Did you know that Binondo is the world's oldest Chinatown? Established way back February 1, 1594 - ilabas ang calculator! Fast forward to today, it's a bustling hub packed traditional Chinese shops and restaurants serving up a feast of amazing Chinese dishes.

Four years ago, prior to the “TikTok trend” of Binondo food trips, we started an annual tradition of exploring different foods with a select group of couple friends (Hi V, Don, Roch, and Dren!). Each year, either before or after the Chinese New Year, we gather in Binondo to explore various Chinese dishes.

This year's food adventure was an absolute blast! We dove into a feast frenzy, exploring Binondo's tastiest gems. From Dong Bei's delicious kutchai to Wai ying’s delights, to the hyped up tiktok food trends!

Our first stop was Dong Bei, a hole in the wall, renowned for their kutchai, juicy dumplings filled with minced pork and chives, pan-fried to perfection. Last year, we missed out on buying from Dong Bei because of the long lines. However, this year, during our food crawl on an early Monday morning, we managed to be the first in line.

Amount Spent: 200 pesos - 14pcs kutchai (good for 2)

Location: 642 Yuchengco St, Binondo, Manila

Next on our list was Wong Kei's, we tried their fried xiao long bao – a unique twist on the classic soup dumpling. Crispy on the outside, tender meat inside. We also tried their grilled sausage, sticky rice, and tofu, but we didn't particularly enjoy their TikTok-famous sugar cane juice; it was a bit too sweet for our taste.

*Grilled sausage, sticky rice, and tofu*

Amount Spent: 200 pesos - 10pcs fried xiao long bao (shared by 4 people)

120 pesos - 3 grilled sticks (Sausage, Sticky rice, tofu)

100 pesos - Sugarcane juice (we shared na lang kase nga matamis)

Location: Corner of Ongpin - Salazar st

As we moved along, we headed to JB Tan Siopao Corner, a spot known for its delicious fried siopao. While waiting in line at Wai Yings, we decided to cross the street (literally) to try JB Tan’s fried siopao, and it definitely lived up to its reputation. We even went back to buy chinese kikiam, machang, and more siopao to go!

Amount Spent: 35 pesos each siopao

Location: 809 Benavidez St, Binondo, Manila

Next stop: Wai ying's! If you've visited Binondo, you're aware that there’s a long queue here, especially during lunch hours. We arrived at around 11am and found ourselves fourth in line, and waited for nearly an hour (which led us to snack on JB Tan's siopao across the street). Once inside, we stuck to our favorites - fried dumplings, chicken feet, steamed ribs, bean curd, and radish cake. Our usual order includes rice and extra dishes, but this time we decided to save some space for Sincerity's chicken. Waiying also has another branch located at 1241 Benavidez St and a stall at 168 mall.

*Fried dumplings, steamed ribs, beancurd, chicken feet, and radish cake*

Amount Spent: 650 pesos (good for 2)

Location: 810 Benavidez St, Binondo, Manila

Finally, our last stop for this year was at Sincerity, where we ate their famous fried chicken. Crispy on the outside, tender and flavorful on the inside. Strangely though, and possibly due to being already full from all the food we had, their pancit dishes didn't taste as good. The black gulaman was also a little too sweet for us.

*Tapos na kumain before maalala na magtake ng group photo LOL!*

Amount Spent: 520 pesos (good for 2)

Location: 519 Quintin Paredes, Binondo, Manila

Before heading home, we bought fresh vegetables and fruits. On a whim, we decided to try hopiang munggo from Ho-Land instead of our usual choice from Poland. To our surprise, their hopia was still warm and tasted even better than the Poland hopia (in our opinion, hehe). In case you want to try both, you’ll find there here:

Ho- land location: 551 Yuchengco St, Binondo, Manila

Poland location: Benavidez St, Binondo, Manila (right next to Masuki)

As usual, our bellies were full, and we had an absolute blast! Can’t wait next year!

Here are other must try in Binondo:

Masuki - Go for the siopao and mami combo

Location: 931 Benavidez St, Binondo, Manila

Lord Stow’s bakery - Yummy egg tart!

Location: Imperial Sky Garden Condo Corporation, Ongpin St, Binondo, Manila

Quick snak - Try their oyster cake, chinese kikiam and chicken pie!

Location: Carvajal St, Binondo, Manila

Binondo: Is it worth the hype?