Binondo is rich in traditional chinese culture and the Chinatown district of Manila wherein it is considered as the first and oldest Chinatown in the world. Famous on its Chinese gastronomy, people fall in line rain or shine, morning until evening. My friend and I came back. We visited again some restaurants and explored new ones in the district and ordered their famous delicacies.
We met in Carriedo LRT station at 12 noon and have decided beforehand to start our Binondo food tour at this time. Since we have not tried Roasted Pecking Duck even with our previous food tours, so here we are. Our first stop, Wai Ying Fast Food. Wai Ying serves authentic Cantonese cuisine and famous on its hanged roasted pecking duck as you pass by inside the place. We ordered 250 grams of Roasted Pecking Duck, 2 cups of white rice supposedly fried rice but was not available this time, and their famous Hakaw.
This fastfood place has generous servings of its food. We never thought that we can finish all of them in one sitting but because of its tastiness and appeal, while chatting, we have seen our plates gradually became empty. Roasted Pecking Duck is tender. I can not say that it tastes like chicken because the taste and its texture is really different. The asado-like sauce is also really good. I would suggest to partner it with simple white rice so you can appreciate its distinct flavor. Do not worry, they will give you free big bowl of stew whenever you need to compliment your meal with soup.
On the otherhand, my friend is a fan of Hakaw. Tho I can not remember if I already tried it once and what it tastes like, I find it tasteful but not overwealmingly flavorful. Hakaw looks good because of its thin layer wrapped around the generous amount of meat.
We came to Binondo without itinerary. We will just go by of what the moment offers. Our next stop, Shanghai Fried Siopao. I have ate one before but I could not remember its taste or if I have liked it. Actually, we bought some to take home because we are still full at this time and just trying to have a dessert. I will include my review anyway. I ate it a day after but first, I preheat it using microwave oven. Do not get me wrong, we bought them hot and I think you can never get a cold one since they have not run out of people who buy it so expect that what you will get is still fresh from the pan.
This is not an ordinary fried siopao for me because as far I can remember, fried siopao is deep fried in oil that made it fried. But no, you can see the bottom of the siopao that was fried but the upper part is still in white like steamed. I am not familiar on the process of their cooking but the taste justified its friedness. On my first bite, I can taste already the fried filling. This is not asado nor bola-bola, it is fried meat! The amazing part is, you can not see any burn or uneven cook on the filling. This really tastes so good. No wonder why people wait for long to have some with them. I even want more. Definitely, I will buy again when I return.
I ate in Cafe Mezzanine before and tried their Oyster Cake, Xiao Long Bao, and others. Though I am not into Oyster Cake, I would like to eat again Xiao Long Bao due to its uniqueness. My friend would also like to try their Halo-Halo as our panghimagas. Sadly, it had too long line of people. Maybe because it was also raining. So, we strolled around to see where we can spend some time chitchatting. We then stayed at Bon Appetea.
Matcha Green Tea Salt and Cheese Foam Series for myself, Butterscotch Mousse Salt and Cheese Foam Series for her, and a slice of Toblerone Cheesecake for both of us. I would not say much about our food because we are busy checking up and updating each other. The ambience is good though and the place feels cozy. Just the down side, they closes at 4pm. Since it is still early for dinner, we went to Tasty Dumplings to try their steamed and fried dumplings to let the time passes.
We entered in the restaurant with some vacant tables. Though they are famous with their large chicken fillet, we were too full to try it so we just ordered two types on their menu. Kuchay is new to our vocabulary so we asked the staff. Kuchay is a mixture of meat and vegetables. There is no harm in trying right? There are 8pcs of it for every order. We thought just like before that 8pcs was enough for both us, but no, just like earlier we ordered another. This time it was fried dumplings. They are good and taste good. Hakaw is still better still but for the experience of eating a bunch of dumplings, no umay, we just ate them all. For some reviews I have read, they are on the list of must-try's but it is raining for quite a while. Maybe a one factor why people are not around.
After we finished eating the dumplings, we decided to stroll around 168 Mall and my friend look around for dresses. We did not know that most shops are only open until 6pm. Luckily, we have seen this shop which mostly sell dresses and she bought two. Achievement unlocked. It was getting dark and dinner was approaching. We went to Lucky Chinatown Mall and ate our dinner.
Last stop, Sincerity. Sincerety restaurant has good reputation. I have seen reviews from famous celebrities and recommend by some. Fortunately, there is a branch on Lucky Chinatown Mall. We wait for a bit to get us in and we ordered Half Sincerity Fried Chicken, Lomi, and Kikiam. Yum!
Damn! Their fried chicken is a bomb. So good. Tastes so so good. No need for sauce. We even ate all of them without rice. The meat is juicy and tasty. Sincerity does not disappoint until this day. Try it for yourself. Their Kikiam is authentic chinese cuisine. This is special and does not tastes ordinary even the looks is different. It is even paired with Atchara. I recommend it. Chinese Kikiam is full of flavors. And the Atchara is good, not so powerful. They are perfectly matched.
For the Lomi, I do not eat Lomi. As I remember, the taste of Lomi is too much. Flavors are too powerful. But in Sincerity Restaurant, the flavors are balance. It is rich in flavors but you can taste each the same. This is the Lomi that I can eat. So whenever I want to eat Lomi, I have a place I can go to. Lomi has shrimp, pork, and generous amount of veggies. The serving is generous too. Their small size is good for two people to be honest.
To wrap things up, I love Roasted Pecking Duck and Sincerity Fried Chicken. A special mention for Shanghai Fried Siopao for unexpected tastefulness. For the dumplings we tried including Hakaw, I like them all the same. Would be happy to compare Xiao Long Bao with them but I will do it next time if would be given a chance. Lomi is unexplanably good as for myself. And the kikiam has been good ever, no doubt about it. There are more restaurants to try. There are also dumpling places that offers more. Binondo has so much to give. Get your map ready, get your tummy ready because if you go to Binondo hungry, you will came home full, happy, and satisfied. Until my next Binondo foodventure!
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