our National Hero were also kept hidden there for a few days right after the exhumation from the Paco Cemetery. I didn’t know that until that day Ivan dished out the historical tidbit.

From Salazar and Benevidez St. we continued walking until we reached our “Sichuan Lunch” stop at Rosso Asian Kitchen located at Gandara St. Ivan told us that the restaurant used to offer pasta and other food which doesn’t really reflect the dining scene at Binondo. After the owner tweaked the menu and made some changes, it became one of Ivan’s favorites.

At Rosso, we were served their JI GONG BAO Shabu-Shabu. Now, this Shabu-Shabu is different from the usual Hot Pot that we all enjoy in other restaurants. It’s a Sichuan style Hot Pot where you enjoy the braised meat of your choice over fire first, then your pot will be filled with broth, and that’s the time when you can put your choices of meats, vegetables, and balls into the pot.

Aside from the Ji Gong Bao, we were also served with Szechuan Water Cooked Beef (Php 338) and Szechuan Twice Cooked Pork (Php 248). Both were good, especially the twice cooked pork, but my palate prefer the Ji Gong Bao more since it really was an explosion of different flavor made all the more spunky with its spicy taste.

fter our hefty lunch at Rosso, more walking ensued which we gladly took, in the hope that it can somehow help in creating more space in our tummy for one last stop at Sa Lido Restaurant.

Since I was the only lady in our group, when we entered Sa Lido, Ivan playfully told me that I’ll be a bit out of place. I wasn’t aware what he meant by that until I looked around me and noticed that most of the customers were all men! It didn’t bother me though as I have been in the company of good men since the beginning of our Binondo Food Wok.

It wasn’t even an hour had passed since we had our lunch at Rosso, but Ivan must have loved our group so much, or anyone who joined The Big Binondo Food Wok for that matter, because despite the level of fullness that everyone was experiencing at that time, we were asked to order anything that we liked on the menu. That is on top of the best sellers he had already ordered for our group.

The only thing that was on my mind that time was a cup of Siphon Coffee that Sa Lido is famous for, so that’s what some of us ordered. I was this close to saying no to other dishes that graced our table but since I was in the company of some of the best foodies in Manila, I was easily swayed into having my fair share of some of the best dishes that Sa Lido offers to their customers.

Their Chami may look as simple as it can get, but it was the best tasting Chami I have tried. The generous ingredients scream flavors that I cannot soon forget. Since I love shrimps in general, I also tried their Camaron. Its batter tasted good while the shrimp were juicy despite its size.

Sa Lido is also known for their Pugon Cooked Asado. Cooking the posrk in a wood fire oven really does make a big difference in terms of taste, so as expected, the Asado was superb. When I heard that Ivan ordered for Hototai, I got too excited because last time I had it was during my elementary days. It was good in a way that it evokes good memories. For our dessert, we were served with a gorgeous bowl of Almond Lychee. It was a perfect way to seal the four hour of walking and eating at the streets of Binondo.

I couldn’t think of any best way to start my year other than joining this food walk with Ivan Man Dy and other foodies. It was an experience that doesn’t just focus on eating because bits and pieces of knowledge and information were dished out along the way. Honestly, it opened my mind into something so rich and beautiful way beyond what meets the eye.

Indeed it is one tour that I would suggest everyone to take even for once in their life because it was worth it. Knowledge and food will always be worth it.