FOOD BINGEING AT CHINATOWN BINONDO

Besides the daily grind of commerce, food is one of the main attractions of Chinatown.

I heard about some of its good restaurants such as the Lido along Alonzo Street; the original Lingnam Restaurant known for its fresh noodles; and the eateries along the estero such as Grand House that people rave about.

And for some quick meals Chinatown offers the original Mey Lin along Carvajal Street, Shin Tong Yon on Benavidez Street, and Ha Yuan Restaurant on Masangkay Street.

Over at Quintin Paredes Street there are the Golden Palace, Ocean Dragon and Dragon Seed. For afternoon tea and dimsum, some old-timers prefer the Wah Yuen Restaurant along Escolta Street. I was also told about other fine restaurants for lauriat dining such as the Royal Garden and Green Lake for seafood; Chuan Kee for its five treasure soup; and of course, The President Restaurant.

Although my father took me to Chinatown to eat at least once a week while growing up, I had been away for so long that when I came back, everything looks strange; foreign, in fact.

So many things had changed during my absence. And since coming back, The President was the only restaurant I would go to whenever I find myself in Chinatown. As much as I love the foods served at this fine restaurant, I was craving for other places. I guess it wasn’t just the food; I was trying to get that old feeling back -- the time when my father and I used to walk on these streets.

My old friends and relatives weren't of any help. They don’t feel inspired to venture into Binondo’s narrow streets anymore. Besides, a lot of fine Chinese restaurants had opened all over Metro Manila that offer lots of parking to boot. But I wanted to reacquaint myself with the authentic Binondo eateries. And this inner desire led me to sign up for Ivan Mandy’s Big Binondo Food Wok — an afternoon of history lessons and several authentic Chinese food stops.

I had a wonderful time! Ivan is really good at what he does. Let me put it this way, everyone in this particular tour group was having such a good time that the intermittent showers throughout the entire afternoon didn’t even bother any one of us.

There were other bloggers who joined this particular tour and whom I had the pleasure of meeting. I will leave it up to them to share with the readers the full extent of the tour. What I plan to do instead is go back to those places that Ivan Mandy introduced us to, order a couple of entrees from their menu, and then blog about it.

Although there are many fine Chinese restaurants nearby where I live in Quezon City such as the Causeway Seafood Restaurant and Haf Chang's Restaurant on Banawe; the dimsun at The President Tea House on Salazar Street in Binondo is still by far the best!