I’ve been requesting for O, my favorite Chinese, to tour me around Binondo for a day of food tripping. Binondo is not a far away land to me. I’ve tried several restaurants already but never had the chance to try the small authentic Chinese restaurants and experience a day of purely Chinese food. The ideal Binondo food trip for me is to hop and hop to munch on Chinese delicacies. For me, it’s more of the experience of walking the streets of Binondo that counts.

Well, The very lucky O doesn’t need to tour me around anymore. A week ago, the team of Anton Diaz and RJ Ledesma asked me to join their Awesome Food & Culture Secrets of Lucky Chinatown Tour.

The tour started before lunch, exactly at 11:00am. Don’t be late like me. Or else, you will miss out the first stop, which is Botanical Herbal Hall at Lucky Chinatown Mall Annex A. Guests were served Chinese herbal tea. Drinking tea is an important part of Chinese tradition. For Chinese, tea is used for medicinal benefits and it is believed to be part of their tradition for more than 4,000 years.

Part of Chinese culture is visiting temples. The second stop was at the Miao De Temple where some of us were able to light incense and made us understand the meaning of this old ritual.

Along Chinatown Walk, we went straight to the 3rd stop – Fu Dao Dumpling.

This is the gigantic Sate Seafood Noodles with Dumpling. I tried a portion of it and it instantly became my favorite. Despite the humid summer sun facing me, I still enjoyed my hot bowl of Sate Seafood Noodles with Dumpling. Wonderful Chinese treat!

4th stop was at Cha Cha Food House where they introduced us their specialties – Wanton Noodles and Pumpkin Cake.

Pumpkin Cake tastes like tikoy, only with the pumpkin flavor! Haha!

I didn’t finish my bowl of Wanton Noodles anymore since the weather was too hot already and I just finished trying another hot noodle dish, which I really love, the Sate Seafood Noodles from Fu Dao Dumpling China.

According to the Chinese owners, the Northern China favorite Pumpkin Cake is believed to be good for the skin. Thumbs up for that!

Straight to my mouth when Fresh Lumpia was served to me. I didn’t bother waiting for its sauce as it captures the completeness of a fresh lumpia even without the sauce.

Famous Chinatown favorite is this Maki Mi.

The eating area also along Chinatown Walk where all plates were served. I can’t deny that I was sweating while eating. But I guess that’s part of the Binondo experience.

People of Megaworld were very accommodating and aware of how hot it was. A huge electric fan was placed near our spot for a swing of air combatting the heat.

Phoenix Dragon is a one-stop shop for your Feng Shui needs. If you don’t know what lucky charm to get, ask their resident Feng Shui expert.

The Feng Shui expert entertained us with his forecast for the Year of the Wood Horse.

Reflexion’s Studio gave us a Chinese Wedding & Engagement 101 seminar. Hehe. They explained to us the traditional practices like the details of Ting Hun or Chinese engagement. Before leaving, Reflexion’s Studio gave us a souvenir of our Chinatown tour, a commemorative photo of the tour group.

The sizzling summer heat needs to be beaten with snow ice desserts from Rainbow Snow. After being outside the Chinatown Walk, we all appreciated the hug of air-condition to our bodies as we entered the mall and went straight to the Food Junction at the 4th floor for some refreshing treats.

Inspired by the Taiwanese dessert culture, owner Ricson Ngo brought Rainbow Snow to let the Philippines experience snow ice desserts, which is a mix of ice cream and sorbet.

At Wellness Sanctuary, our second to the last stop, we were given a break to relax. Three choices to choose from, Fish Spa, Back Massage or Acupuncture. I chose the 15-minute back massage for a short relaxation.

Most of my tour-mates chose Acupuncture, healing and relaxation through pricking of the skin or tissues using needles. Chinese medicine believes that Acupuncture alleviates pain and treats various physical, mental, and emotional conditions.

Lastly, the Lucky Chinatown tour ended at the famous Tao Yuan.

Tao Yuan’s best-selling Mango Lapu-Lapu, fried lapu-lapu with ripe mango and green mango sauce. Aside from Mango Lapu-Lapu, Tao Yuan served us Melon Shake, Hainan Chicken with Chicken Rice and for dessert, Mango Sago.

Experience Chinese cuisine and culture in one place for 4 straight hours (11am-3pm).

Join this tour for Php888 only!

It’s not too late! Choose your schedule now – May 10, 24, 31 and June 7, 2014

Tickets are available at Lucky Chinatown Concierge or Eastwood Mall Concierge.

Call them at (+632) 576-8139 or visit their website for more information.

Cheers,

Location: Lucky Chinatown Mall, 293 Lachambre St., Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines

Contact: (+632) 576-8139

Website: www.megaworldlifestylemalls.com