Manila is a city that’s absolutely heaving with street food wherever you turn. Some of the most busy and bustling areas of the city, like Quiapo, can be hard to navigate.

This guide to the best street foods to eat in Quiapo will take you through the top seven most popular street foods in the neighbourhood, and where to find them. These are gonna have your mouth watering, so buckle up and let’s tuck in!

Lumpia

A nice light way to start your day off is with lumpia, a Filipino spring roll. Most commonly they’re deep fried and known as lumpia shanghai, but oh no no, not this kind of lumpia. These lumpia are fresh spring rolls.

The number one go to spot for these bad boys is at Globe Lumpia House. It all starts with a thin paper-like egg wrapper that’s slathered with a sweet brown sugar soy sauce and fiery fresh garlic. It’s packed full of lettuce, ubod (palm heart), carrots, peanuts and sprinkled with black pepper.

The delicious result is a delicate roll full of a savoury filling with the most intensely strong garlic flavour. The contrast of the soft sweet soy sauce with the crunchy veggies will make you happy you got at least two.

At Globe Lumpia House you purchase your lumpia as a single roll. Each one is made fresh to order, bursting with ingredients and served with an extra packet of sweet brown sauce for you to smother your lumpia with.

Name: Globe Lumpia House
Address: Zone 030, 740 Gonzalo Puyat St, Santa Cruz, Manila, 1001 Metro Manila
what3words: ///confirms.snap.wardrobe
Price: ₱35

Buko Sorbet

This cup full of insane deliciousness is buko sorbet. Creamy and full of huge chunks of fresh buko (coconut) meat, this is just what you need on a hot day.

You can’t beat the creaminess of coconut milk and the strong flavour of fresh coconut meat. Luckily, this sorbet is brimming with both. You’ll be practically chewing the ice cream for all the coconut meat that it’s packed with.

Keep your eyes peeled when you’re exploring the market for the buko sorbet man, because he’s on the move! You’ll find him pushing his ice cold sorbet through the market, making sure he gets to both the wandering shoppers and the busy vendors, each braving the heat.

We were lucky enough to run into him just as our mouths were craving something cold and oh so refreshing.

Name: Buko Serbet
what3words: ///traps.mutual.swipes
Price: ₱20

Kwek Kwek

One of the most popular on-the-go snacks here in the Philippines is kwek kwek, a bright orange, battered and deep-fried quail egg. This is one of the best street foods to eat in Quiapo because it’s both cheap and easy. You’ll find vendors selling kwek kwek in a number of different places.

The crispy batter surrounds the creamy rich quail egg, creating the perfect combination of textures. Once you’ve chosen a stick that you like, if it isn’t piping hot, you can ask the vendor to refry it for you to freshen it up. Definitely recommended.

You’ll put your hot skewer in a cup and pull your kwek kwek off, using your skewer as your eating utensil. This is when you’ll add in the sauces.

There’s a number of different ones to choose from, usually including vinegar with onion, a spicy sauce, and a sweet sauce.

Name: Kwek Kwek Cart
what3words: ///nearly.grumble.spoils
Price: ₱20

Sotanghon

Next up on our list of the best street foods to eat in Quiapo Market, Manila, is the popular Filipino food of sotanghon. This flavourful bowl of glass noodle soup is a must try Filipino street food in Quiapo.

The broth of the soup is light and red, packed with peppery, rich flavour from the fish sauce and annatto oil. The chewy and springy glass noodles soak up this garlicky broth, with an extra kick of freshness added in with the crunchy lettuce.

Have it as is, or add in a hard-boiled egg or pork belly for some extra fatty richness. We recommend going for both, the layers of pork belly fat and meat really kick it to the next level.

The best place to find sotanghon in Quiapo Market is at Rosa’s Pancitan – Famous Sotanghon. Tucked away along a busy side street, Rosa’s Pancitan is hard to miss. The massive pans of soup give the place away. Not to mention the queue of people waiting their turn to grab a fresh bowl of hot soup.

It’s a bit of a musical chairs situation here. Wait for a stool to open up around the action in the centre, pop yourself down and wait for your bowl of soup to be served in front of you.

Name: Rosa’s Pancitan – Famous Sotanghon
Address: 738 B, R. Hidalgo Street, Quiapo, 1001 Metro Manila
what3words: ///released.drive.woof
Price: ₱80

Lugaw

Something for the less faint of heart is lugaw, a Filipino rice porridge made with cow offal.

Depending on your level of adventurousness, you can get yourself a bowl full of porridge with both large and small intestine, and cow heart. If you’re not feeling quite at that level, you can choose to have a bowl of just the porridge, no offal required. Either way you choose, the result is a savoury, hearty porridge full of beefy goodness.

The congee-like rice soup is stewed with a number of spices such as chives, ginger, garlic and onion, infusing loads of flavour into this one bowl.

Once you’ve chosen your adventure of offal or not, more spices are added in. Green onion, chicharon (deep fried pork skin), fried garlic, chilli oil, black pepper, fish sauce and fresh calamansi all go on top.

Thick, hearty, savoury, soft and crunchy, this dish is full of interesting flavours and textures.

Eddie Wow Lugaw does this Filipino street food best. Right at the end of the main street leading from Quiapo Church is where you’ll find them. You can’t miss them cooking up their massive vat of lugaw on their street food cart.

Name: Eddie Wow Lugaw
Address: HXXJ+8VV, Paterno Gomez St, Quiapo, Manila, 1001 Metro Manila
what3words: ///minerals.forest.lighten
Price: ₱80 (with offal)

Pancit Palabok

Rich and sticky, pancit palabok is a flavourful rice noodle dish that’s a must try street food in Quiapo Market.

Thick rice noodles are sprinkled with crushed chicharon, spicy tofu, black squid ink adobo squid, fried garlic, egg, black pepper, green onion and huge pieces of freshly cooked chicharon. Everything is smothered in a super thick, rich, orange shrimp paste gravy.

Mix it up while you can! The thickness of the gravy only gets thicker, leading to a dish that’s practically a dry noodle. The richness of the sauce, strong garlicky flavour, chewiness of the squid, creaminess of the egg and crunchiness of the chicharon, oh my! This is a dish bursting with flavour and texture that you cannot miss.

On the far edge of Quiapo next to Quinta Fishport, you’ll find the best pancit palabok in Quiapo. Jolli Dada’s Eatery serves it up fresh and fast. When we visited, they were packed to the gills. Wait a few minutes though for a fellow customer to finish their noodles and you can park yourself on one of the stools. For the quality and price, they can’t be beat.

Name: Jolli Dada’s Eatery
Address: C. Palanca Street, corner, 1001 Quezon Blvd, Quiapo, Manila, Metro Manila
what3words: ///pulp.views.backpack
Price: ₱80

Halo-Halo

You can’t go exploring for the best street foods to eat in Quiapo Market without getting yourself a halo-halo. This dessert is extremely popular throughout all of the Philippines and is the perfect respite on a hot day.

Evaporated milk, ube jam, sweet brown and white beans, banana, leche flan, red tapioca, green jellies, and rice krispies are all set on top of a heaping ball of shaved ice.

Literally translating to ‘mix-mix’, all the ingredients of a halo-halo will be unique to each place you have one. Nevertheless, it’ll always have shaved ice and evaporated milk as the base, so it’s guaranteed to be cold and creamy!

Halo-halo is a must try street food to eat in Quiapo Market, originating around the Quinta Market area about 100 years ago. At Jolli Dada’s Eatery, they serve one in a massive bowl, so you can grab a cool dessert after your pancit palabok.

Name: Jolli Dada’s Eatery
Address: C. Palanca Street, corner, 1001 Quezon Blvd, Quiapo, Manila, Metro Manila
what3words: ///pulp.views.backpack
Price: ₱80

With so many incredible and popular Filipino street foods to find in the Quiapo Market, it’s hard to know where to begin your street food adventure!

As with any country, don’t be afraid to taste new things you’ve never seen before, or ask locals for recommendations. Filipinos are some of the friendliest people you’ll meet, and the locals in Quiapo are a wealth of information.

We hope this list of the seven best street foods to eat in Quiapo Market, Manila will get you going on your exploration of this vibrant neighbourhood.

Make sure to check out our video below tasting some of these popular Filipino foods on our Quiapo Market food tour!

The post Best Street Foods to Eat in Quiapo Market, Manila appeared first on Hungry Two Travel.

If you’re looking to add some incredibly yummy street food to your list of best foods to eat in Manila, then make sure these are at the top! Their kuchay (chive) dumplings are so delicious, they’ll have you fighting over the last one.

The historic district of Binondo

The Binondo neighbourhood of Manila is famed for being the oldest Chinatown in the world. Founded in 1594, this district has undergone many changes throughout the years. From small Chinese settlement to the centre of commerce and trade of Manila, one thing’s endured; the incredible street food that Binondo is known for.

The dumplings that originated in Dong Bei

About 20 years ago, a family moved from Dong Bei in northeastern China to Manila. In hopes of having a taste of home, they opened up a small shop selling what they knew how to make best, pork and chive dumplings.

Their plan was to have a small business sharing this local, traditional food with their community.

To their pleasant surprise, the chive and pork dumplings were a hit! Before long, their homemade and authentic dumplings became one of the most famous dumplings in Binondo.

Now, Dong Bei Dumpling is on every Manila street food tour and Binondo food trip list out there.

Full transparency of freshness

In China, it’s common for food to be made in the front of the shop, so that you can see the ingredients that are going into the food. Keeping with tradition, this is something Dong Bei Dumpling has implemented from the start. They make their dumplings by hand in a traditional way, fresh to order and with local ingredients.

How the best dumplings in Binondo are made

It all starts with a mixture of pork, onion and plenty of chives (kuchay). This is then generously packed inside a piece of circular, thin dough and sealed along one edge. The now chubby dumplings are immediately dropped into boiling water and left until they float to the top. With dumplings this fresh, they only take a few minutes to cook.

The secret, however, is adding in the pork mixture raw. This allows the meat to cook as it boils, releasing flavourful juices that are trapped inside the skin. The result is a dumpling so tasty and juicy, it practically melts in your mouth! If you’ve ever had a soup dumpling, you know what we’re talking about.

It’s time to eat, here comes the sauce

The dumplings are served with a delicious homemade sauce of garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. For those of you with taste buds that need an added kick, there’s also homemade chilli sauce on the side to bang them up a notch. Speaking from experience, you won’t need much of this to spice up your dumplings!

At the time of writing, there’s no area inside the shop to sit and eat. So, the best way to enjoy your dumplings is right there on the street.

What makes Dong Bei dumplings so special?

What has set Dong Bei Dumpling apart from competition over the years, is that the dumplings are made fresh to order with quality ingredients. Because of this, the dumpling is more delicate, the skin lighter and the meat juicier. Not to mention they’ve stuck to the same simple, delicious, authentic recipe that’s brought their customers back over and over again.

How to get there

Dong Bei Dumpling is located in the Binondo, Chinatown area of Manila, west of the Estero de la Reina. If you’re arriving from the east of Binondo, once you find Ongpin Street you’ll be at the heart of the neighbourhood.

Following Ongpin Street west across the Estero de la Reina bridge, you’ll come across Yuchengco Street, right after the ‘Shoppers’ Mart’ grocery store. Turn right on Yuchengco Street and follow the road almost to the end. Here, on the right, you’ll find Dong Bei Dumpling.

There’s no big fancy sign on the top of the shop, however, just a sign in the window as you walk by. This little establishment has kept itself humble despite its fame over the years, so if you don’t pay attention, you might walk right past it! Luckily, there will most likely be other hungry pedestrians looking for their dumpling fix, so follow the line of ravenous customers.

The best dumplings in Binondo

Eating at Dong Bei Dumpling is a must if you’re in the Binondo neighbourhood of Manila. No food trip in the city is complete without them. From the freshness of each dumpling to the quality ingredients used to make them, this is a place you can’t miss.

Name: Dong Bei Dumpling
Address: 642 Yuchengco St, Binondo, Manila, Metro Manila
what3words: ///gossip.sugars.outdoor
Price: ₱200/order (14 dumplings)

The post Dong Bei Dumpling: the Best Dumplings in Binondo, Manila appeared first on Hungry Two Travel.

This lively and historic district was set up across the river from Intramuros district back in the 16^th century, where all the wealthy colonial Spaniards resided at the time. This permanent settlement for the Chinese immigrants flourished, causing it to become the centre of commerce and trade in Manila by the 20^th century.

Chinatowns are known for being a hot spot of culture, commerce, and most especially food! Many things have changed over the years in here in Binondo. One thing that’s remained is that the locals know how to do street food right.

Enough chit chat! Ready to plan your own historic street food adventure through the oldest Chinatown in the world? Here’s your top 6 street foods to eat in Binondo Chinatown, Manila.

Fried Siopao

Siopao are a popular Chinese-influenced Filipino steamed bun, and the ones at Shanghai Fried Siopao in Binondo are worth the trip alone. The slightly sweet, fluffy buns are packed to the brim, full of tender ground pork, onion and chives. Once steamed, the cooked meat and veggies create an incredibly juicy bao.

What makes the ones here at Shanghai Fried Siopao extra tasty and unique is that they’re steamed in oil. They end up coming out slightly fried and crispy on the bottom, while still pillowy, soft and extremely juicy throughout.

Quite different from your typical steamed bun, we had to try two just to be sure of how good they were.

Made and cooked in their small shop right along the busy Ongpin Street, these fried siopao have been a staple of Chinatown for many years. The siopao are bought up as soon as they come out of the steamer, satisfying the line-up of hungry customers. So, whenever you stop by, you’re guaranteed to get one that’s piping hot and fresh.

Name: Shanghai Fried Siopao
Address: 828 Ongpin St, Santa Cruz, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
what3words: ///sour.lost.trucked
Price: ₱35

Kuchay Ah Pie

Next up on the list is kuchay ah pie, a fried pastry that looks similar to an empanada. They get their name from the prominent flavour of chives, which is kuchay in Filipino.

These little meat pies are made of a flaky pastry that’s so rich it’s almost buttery, and because they’re fried and not baked, they’re extra crispy. The pie is stuffed full of pork, tofu, chives, turnips and carrots, married in a savoury yet slightly sweet gravy.

We couldn’t believe how heavy and packed full they were. So much so they resembled more of a ball than a pie!

The best place to try these is at Quik Snack. They do a number of different Chinese-Filipino dishes here, but they’re especially known for their pies, with the kuchay ah being their number one.

Name: Quik Snack
Address: HXXG+R5X, Carvajal St, Binondo, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
what3words: ///shut.pretty.infuses
Price: ₱65

Pork and Chive Dumplings

An absolute must eat street food in Binondo Chinatown is the pork and chive dumplings at Dong Bei Dumpling.

Thin dumpling skin is loaded with a mixture of pork, onions and plenty of chives. Immediately after being made by hand, they’re boiled until they float. The dumplings come out so full of flavour and juicy, they literally melt in your mouth. So much so they boarder on soup dumplings!

They’re served with a special homemade garlic-vinegar-soy sauce mixture, with a spicy chilli sauce on the side for an added kick. This is some spicy sauce, so if you like your tongue on fire, we highly recommend it.

What sets Dong Bei apart is that the dumplings here are made fresh to order with quality ingredients. You won’t find anything frozen around here, and as far as we’re concerned, it really doesn’t get any better than that.

Name: Dong Bei Dumpling
Address: 642 Yuchengco St, Binondo, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
what3words: ///gossip.sugars.outdoor
Price: ₱200/order (14 dumplings)

Hand Pulled Noodles

This delicious looking bowl of fresh hand pulled noodles can be found at a fantastic place just on the outskirts of Binondo. At Lan Zhou La Mian, they pull their noodles fresh to order, right at the front of the shop so you can see the chefs in action as they prepare your meal.

We don’t know about you, but hand pulled noodles always hit that little bit different for us. Dunked in boiling hot water, they only take 15 seconds to cook. The freshness can be tasted in the texture of the noodles, which are just that bit firmer and chewier than others.

There’s a number of different noodle soups to choose from, but we recommend the beef lamien. Full of tender beef, bok choy, scallions and carrots in a hearty, beefy broth, you won’t believe how generous they are with the noodles!

Each table is ready to go with a massive bowl of scallions and sauces for you to add, dependant on your tastes.

Name: 兰州拉面 Lan Zhou La Mian
Address: 1356 Masangkay St, 262 Zone 24 Tondo, Manila, Philippines
what3words: ///memory.shams.penny
Price: ₱280

Hopia

These little pucks are hopia, one of the most popular pastries found throughout Binondo.

This traditional pastry is full of thick mung bean paste inside a thin pastry shell. The soft textured pastry can be flavoured with a number of different tastes, but the local favourite is ube, purple yam.

Eng Bee Tin opened up in 1912 and were the first to introduce ube jam into the traditional hopia in the 1980’s, as a way to revitalise a once dying business. The vibrant purple colour stood out amongst all the others, bringing them to fame in no time. Now with multiple stores throughout Binondo, tasting their hopia and Chinese-Filipino pastries is a must.

We decided to the best way to taste hopia was to go for both the original and ube.

The ube has a distinct sweet jam taste to it that’s perfect if you have a sweet tooth. If you’re not a massive sweet fan, then go for the original. Nice and pasty, these taste more like a sweet white bean than anything else. The hopia come in packs of four, which is a pretty good deal for what you pay for.

Many shops around Binondo sell hopia, so have a wander around if you want to taste the different ones of this historic Chinatown.

Name: Eng Bee Tin
Address: 628 Ongpin St, Binondo, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
what3words: ///senses.minder.solder
Price: ₱50-56

Ube Bubble Milk Tea

When exploring Binondo in Manila, you’ll definitely need to cool down at some point, trust us!

We love a good bubble tea, and luckily right next door to Eng Bee Tin (the flagship location) is where you can find the best ube bubble milk tea.

With a taste similar to taro, their ube milk tea is creamy, cold and mildly sweet with a strong ube flavour that’s oh so refreshing. Not to mention the tapioca pearls are fresh, chewy and delicious. You’re gonna find it hard to resist anything ube flavoured from now on! It’s definitely become our new go-to favourite.

Name: Tea Brothers
Address: 628 Ongpin St, Binondo, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
what3words: ///they.evolving.chambers
Price: ₱95

Some of the best street food to eat in Manila can be found in Binondo Chinatown. As the oldest Chinatown in the world, you’ll find loads of popular Chinese-Filipino foods as you wander the streets of Ongpin and the Binondo neighbourhood.

We hope this list of the top 6 street foods to eat in Binondo Chinatown, Manila will get you well on your way to trying some of the best Filipino food in Manila.

Check out our video below trying the top 6 street foods to eat in Binondo Chinatown, Manila.

The post Top 6 Street Foods to Eat in Binondo Chinatown, Manila appeared first on Hungry Two Travel.