The traffic from Pampanga to Manila caused us delay. After Pampanga, the next on our itinerary is the official press conference of World Street Food Congress. Unfortunate to other members of the press and the World Street Food Congress team, they waited in Diamond Hotel for hours. The good news is, we still made it.

By the time we reached Diamond Hotel, we still had several stops on our agenda. To make it on time, we had to compress the allotted time for the presscon.

Then, William Wongso, master chef and culinary ambassador of Indonesia, did a live cooking demonstration of the 2 snacks he prepared for us.

For Filipinos, we’d think this soup is Sinigang. But nope! Pindang Serani is Chef William’s version of sour broth with salmon and torched ginger.

 Now this is street food. Sate Lilit Bali, minced Balinese spiced fish cake sate, is a feel-good kind of food.

We were dropped off at Binondo Church to meet our tour guide, the famous Ivan Dy. The guy is an expert! He knows everything about Manila, the history, the food, the people, etc. For Binondo food tours, he’s the guy you should talk to.

We walked to our first stop, a narrow Carvajal street not accessible by vehicles. An alley of fruits and vegetables vendors, I wanted to stop by and take home fruits for my family. At night, it could look sketchy. I suggest you should look after your things when you start your Binondo Food Wok.

Carvajal St. Binondo, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines

It may confuse you while walking along Carvajal St. Take note of the Quik Snack logo, that’s your guide to find the ancient hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

Amah Pilar’s Tokwa, a gigantic chunk of tofu semi-dipped in its lemongrass soy sauce, is a notable best-seller at Quik Snack. It was pre-cut into 6 already, just enough to share for our group of 3. I almost had more when Seetoh reminded us again to take it slow, we have more stops to go.

Being careful not to be bloated, I only had 3 bites from the jam-packed Fresh Lumpia Special. Tasty as how other Chinese restaurants present their fresh lumpia.

We call it Empanada in the Philippines, but for the Chinese, they call it Kuchay Ah. Chopped meat and vegetables enclosed in a flaky pastry bun. Bea of Click The City said this is one of her favorites at Quik Snack.

At the edge of my seat, I thought it was time to go. Then, the noodles came in to mesmerize me with its sate sauce! Stir-fried beef noodles with mouthwatering sate sauce was a sweet farewell to Quik Snack. I’d love to go back for everything I tried, especially this dish.

497 E.T. Yuchengco St. Binondo, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines

I made a wild guess Sincerity Restaurant was included and I was right! Not that I’m a good guesser, Sincerity Restaurant is a top-of-mind Binondo restaurant, famous for their fried chicken.

The Food Frenzy Explorers, I meant us, were still ready to eat more Chinese food!!!

As a starter, we forked pieces of Chinese sausage a.k.a. Kikiam.

We fancied Sincerity Restaurant’s chewy Fried Oyster Cake, made with oysters, bean sprouts, green onion and egg mixed with tapioca starch.

Sincerely, this Sincerity Fried Chicken makes me smile whenever there’s an opportunity to get one. Fortunately for us in San Juan, there’s a nearby branch to cater our Chinese fried chicken cravings.

What an honor to share a table and get to know KF Seetoh, the man behind World Street Food Congress. His inspiring stories and advices for advocating my country’s food and culture prompted me to be more aggressive in promoting the Philippines.

The night is still young at 7pm. We have 2 more stops in Binondo and another Filipino restaurant in BGC. Part 4 next!

Cheers,