Established in 1594, Binondo in Manila is the world’s oldest Chinatown. It served as the center of commerce and trade in Manila, with businesses run by Chinese-Filipinos. The district is still buzzing with various commercial spaces and establishments, but it has also become very popular for its signature bites and eateries. If you’re a foodie looking for your next gastronomic adventure, then a food crawl of the best eats in Binondo is a must!
Many restaurants, tea houses, and food stalls serving Chinese cuisine are found here, especially along Ongpin Street. But the options aren’t limited to Ongpin. In this post, we’ll list some of the must-visit spots in this bustling foodie paradise.
NOTE: These are just some among the countless food places in the area. The stops are listed here in the order of our itinerary for our food crawl so it would be easy for you to replicate the same tour.
WHAT'S IN THIS GUIDE?
Binondo Eats & Restaurants
The Original Shanghai Fried Siopao
Serving fried siopao since 1985, The Original Shanghai Fried Siopao is not to be confused with other fried siopao buns available in Binondo. They sell their hot and steaming buns right here on Ongpin Street. You’ll know you’re in the right spot when you see this sign along with these posters on the side.
But what exactly is this fried siopao and what makes it different from other siopao buns? While it usually comes with a choice of asado, bola-bola, or a combination of both, Shanghai fried siopao only has one flavor. These soft and moist buns are filled with a pork meat filling. And since it is fried, its bottom is slightly toasted, sometimes even crunchy. And unlike the usual siopao, these fried ones don’t come with a sauce.
Despite that, it’s not lacking in flavor. The meat to bun ratio is great that you’ll get a taste of the meat filling in every bite. To some, it could even be too flavorful. But if you’re the type of person who enjoys a good balance of meat and carbs, you’ll probably enjoy these fried buns. As our first stop, it was the perfect breakfast for us.
You can buy individually or in packs of six. We must warn you, though, that the line here can be long, especially around the afternoon. However, it does move fast since the siopao is already cooked and ready to be packed.
They do not have a place where you can dine here, but you’re free to eat on the side of the street, near the store. Just make sure to keep your trash with you or throw them in the proper garbage bin!
Location: 828 Ongpin Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Oishiekun Chinese Bites
Located just a few steps away from The Original Shanghai Fried Siopao is Oishiekun Bites. They offer Chinese bicho also called youtiao, which is traditionally eaten for breakfast and often paired with congee. But Oishiekun has put a modern twist to it in recent years. Now, they offer their bicho in three flavors: plain, sweet bicho, and milky bicho. The bicho-bicho are served freshly cooked, so they’re warm. We ordered the milky bicho, given to us in a a bag and already cut in bite-sized pieces. The bicho was really good. It was slightly crunchy and chewy at the same time. It was just a bit messy to eat since there’s a lot of powdered milk.
We also tried their radish cake and spring onion pancake. Their radish cake was also fried and did not come with any sauce. The outside was a bit crunchy, but the inside was soft and bouncy. It had a very mild flavor, just like other radish cakes we’ve tried. Meanwhile, the spring onion pancake really had the taste of spring onion with a bit of sweetness to it. Its texture was chewy like a rice cake.
By the way, Oishiekun has an ordering system. First, you order and pay at the counter, which is a milk tea stall on the left side of their store. After paying for your order, you’ll be given a stub, which you then have to give to the side where they serve their food. Wait for your number to get called and served. While waiting, you can pass the time by watching them prepare the bicho — stretching out the dough until it becomes long and then dropping it into the hot oil to deep fry. Then, they roll the bicho in milk or sugar and then cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Location: 838 Ongpin Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Café Mezzanine
Our next stop was supposed to be Binondo Bites, located in front of Eng Bee Tin’s flagship store. However, it turned out that they are only open on Fridays and weekends. But because we already had our hearts set to having some xiao long bao, we decided to go to Café Mezzanine or The Fireman’s Coffee Shop, just a short walk away from Eng Bee Tin. It is situated above Chuan Kee Restaurant. When we got there, there was a line. But it turned out that the line was for Chuan Kee, so we proceeded to go upstairs.
We ordered pork xiao long bao, custard lava buchi, and lava pao. The xiao long bao was very flavorful, although the wrapper was too thick for us. It wasn’t as easy to pierce through it to slurp the soup. Meanwhile, the custard lava buchi was just okay for us. Its texture was great, being perfectly golden and crispy on the outside, but we couldn’t really taste the custard as much. Maybe because the rice cake itself was already a bit sweet to begin with. It was their lava pao that was a winner for us. The salted egg yolk custard had just the right amount of sweetness and saltiness and the mantou was fluffy. We highly recommend you try this!
What’s interesting about Café Mezzanine is that their proceeds are donated to TXTFIRE Philippines Inc. and Binondo Paco Volunteer Fire Search and Rescue Brigade. This also explains why they are also called The Fireman’s Coffee Shop and why they have hanging firefighter hats as a display on their wall.
Location: 650 Ongpin Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Daily, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Vege Select (Wong Kei)
Next in the list of the best eats in Binondo is the Chinese vegetarian restaurant, Vege Select. It has become popular in recent years with their vegetarian skewers. They have five types: tofu, veggie sausage, veggie meatballs, rice cake, and enoki wrapped in veggie ham. To be honest they all had the same flavor since they were all brushed with the same marinade while being grilled. However, it’s the texture of each one that gave it variety. These skewers are sold per set of five sticks.
Along with the skewers, they also have pan fried tofu doused in a sauce with the same flavor as their skewers. We got to try it because they had a free sample. Of course, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Haha! The tofu was soft, different than the tofu that came with their skewers. Although it had the same flavor, we liked this tofu better.
We also tried their fried xiao long bao. This was very different from any xiao long bao we’ve tried because this one was vegetarian. Unlike the usual xiao long bao, this didn’t have soup inside and its filling was made of mashed vegetables. What we liked most about this was that its bottom had a crunchy crust which complemented the mushy texture of the filling.
Vege Select also offers a perfect partner to this spiced skewers — sugar cane juice! This sweet drink is made with freshly extracted sugar cane. You can even watch as they make it! And since this is made from pure sugar cane, expect it to be sweet.
Location: 739 Ongpin Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Wan-nan Eatery
I first came across Wan-nan Eatery on a video from Facebook over a year ago. And knowing that Asta and I share the same love for entrails, I added this to our list of best Binondo eats for this food crawl. Although not as popular online as most of the items on this list, Wan-nan is well-known here in Binondo.
They serve different kinds of innards that you can all mix together in one order, which they call halo. Among the options here are pork intestine (isaw), pork lungs (baga), pork ears (tenga), pork snout (nguso), and chicken gizzard (balun-balunan). These are our picks for our halo but there are more options available. This was priced at P1,000 per kilo, but you can also buy a portion. Their smallest order size is 250 grams.
Once you’ve chosen which parts you want, they will chop them all up and put them together in a boiling broth for a few minutes. Then, it will be mixed in a bowl with lots of chopped onion, garlic, and chili (if you want it spicy) along with some condiments before being served. Most people buy here for take out, but you can also sit and dine here since they have a few tables.
Everything was really tender and did not have a foul smell or taste at all. The onion and garlic were great with it because they cut through the fattiness and richness of the innards. If you’re also an adventurous foodie, this is great whether you’re looking for an afternoon snack, ulam, or pulutan!
Location: Tomas Mapua Street, Binondo, Manila (near David’s Tea House)
Opening Hours: Daily, 10:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Quik Snack
Established in 1967, Quik Snack is a quaint restaurant in Binondo, tucked along Carvajal Street. It might not be as easy to find as other food spots located along Ongpin Street. In fact, when we were on the way here, Hannah and Asta started asking me where I was leading them. Lol
Here, you’ll find Hokkien-style Chinese cooking, which are not usually offered in Chinese restaurants, so make sure to include this in your list of Binondo eats to try. Many of the items on their menu are also Tsinoy or Filipino-Chinese style.
They serve stir-fried noodles and noodle soup, among many Chinese dishes and Chinoy snacks. Among the popular items on their menu are kuchay ah pie, fresh lumpia, machang, ngo hiong, and steamed spare ribs with tausi. But during our food crawl, we decided to try the oyster cake and sate tofu.
The oyster cake was served really hot, fresh from the pan. It was very savory and has a slightly chewy texture. You can eat it plain or you can also eat it with ketchup. The sate tofu was just okay for us, but the tofu itself was firm. They have more dishes we’d like to try, but we’ll save that for another trip. You can also buy their frozen products here at Quik Snack if you want to try more of their food at home.
Location: 637 Carvajal Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM; Sunday, CLOSED
New Po Heng Lumpia House
Just a few steps away from Quik Snack, New Po Heng Lumpia House is another Binondo food crawl staple. But they now have a new name, Puo Hing Lumpia. They are famous for their…you guessed it — fresh lumpia! Here, they serve a hefty fresh lumpia that’s honestly enough to fill you up if you’re not too hungry.
This Chinese-style lumpia has slices of, among others, carrots, cabbage, and tofu, all wrapped up in a soft lumpia wrapper. It is eaten with a peanut sauce to give it more flavor. We tried one, and it was a good balanced taste — not too sweet and not too salty. If you like a lot of sauce in your food, we’re already telling you now that one pack of sauce isn’t enough for the whole lumpia, so make sure to ask for extra!
Puo Hing Lumpia also serves kiampong rice, misua guisado, misua soup, pork maki soup, and fish maki soup. But we chose to stick with just the lumpia for now because we wanted to save our appetite for more stops. We did, however, buy more lumpia to take home.
Location: 631 Carvajal Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM; Sunday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Lord Stow’s Bakery
Lord Stow’s Bakery originated from Macau and has expanded all over Asia. Here in the Philippines, they have multiple branches around Metro Manila. One of them is located along Ongpin Street, where multiple food spots in Binondo are located. We made a stop here too to grab their famous the egg tart.
Their egg tart had a flaky crust, a creamy and silky custard filling, and caramelized top. It was not too sweet, but it was a good break between all the savory dishes we’ve been having. The line here can get long also. If that’s the case when you visit here, you can try their branch inside Lucky Chinatown Mall instead.
Location: 707 Ongpin Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Daily, 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Wai Ying
Wai Ying is another Binondo Food Crawl staple. Almost every list of must-try food places in Binondo you’ll come across includes it. Because of this, long waiting times are usually the case here. They have multiple branches, so if you don’t want to wait a long time for a vacant table, visit their branch located on 810 Benavidez Street. Here, they have a separate take out nook where you can order their dimsum, roasted meats, and other dishes to go.
This is also a good option if you don’t really plan on having a full meal here and you don’t mind eating while standing on the side of the street. You can also buy their frozen dimsum in case you want more for later or you want to share them with your family. This is what we did to avoid waiting in line. They also have a branch at Lucky Chinatown Mall.
We ordered their fried dumplings, hakaw, and sharks fin dumpling. The fried dumplings had very crispy wrapper and had generous amount of filling. It came with a sweet and sour sauce, which complemented it well. The hakaw had a thicker wrapper than we prefer, but it had a good amount of shrimp. We also liked their sharks fin dumpling, which was big and meaty.
Location: 810 Benavidez Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Daily, 7:30 AM – 10:00 PM
Masuki
Masuki is a noodle house established in 1930. With the tagline “The Antigua Mami in Chinatown”, you already know this is already a legend in Binondo. The most popular item on their menu? Of course, their mami! They serve it with different toppings like chicken, asado, beef, wonton, or a combination of these options. Their original mami has asado and chicken and that’s what we ordered.
When we initially tasted the broth, it had a lot of pork flavor. Some people eat it as is, but you can also pour some of their sauce into your bowl and mix it to add more flavor. That’s what we did and it made it more flavorful to us and more to our taste. You can also add soy sauce, fish sauce, calamansi, hot sauce, or pepper. Basically, Masuki’s mami is a blank canvas and it’s yours to make it your own.
Aside from their mami, they are also known for their siopao. We had their regular siopao asado (saipao). It was really packed with the asado filling, and the mantou was really soft, fluffy, and not soggy at all. Compared to other asado siopao, their asado filling was not saucy. It was also not sweet, which we liked because it just had the right amount of sweetness once you put the sauce. We also got their special siopao asado (taipao) for take out. It was a bit bigger than the regular and it had chicken mixed with the asado filling.
Location: 931 Benavidez Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Lan Zhou La Mien/San Guo La Mien
Lan Zhou La Mien or San Guo La Mien was our last stop for our quest to find the best eats in Binondo. Located in Lucky Chinatown Mall, they are known for their hand-pulled noodles. They have noodles in soup, dry noodles, and a few other dishes. According to our server, their best sellers are Kan Pan Lamien, Tao Chow Guisado, and Beef La Mien.
Because we’ve already been eating the whole day, we were getting really full so we ordered just one dish to share. We had their Tao Chow Guisado. While waiting for our order, we were served with some hot tea and broth, which was very flavorful.
The Tao Chow Guisado is stir fried noodles with beef and some vegetables. We were surprised with how thick the noodles are, but despite being thick, it had all the flavor and was not bland at all. The noodles were slightly chewy, which we liked. The beef pieces mixed with it were cut into cubes and were very tender that we didn’t even have to chew it so much. Lan Zhou La Mien is definitely a place we’ll come back to so we can try their other noodle dishes.
Location: GF, Lucky Chinatown Mall
Opening Hours: Daily, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Sincerity Café and Restaurant
We didn’t go here during this food crawl, but Asta and Hannah have tried Sincerity multiple times before. Founded in 1956, this is one of the institutions in Binondo when it comes to Chinese-Filipino cuisine. Their signature dish is the Sincerity Fried Chicken, but they have an extensive menu.
Other dishes that are popular here are their oyster cake, fried kikim, duck misua, and machang. Their original branch is located in Quentin Paredes Street, but they also have a branch in Lucky Chinatown Mall. They also have branches around Metro Manila located in Banawe, San Juan, Robinson’s Magnolia, and SM Megamall.
Location: 519 Quentin Paredes Street, Binondo, Manila
Opening Hours: Daily, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
How to Get There
Binondo is situated in the City of Manila, near Quiapo and Divisoria. It is also right across Intramuros, connected by the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge. If you’re driving to get here, it’s best to use Google Maps or Waze. However, if you’re planning to do a food crawl, we highly recommend looking for a parking spot for your car and just go around Binondo on foot.
If you’re commuting, here’s how you can get there.
- Take the LRT-1 and get off at Carriedo Station.
- Cross Plaza Sta. Cruz to get to Ronquillo Street.
- Turn right to Ongpin Street where many of the food stops are located.
Where to Stay
If you’re looking for a place to stay in Binondo, here are some hotels you can consider booking.
- RAMADA by WYNDHAM MANILA CENTRAL
✅ Check Rates & Availability Here! - RED PLANET MANILA BINONDO
✅ Check Rates & Availability Here! - HOTEL LUCKY CHINATOWN
✅ Check Rates & Availability Here! - BEST FORTUNE HOTEL
✅ Check Rates & Availability Here! - PEACE HOTEL by REDDOORZ
✅ Check Rates & Availability Here!
For more hotel recommendations in the capital city, you can check out these posts:
- 10 Historic Hotels in Metro Manila
- Top 10 Hotels Near Manila Bay
- Top 10 Hotels in Ermita
- Top 10 Hotels in Malate
Updates Log
2025.03.XX – First uploaded
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