On another lazy Saturday, Vel and I turned off the snooze button and ventured into Old Manila.
We took the LRT (short for Light Railway Station --- only my second LRT ride in my lifetime) and alighted at the Carriedo station. We then leisurely walked towards Binondo, the address of Manila's Chinatown.
Our first stop was the "premium" specialty lumpia at the New Eastern Garden. We seemed to have selected this at random. When we saw old Chinese among the customers of this seemingly hole-in-the-wall store, we thought that it was the right place for authentic fresh Chinese lumpia. True enough, after some "googling", I learned that this is among the top must-visit restaurants in Binondo --- New Eastern Garden, since 1950, and home of the original fresh lumpia king. I do not normally eat fresh lumpia as I usually prefer the fried ones. However, this premium one didn't fail me. As requested, our orders included seaweed which actually helped balanced the tangy taste of the mixed vegetables. It was filling for someone of my petite size, and I finished the whole thing with no problem :)
Then we headed to Salazar Bakery at Salazar St., Ongpin --- obviously the first branch of the Chinese bakery franchise. I bought the bestseller Black Mongo hopia and as an afterthought, added an Ube hopia (my personal favorite for all things hopia). After tasting these at home, I immediately erased my preference for the more commercial and famous hopia brand (which I will not quote here). I loved the ube hopia to bits and looked forward to eating these with my breakfast coffee.
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| House tea --- while waiting for the orders, and also after a full meal |
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| Our simple merienda |
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| I ordered ripe mango shake |
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| The seafood pancit canton was enough to feed four, in my opinion. Just because we were in a Chinese restaurant, we had an excuse to be frugal, so we asked the server to bag the remaining pancit canton, split into two. Hehe. |
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| Vel's order: Hakaw or hakao are shrimp dumplings. |
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| My order: Shark's fin |
After our filling merienda, we headed to Luneta Park (my first time there, in my 8-9 years of living in Manila --- can you believe that?). We watched the dancing lights and was amazed and grateful at the same time. The initiatives of the local government have helped revive Luneta Park to its old glory.
It was an eventful and productive Saturday. We appreciated Old Manila more. I usually take this older section of the country's capital for granted and prefer to wander in my comfort zones --- Makati and the BGC in Taguig. This Old Manila, on the other hand, is the more gritty side of the capital. You watch out for yourself and your belongings, lest you become a victim of petty crimes like pick-pocketing. You inhale air pollution from all sources - vehicles, buildings, or just the air, itself. You see dirt, grime and decay in buildings, alleys, sidewalks and everywhere else.
And yet, there is beauty in its old age. The Museum of the Filipino People, that imposing structure along Luneta Park (I kept repeating "That is just beautiful" to Vel when we passed by. In that short moment, I felt like I was taken back to Washington D.C.). The Old Post Office which, in its ancient grandeur, seems to protest its natural death. The bust-heads of Filipino heroes along Luneta Park. The Chinese-character signages all over Binondo. The various architectures of old buildings in Ongpin, which electrical wirings have managed to hide. The good food - so Chinese in all respects. Those are authentic flavors of our ancestry. We may not have chinito/chinita eyes or fine porcelain skin like our Chinese brothers and sisters. However, we cannot deny that a part of us has that Oriental influence that we can choose to rediscover. If you intend to, just hop in to a jeepney, bus or railway transit and head over to Binondo. Afterwards, you can also join the weekend crowd of the Luneta Park for a cheap thrill and an educational tour.
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