I was very excited for Valentine's Day to come. Being single doesn't mean you'd sulk on the day love is celebrated. I had a date, too! I had a date with my Mom, and it was the best date we've gone to so far. Being a close-knit family, I enjoy the time I spend with Mom. Mom calls it bonding. And last night was a cool way to celebrate the day with two holidays (?) - Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day - and it was going on a tour with Old Manila Walks.
I've had this tour booked since January and I couldn't wait. I've always wanted to try the walking tour, and this was my chance to finally do it! I have to thank Jiggy Cruz for this. I'm a regular blog reader of his and I saw his entry on his walking tour experience. He looked like he had fun, so I went to the Old Manila Walks website, talked to Mom about it, and before I knew it I had reserved us a slot. Thanks for this Jiggy!! :)
So yesterday, we all met up at the Binondo Church and waited for the famous Ivan Man Dy. Surprisingly, The Big Binondo Food Wok stated on time (like they said it would!). We were a huge, eager group of 44, and I am simply amazed at how Ivan manages to get all of our attention. Hats of to Ivan! :D
It was a very busy day in Binondo, because it was Chinese New Year. We walked along the narrow streets of Binondo, going from one food stop to another. I have never had sooooo much Chinese food in one day. I have to say that I'm not a big fan of Chinese food, but the food we all got a taste of yesterday, were all sooo sooo good! And they were authentic Chinese food ha! Not the ones you buy in Chowking or the ones in those carton boxes with chopsticks. They're a lousy excuse for Chinese food, in my opinion. You gotta try the food served in Ivan's tour before you can actually say you've eaten real-ass Chinese food.
It's just too bad we didn't get to taste the exotic foods which Binondo/the Chinese are notorious for. I would have wanted to take a sip of the Soup #5 (go to Binondo and you'll know what I'm talking about harhar!). I remember when I was in college and was an ROTC officer (yikes!), my seniors (one of them was a pure Binondo-raised Chinese boy) brought all of us there and made us eat frog legs. I remember having a hard time swallowing the frog legs. It was in this place near the estero so I imagined they all got the frogs from there, and it was disgusting since the water of the estero reeked!
The tour ended 4 hours later and Ivan gave us all a surprise. We had freebies! Ivan gave us tikoy (a Chinese New Year must-eat!), chocolates inside ampao's, a copy of Yummy magazine, AND the Big Binondo Food Wok map. We all felt like kids being rewarded after a little bit of suffering. I am sure everyone enjoyed the tour. Not only did we fill our stomachs, Ivan also filled our minds with Binondo's history and trivia.
Every peso we paid Ivan was so worth it. I envy him actually, he gets paid for something he loves doing! Anyway, I highly recommend you pretty people to try this WOK-ing tour. You're gonna love it! Especially if you're a foodie, you'll be in 7th Heaven on this tour! I'm pretty sure I did enjoy every moment, I still have that Binondo high! :)
Pictures and details of the tour still to come! I haven't downloaded them yet! But i'll be posting them soon! :)
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