Food Curios at Ongpin Street 2

Our feet carried us to Ongpin street, known among other things for its food places and two positively ancient churches.  A little past noon and Binondo Church loomed over a portion of the street.

Yet strangely enough, we were the only ones trying to take advantage of its protective shadows.  Determined-looking people kept bustling about under the sun’s glare.  They seemed oblivious to the fact that heat waves were making the ground sparkle.

 

Food Curios at Ongpin Street 1

I have this strong urge to bring my cam, go somewhere (anywhere) and just start shooting.  But since I’m tied up and can’t do it in the meantime, I’ve been channeling this inner compulsion by looking at my past photos.

I’m easily swayed by nostalgia, did I tell you that?  I tend to collect old pieces of memories and things, so that I can look at them a few years down the road and do that nostalgic “sigh.”  Then when I’m done sighing (or I’m forced to prioritize my clutter for lack of space), I freely and sentimentally throw it away.  I did that recently with a few videos I saved in my laptop before, telling the familiar files not to worry.

“My subconscious will never forget you! (sniff)”

So here I am now looking at old photos of my trip to Ongpin last year.

It was also April.  I remember we took the ferry trip that traversed the Pasig River.  It was hot even at midmorning; but it felt good too to find places where it seemed as if we had left the pollution and the busy atmosphere of Manila behind.

That day I saw birds.  A LOT of them.  Sometimes they reminded me of that short clip in Monsters, Inc., where rows of birds sat contentedly on a live cable, unknowing that in a few seconds of the reel, a big, gawky bird was going to make them lose their cool.

At other times it seemed like I was seeing something reminiscent of  a Hayao Miyazaki anime, where a flock of birds can define the mood of a landscape like nothing else could.

It was in this state of mind that a friend and I got down the ferry that traversed the Pasig River and on to Escolta Station.

It took a few minutes of walking and me inhaling my bottled water like oxygen, before we entered the outskirts of Chinatown.  It was here where our main objective was conveniently located.

I’ve mentioned Oyster Cake in another post, but what I didn’t focus on at the time is their other specialty: the Sincere Chicken.  This proud trait of a chicken makes sense, when you consider that they are served with relish by the Sincerity Restaurant.  ;)

Btw, one thing to know in searching for good Chinese food, especially in a very old locale: be prepared for some degree of uh, ordinariness in the interior.  That’s usually where awesome food can be found.  Of course that’s not always true–there are Chinese restaurants that look and taste as good.  But more likely than not, those are the already established, not-so-very secret ones.

First action in Chinatown and we’ve accomplished our main goal.  What else was there to do?

Well, in our view, that only made the rest of the day sweeter, since we could dally at our leisure.

To be continued…