Weekend Wandering: A Taste of Binondo

Last time, my fiancee and I went to Ongpin to canvas wedding rings. I wrote about how our trip went in my previous post. During these past few days, I can attest to how challenging wedding preparations can be!

This weekend, after attending the worship service, we immediately went to Ongpin to buy our wedding ring. We excused ourselves first in our respective ministries so we'll have more time to scour jewelry stores.

With the recommendation of @tpkidkai, we went straight to Ty Po Huat Goldsmith in Ongpin. But we missed an important detail! The store is closed on Sundays! It was a bit disappointing, but instead of sulking, we scoured the street once more to look for the cheapest but presentable 18k gold rings.

We went through several stores but even before we decided to buy our pair, we returned to the jewelry store adjacent to Ty Po Huat. We thought that they might be offering a competitive price since they're near the most recommended jewelry store. And our guess was correct! We saved a couple of dollars!

Since it was already lunchtime, when we left the jewelry store, we decided to look for Chinese food in the vicinity. But we saw people queuing in one corner and we discovered that it's one of the oldest Chinese stores in the area - Shanghai Fried Siopao. It was featured in several vlogs so it is no wonder it gains attention. We bought Lumpiang Sariwa and Fried Siopao to have a taste.

We saw another Chinese store and read something like radish cake and bicho-bicho. I would love to have a try of those but Gladys told me not to. Perhaps it doesn't look appetizing to her. Next time Oishiekun.

But we still have to look for a restaurant so we can eat what we have bought. Plus, a few buns will not be enough to fill our tummies. Gladly I was able to convince her to try King Jian Bao, one of the restaurants in the area. It was packed with people because it is lunchtime already but we still scored a seat. We bought stir-fried noodles and orange juice.

After recovering our strength, we walked back to Recto Station LRT en route to Quiapo church. But when we saw dried squid on the street, we made sure we'll buy sticks! We first saw it in YouTube videos and agreed to give it a try. It was worth the experience, though.

When we reached LRT, we both felt tired and sleepy. And since we were several stations from our destination, we took a short, Filipino-style commuter nap while on the train.

On to our next weekend wandering!