Manila Binondo Food Tour: Chinatown Street Eats & Dumplings

4.97

(147 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We were already sticky with Manila heat by the time we ducked under the arches at Binondo Church — it’s loud out here, jeepneys honking and people calling out to each other in Tagalog and Hokkien. Our guide, Paolo, handed us bottled water right away (“trust me, you’ll need this”) and pointed us toward Carvajal Street. The smell hit first: fried garlic, something sweet I couldn’t place yet. We squeezed past a lady selling lumpia — she grinned as Paolo ordered for us in rapid-fire Filipino. The wrapper was still warm in my hand. I got a bit of sauce on my shirt, but honestly, worth it.

Kuchay Ah Pie was next — flaky pastry stuffed with pork and chives. Paolo told us his grandmother used to make these for birthdays, which made me think of my own family’s food rituals back home (different continent, same feeling). I tried to say “kuchay” properly; he laughed and told me not to worry about the accent. After that we wandered deeper into the maze of alleyways. There was a guy rolling out dough for dumplings right on the sidewalk — he let us try shaping one (mine looked tragic but tasted fine). The pork filling was peppery and almost herbal.

I didn’t expect the mami stop to feel so comforting — just a bowl of noodle soup at a tiny counter with plastic stools, but something about the steam and slurping made everyone go quiet for a minute. Then came bamboo baskets stacked high with dim sum; someone’s kid peeked over the counter to watch us eat. We finished at an old bakery where they handed out hopia pastries wrapped in thin paper bags. I still think about that slightly smoky mung bean flavor when I walk past bakeries at home. It wasn’t fancy or staged — just real people eating together in Manila’s Chinatown, sharing snacks that have been around longer than any of us.