There’s something about Manila that lures me into
exploring it. The atmosphere, perhaps?
Traversing the streets of Manila transcends a
feeling of going back in time and watching the colorful culture circling the
place. Despite the modern structures, moving around Manila feels like living
inside a history book, seeing the historic capital described in it firsthand.
As part of my urban exploration, my friend and I
visited the oldest Chinatown in the world—our very own Manila Chinatown in
Binondo. Established in 1594, Manila Chinatown offers a one-of-a-kind dining
experience.
 |
How to get
there
Well, I can only talk about how we got there, but this is still useful
information.
From any southbound station, take the MRT and get
off at Taft Avenue station. Then, take the LRT and alight at Carriedo station.
We walked from the station going to Binondo, but I’m sure there are jeepneys
headed that way. We just navigated the route through Google Maps and decided to
walk since it’s a short distance. It took us 7 minutes or less to reach our
first stop.
Ying Ying
Restaurant
It was lunch time when we arrived and the
two-story diner was full. There’s nothing spectacular about the interior. In
fact, it’s akin to a school cafeteria. But it being jam-packed hinted that an
exciting feast awaited us. The intervals between people coming out and going in
were short.
We ordered braised beef noodles, fried pork
dumplings, shrimp hakaw, and black gulaman. While waiting for our food, we
helped ourselves with the house tea that sat waiting for hungry souls on the
table. It was newly brewed, as the tea pot was hot.
A few minutes later, food was served. And indeed,
it was an appetizing meal!
 |
| Braised Beef Noodles |
