Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Simply MANILA





Well, it was not actually another trip to Divisoria. But this time we decided to visit Jones bridge in Manila, Luneta park and a side trip to Binondo in the New Year 2020 with family. We parked our car in Sta Isabel college in Taft Avenue because we have a tita Madre who is assigned to work there.

We skipped the Luneta park when we saw a huge number of people and families visiting the park. Instead, we hailed an Etrike going to Binondo and visited the historic Binondo Church. Binondo Church, also known as the Basilica of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz is a well-known landmark in Binondo because of its historical value dating back from the early 16th century. 
  

that is the Manila City Hall Bell Tower

inside Binondo Church

After a quick visit to Binondo church, we stroll along Ongpin street and went to Eng Bee Tin. For those who are not familiar with Eng Bee Tin, Eng Bee Tin is a Chinese Deli Chain famous for its Hopia products and other variants. (Hopia is made of thin flaky pastry filled with flavored paste). It has many store outlets in Metro Manila and major malls.

So this Eng Bee Tin store must be a new 3 storey branch in Binondo. Because it includes a Great Buddha restaurant on the second floor and a small souvenir shop in the corner. A museum on the 3rd floor is still under construction as of this posting.








souvenir shop display

A few steps away is another smaller branch of Eng Bee Tin located along Ongpin street corner Yunchengco Street. On the second floor is a famous Cafe Mezzanine, another "must try" Chinese restaurant in Binondo.  I heard that a portion of the income is donated to fire volunteers. 

I tried the place a few years ago with my wife. A bit pricey for me. But the food was good. If you want to complete your gastronomic adventure in Binondo, I suggest you try the restaurant. Cafe Mezzanine is managed by the same owner of Eng Bee Tin and was featured in CNN travel in 2017.  Click here. 👈

Another Chinese restaurant on the ground floor is Chuan Kee restaurant. But did not try to find out if it was owned by the same owner of Eng Bee Tin. 








Our next destination was the 1919 Grand Cafe in Juan Luna Street. I don't know why it was named 1919 Cafe, most likely it drew its inspiration from the history of the building. The building is an old HSBC building erected in 1922. The owner transformed the building into a cafe, with elegant interiors and really nice furnitures. They tried to preserve the exteriors to maintain the old look. 

We did not get the chance to try the food though because the place was full and there was a queue of people waiting in the lobby.  So we just did our mandatory selfies outside and we walked towards Jones Bridge.

1919 Grand Cafe

Another famous landmark in Manila is the Jones bridge. Recently the government of Manila restored the bridge and installed the beautiful lamppost on both sides. The side of the bridge was painted gold to reflect on the water in the evening. A vertical garden in the middle of the bridge was placed and speakers were installed along the bridge that plays Pinoy songs continuously. Since then people flock to Jones bridge to take photos and even became a location for prenup photos. The bridge has become a tourist destination for people visiting Manila.


Jones Bridge

We walked back to Sta Isabel college passing by the City Hall of Manila. Manila has changed a lot. The city has become more vibrant and clean in the Binondo area. I think we walked 2 kilometers to Sta Isabel College and I felt safer walking that far because the road is well lighted from Binondo and the whole stretch Taft Avenue until Vito Cruz. The surrounding trees in Manila City hall are illuminated with capiz lanterns as well.

I hope I can visit another tourist destination when in Manila next time. 

In the meantime, let's reminisce with this song by Hotdog. 

Manila!! God First!!





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For more photos, please scroll down  👇
























This is my favorite photo of the lights on Jones Bridge.
It resembles a man flexing his muscles and holding a lamp on both hands. 
a view of the Post office building from Jones bridge



one of the four La Madre Statue



the underpass near Manila City hall ongoing renovation





Bonifacio Shrine opposite Manila City hall

Fountain under construction in front of Bonifacio Shrine




















Thursday, January 16, 2020

Another Day in DIVISORIA and QUIAPO








I decided to take a break from the Panay Series to write about the recent trip to Divisoria and Quiapo with my wife.

For many years, whenever there is time, my wife would drag me to Divisoria to shop. Of course, goods are cheaper in Divisoria. We traveled 2 hours to reach Divisoria but I don't know about my wife, she seems to enjoy navigating the narrow alleys of DV mall, 168 mall, 999 mall, and the side streets haggling for maximum discounts and makipagsiksikan sa madaming tao. :)




Many things have improved since Mayor Isko launched his campaign of cleaning Manila. There are fewer vendors on the streets and they are organized to occupy the side roads only. Jeepneys can reach all the way to Recto from Juan Luna. Divisoria is much cleaner now and I noticed that each vendor has provided trash bins in front of their stalls.

After buying some stuff in Divisoria Mall we chanced upon an E trike. We paid P 20.00 each for a 20-minute ride to Quiapo Church. I think it can sit around 8 people at the back and another 2 people side by side of the driver. 



Inside Quiapo Church
I assume this is a replica of Black Nazarene placed outside the Church

Minor Basilica of Black Nazarene

Quiapo Church church is home to Black Nazarene, which every January 9 makes its way along the streets of Manila from Quirino grandstand. This translation or "Fiesta ng Quiapo" is an annual pilgrimage of thousands of devotees jostling each other to get to the Andas or touch the image of Black Nazarene. 

Fronting the church is the historic Plaza Miranda. 

I did not see tarot card readers and fortune-tellers in Quiapo this time and people selling amulets and charms. 

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There are many shops selling cellphone accessories in Divisoria. But if you have the chance to visit Manila City Plaza in Quiapo, you can find a wide range of shops selling different kinds of cellphone accessories for different phone models. If I were to choose between Divisoria and Manila City Plaza, I would go to Manila City Plaza. It is located next to Quiapo Church.

Along Villalobos street, we found a huge shop selling beads and accessories. If you are into DIY bracelets, earrings, wallets, necklaces then this is the place you can go to and get your supplies. They are also selling religious pendants of different designs and sizes. You can choose from different colors, design, and materials. 




beads 

more beads



wallets made of plastic beads



and more beads

and another :)



Another beads and accessories shop along Villalobos is Wellmanson. Wellmanson to me is like a more classy shop that caters to the balikbayans and tourists. They also have different kinds of watches, religious items, hair accessories, personal accessories, and souvenirs. There is also a rest area where you can buy drinks, sandwiches, and snacks.





They have a small snack corner inside the shop

Beads



religious items

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For our lunch, we ate at Just Get in Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant also located in Villalobos. The waiter recommended their best-selling beef noodles which taste good surprisingly. Taste little spicy to me. I think that is a typical original Chinese recipe. We were also served with a small plate of peanuts as starters and we tried their siopao as well. 



mani

the best seller beef noodles

siopao

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And for our final destination of the day is the Excelente Ham in Carlos Palanca Street in Quiapo. This place really gets crowded during Christmas and new year because of its famous ham which is excellent in taste :) 

They have different kinds of ham but their Chinese ham is the best seller and it doesn't come cheap. One kilo of Chinese Ham, for example, is P 1,360.00. The price of their Bone-in ham starts around P 3,000.00. 

Even their scrap ham is expensive. It cost P 1,300.00 per kilo. 

For a Filipino family having ham on Christmas and the new year is a tradition. So if you want the best ham, I think you have to pay the best price. (in my opinion).