Name It, They Have It

Name it, they have it. The fanciest chandeliers, the most exotic food, fresh fruits, haw flakes, herbal medicines, fine jewellery, and lucky charms, you can all find them in Binondo, Manila's Chinatown. In the heart of Binondo is Ongpin Street, stretching from the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz to Carriedo Street in Quiapo, where they have some of the best Chinese restaurants in the city.

I occasionally go when I'm craving for Chinese food but this time, I went because I wanted to see the Chinese doctor recommended by Lulu Tan-Gan. The doctor would hold your pulse and from there he'll identify your illnesses. My dear friend from college, Gwen Tangcueco accompanied me, she's always happy to volunteer as my tourist guide and interpreter. We got a queue number from the doctor and calculated it will be an hour wait more or less, so we decided to take a little tour of Ongpin.

I hoarded ube hopia from Eng Bee Tin and tried their ube pao and some siomai. We window shopped for jade and lucky charms, and got some Feng Shui 101 from the friendly shop owners. Back at the clinic, the doctor felt my pulse and with an impish smile, exclaimed "may factoly ka ng sugar!". Why wasn't I surprised? He prescribed me herbs to boil and drink for my high sugar count and I bought it at the drugstore down at the street corner. I felt cured already, from the good laugh with the doctor, and from my happy tour with Gwen.

The Ongpin North Bridge

Ongpin Street

Ready to eat sugarcane

Watermelons, squash, onions, and garlic sold on carts.

Herbal medicines my Chinese doctor prescribed.

Eng Bee Tin, famous for their ube hopia.

My tourist guide, my good friend Gwen Tangcueco.

Ube pao from Eng Bee Tin

Looking at jade pendants

Comments

The House Of Dr. Luis Santos

Our tour of Malolos continues, from the Cojuangco ancestral house http://myrefrigeratordoor.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-cojuangco-ancestral-house.html , our gracious host Melecio Cojuangco brought us to the house of Dr. Luis Santos. Mel arranged the visit with one of the heirs of Dr. Santos, George Imperial . From the outside, one would already be in awe of the sheer size of the house. The house was built in 1933, according to the marker by the gate. Upon entering, you will marvel at the grand staircase, the expansive receiving room and the foyer filled with hard bound medical books and mementos of Dr. Santos' career as a well loved doctor in this town. The second floor was something else, as our group slowly ascended the magnificent staircase, my heart literally skipped a beat at the sight of the ceiling mural and Art Deco details. We found out later that the mural was painted by the great Fernando Amorsolo himself. There was a private chapel in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes

Bespoke Dining At Denlim's Kitchen

I first heard of Denlim's Kitchen from my friend Boboy Consunji . Boboy posted photos of the Denlim's pugon liempo (pork belly roasted in a brick stove) on Facebook, and it caused me a couple of sleepless nights. Dennis Lim , the chef and owner serves only one group a night, and dinner is booked nine months in advance. One day, I got a call from Boboy, there was a booking cancelation and he was lucky to get the slot. Excited for the big feast, I walked Mega Mall from end to end, and ate in small portions three days before our appointed day. Denlim's is in San Fernando, Pampanga, a two hour drive from the metro. Boboy, a Kapampangan was our living Waze and historian, we didn't have trouble looking for the place. Free of corkage, we each brought a bottle of red wine, my good friend James Reyes , and Noel Orosa . We were a happy group of twelve, Boboy's friends. Each dish personally served by Dennis were wiped out in minutes. I especially loved the bread ser

The Cojuangco Ancestral House

Our next journey takes us to a historic town in Bulacan, thirty minutes north of Manila. My road trip buddies, my college friends who all share with me the same fascination for heritage houses were privileged by an invitation from Melecio Cojuangco to visit their ancestral house in Malolos. Mel, his cousin in law Marissa Lopa, Rima Datuin and Evelyn Bautista and I discovered each other's funny bone because of our love for the ice cream served in a huge bowl at Peninsula Manila's lobby. One evening, to justify our appetite, we pretended it was my birthday and we had the string quartet play happy birthday for me, from then on, we became good friends. Mel's grandfather, Jose Cojuangco was born at the Malolos house, very near the Barasoain Church. Jose's mother traded rice from Nueva Ecija, sacks transported by boat via the river at the back of the kamalig to Binondo, Manila. Like most turn of the century houses, the Cojuangco house uses piedra china stones f

My Refrigerator Door

Search This Blog