V for Vina: there's always the first time

there's always the first time
Friday, July 14, 2006

ever since i permanently set foot here in manila almost 4 years ago, i only knew binondo to be divisoria and 168 malls - but that all changed when i had a taste of my first, real chinatown trip last Saturday, courtesy of fellow bloggers Eric and Ms. Ajay!

we met up at Binondo Church, and because the rain suddenly poured like crazy, we initially took shelter at nearby Cafe Mezzanine for some coffee and introductory talks. it was the first time for Eric and Ajay to meet, and my first time to meet Eric!

we then proceeded to a small dumpling/dimsum eatery along Yuchengco St. named Dong Bei, where everything was made fresh, right in front of you! we ordered a mix of kutchay (chives) and pork dumplings - 13 pieces for only P100!

now, i really don't eat vegetables or anything vegetable-like for that matter (go figure), but boy, did i devour those kutchay dumplings!

after some detour to purchase chinatown goodies such as tea eggs, fried siopao and Salazar bakery products, we headed to popular estero to have our dirt-cheap (no pun intended) but super delicious lunch. there wasn't really any, erm, smell, wafting through the air, but we still opted to eat at the 2nd floor/airconditioned area of Grand House, which is the first among the rows of eatery you'll see once you descend the stairs. for our order of fried rice, hototay soup, fish with tausi and salt & pepper pork, we only paid around P120 each! hmmmm, maybe i shouldn't mention that Ajay and Eric finished it all up...yeah, maybe i shouldn't mention that.

to wrap up the rainy chinatown food trip, Ajay brought us to Pansiteria Lido for its great tasting brewed coffee. mmmmm, for a non-coffee drinker like me, i didn't mind at all! it was delicious indeed! but i made a mental note to try that famous pugon-roasted asado.

next time - via LRT.

posted by vina @ 4:18 PM

24 Comments:

At 9:11 PM, July 14, 2006, Anonymous said...: Very Hongkee to me. I like Binondo, in fact I like that hot rice with beef fillings wrapped in dahon ba yun? And the Kalesa part of Binondo gives the historical feel of Manila - kaso nga lang amuy ebs sa kalsada.

I think it's a place to buy nice chinese jade. Sandali, PARA! Sa tabi lang. May siu-bao sa kanto o sarap nyan!
At 9:23 PM, July 14, 2006, Anonymous said...: Ohhh I am sooo jelly. I miss eating dimsum you know. Since most of the Chinese restos here doesnt serve dimsum
At 11:01 PM, July 14, 2006, Anonymous said...: Do try that pugon roasted asado of Lido. It's what made them famous eons ago. Also, try Panciteria Manosa for their famous 'Chami' or fried noodles. And finally, do not forget to pass by Eng Bee Tin for their famous Ube Hopia, which is just beside Binondo church, and who happens to own Mezzanine cafe too. :-)
At 11:02 PM, July 14, 2006, Gayzha said...: OMG! Me and my closed friends usually go to a place in Binondo where we had the best pansit canton evahhhh.... plus all the other food. The place smells and looks unattractive but then the food is really Chinese best. This is my friends' family favorite and he introduced us to the place and we got addicted, and had cravings! I now forgot the name ... for it was long time ago, but i could ask my friend to confirm the restaurant's name... I could still remember the cravings!!! Maybe we are talking about the same place - Grand House?? maybe.
At 11:25 PM, July 14, 2006, Anonymous said...: I used to live in that area when I was a kid. I almost was enrolled in the nearby Chinese schools there!
I only remember one place over there now where we used to eat lots of Pork asado ;) name is Wah sun... not sure if it's still there...
At 11:25 PM, July 14, 2006, ghee said...: oh no!! ok,you gave me an idea,Vina!
i have to go to Chinatown and take some bites for those foods,too!

The fried rice looks yummy,at type ko rin ang fried chicken nila jan,haha!
At 2:10 AM, July 15, 2006, Richard said...: Makes me envious I was not there to share in that lovely meal (although, I did go to a nice Chinese buffet with Tania [my daughter] last night)
At 6:01 AM, July 15, 2006, dreaming-neko said...: eat your veggies, silly! :)
At 8:44 AM, July 15, 2006, Ers said...: been to one of the restos in estero.. they really have sumptous cuisines.

that was a long time ago.

your entries may inspire me to go back there. =D
At 9:45 AM, July 15, 2006, Anonymous said...: Wow! That's 4 restos in one day. You guys must have been stuffed by the end of the day.
At 1:12 PM, July 15, 2006, Anonymous said...: Hahaha.Yeah,we finished it all up.I am always accused of that.:P You're right, whenever I like to go to Chinatown,the LRT is the best. Tara,expedition uli soon. -ajay
At 11:58 PM, July 16, 2006, Anonymous said...: i guess, for food like that I'll cross an ocean and go to Binondo

with girls like these, I'll go to the ends of the earth in search of crumbs...

that's a lot of fried rice...

bh
At 10:49 AM, July 17, 2006, vina said...: K> pssst, K! magbayad ka raw muna bago bumaba!

CHAS> aaaw, poor you. poor, poor, chas. poor, poor, poor you.

RHO-ANNE> just make sure na malinis yan bunso!

SNGLGUY> basta! we'll have to get together next time! then, you can treat me to those!
At 10:54 AM, July 17, 2006, vina said...: JASE> sisterette! come home for a vacation kasi, then treat kita promise!

DUKE> bakit almost enrolled lang? and regarding Wah Sun, i'll ask around.

GHEE> ano ate ghee? did you satisfy your craving na?

RICHARD> well, you shouldn't be envious tito richard coz you spent time with your daughter!
At 10:57 AM, July 17, 2006, vina said...: NEKO> i have to have a reward if i eat my veggies!

ERA> let me know if you want to go there! let's meet up!

NICEHEART> um, let's just say i didn't have to eat dinner anymore...

AJAY> yeah, you really did Aj...and i doubted at first if we could finish everything! i will never, ever doubt again when you're around...
At 11:00 AM, July 17, 2006, vina said...: ERIC> just let me know eric! and good luck on your trip!

BH> so which ocean will you be crossing?

with regards to the fried rice, it was indeed a lot for just the three of us, but nothing was wasted, hehe.
At 1:10 PM, July 17, 2006, tin-tin said...: vina, when you have a chinatown adventure, sama ako. haven't tried it yet. i just go to binondo before for the office of my dad and to visit the dentist. that's just it. and can you believe, i still haven't been to 168??
At 2:40 PM, July 17, 2006, vina said...: TIN> sige! that would be great! let's plan it!
At 8:43 AM, July 18, 2006, Anonymous said...: the Mighty Pacific, no less

was it good to the last grain?

say hello to Ajay, the nomad

bh
At 10:34 AM, July 18, 2006, vina said...: BH> wow, that's some ocean to cross.

everything was good to the last grain AND crumbs. major thanks goes to ajay and eric whose appetites i will never doubt again.
At 5:59 PM, July 18, 2006, Nick Ballesteros said...: waaahh uwi na ako kasi gutom na ako.... Nice si Ajay ano? I met her a couple of Christmases ago. Parang ang tagal na...
At 11:28 PM, July 18, 2006, Anonymous said...: mu'kang ang sarap sarap ng mga food. kakagutom!

i like Salazar goodies!
At 8:08 PM, July 19, 2006, vina said...: WATSON> hehe, naiinggit ka ba Kuya Watson? and yes, Ajay is nice. we work in the same company.

BINGSKEE> it was the first time i tasted salazar products. i bought their ube ensaymada and asado pao. delicious!!!
At 10:14 PM, July 22, 2006, E. S. de Montemayor said...: abaw abaw ah... namit kaon nila ba...heheheheh...

V for Vina

there's always the first time Friday, July 14, 2006

24 Comments:

there's always the first time
Friday, July 14, 2006