Manila’s Binondo district isn’t the world’s oldest Chinatown for nothing. Beyond its Ongpin Street famed for food crawls is a thriving Filipino-Chinese community with decadeslong livelihoods positioned at each twist and turn.
The media including Manila Standard recently visited the less-explored but culturally abundant parts of the neighborhood ahead of the Chinese New Year celebration.
To get there, we met up at Pasig’s Capitol Commons to board the Ford Territory, where we would reach our destination in style and comfort.
For the passenger princess, the vehicle’s highlights include spacious legroom and a panoramic moonroof to brighten your day. Its wireless connectivity also allowed us to listen to a shared Spotify playlist featuring our favorite K-pop tracks along the way. Traffic never seemed so seamless, and eventually, we reached a car park within walking distance of our day’s itinerary.
Our host was Ivan Man Dy, a tourism professional who pioneered food and cultural tours in Chinatown and other areas of Manila. Instead of his staple Binondo Food WOK tour, which has consistently been rated as one of the top experiences in Manila, Dy curated a unique experience for his media guests to “explore the community” behind Chinatown.
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Our first stop was Polland Hopia, where we met Abigail Tin, who gave us a hands-on hopia-making workshop. Tin joined her husband’s business when she married into the family and now heads the marketing of the six-decade-old business.
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Here, we also received personalized Chinese couplets bearing New Year calligraphy greetings inked by Dewey Tan. Like many Tsinoys, Tan first learned Chinese calligraphy in school. He represented his schools in competitions, and his works have since been exhibited in Manila and Dubai.
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Next, we walked to Escolta Coffee Company, where Gabriel Villegas introduced us to the practice of coffee cupping. We took turns smelling and then sampling different homegrown coffee varieties. Villegas has completed courses for SCA Roasting Foundation and Intermediate and is currently a CQI Q Arabica Grader.
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Here, Denise Dorotan Chua also gave her customized Year of the Wooden Snake readings for every Chinese Zodiac sign. Chua is a third-generation store manager of their family business New Victory Trading and one of the founders of Tinghun Guru Phils, a premiere Chinese wedding and engagement service in Manila.
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Finally, the group enjoyed a hearty meal of fish ball soup, oyster omelet, and kikiam, among other Hokkien and Filipino dishes at the Binondo favorite establishment Quik Snack.