This episode dives deep into Binondo’s storied past and equally exciting present. To Patch’s delight and surprise, Carmina shares Binondo's second record-breaking feat, in addition to its claim as the oldest Chinatown in the world. Join them on a “walking tour” through its streets while discussing historical tidbits in its cultural, architectural, and culinary realms. Whether it’s “Gong Xi Fa Cai,” “Kung Hei Fat Choy,” or “Kiōnghì hua'tcái,” all roads lead to the world’s most special Chinatown – BINONDO!
To learn more: The Chinese Mestizo in the Philippines, 10 heritage treasures of Old Manila, The Story of Binondo, the World’s Oldest Chinatown, Most Authentic and Oldest Restaurant in Manila, Savory Restaurant, Getting to Know Chinatown, The Arches of Manila Chinatown, DISMANTLED AND REASSEMBLED! THE HOTEL DE ORIENTE FROM BINONDO TAKE 2! | NOON AT NGAYON SERIES, Calle de la Escolta and Binondo's Economic Significance, ARQUITECTURA MANILA: YOUR GATEWAY TO MANILA’S GLORIOUS ARCHITECTURAL PAST, and Walking Tour On The Oldest Chinatown In The World.
To support FilTrip, go to the Patreon page here and PayPal page here.
Visit https://filtrip.buzzsprout.com. Drop a note at thefiltrip@gmail.com.
Thanks to FilTrip's sponsor SOLEPACK. Visit thesolepack.com for more details.
See https://www.buzzsprout.com/privacy for Privacy Policy.
This episode dives deep into Binondo’s storied past and equally exciting present. To Patch’s delight and surprise, Carmina shares Binondo's second record-breaking feat, in addition to its claim as the oldest Chinatown in the world. Join them on a “walking tour” through its streets while discussing historical tidbits in its cultural, architectural, and culinary realms. Whether it’s “Gong Xi Fa Cai,” “Kung Hei Fat Choy,” or “Kiōnghì hua'tcái,” all roads lead to the world’s most special Chinatown – BINONDO!
To learn more: The Chinese Mestizo in the Philippines, 10 heritage treasures of Old Manila, The Story of Binondo, the World’s Oldest Chinatown, Most Authentic and Oldest Restaurant in Manila, Savory Restaurant, Getting to Know Chinatown, The Arches of Manila Chinatown, DISMANTLED AND REASSEMBLED! THE HOTEL DE ORIENTE FROM BINONDO TAKE 2! | NOON AT NGAYON SERIES, Calle de la Escolta and Binondo's Economic Significance, ARQUITECTURA MANILA: YOUR GATEWAY TO MANILA’S GLORIOUS ARCHITECTURAL PAST, and Walking Tour On The Oldest Chinatown In The World.
To support FilTrip, go to the Patreon page here and PayPal page here.
Visit https://filtrip.buzzsprout.com. Drop a note at thefiltrip@gmail.com.
Thanks to FilTrip's sponsor SOLEPACK. Visit thesolepack.com for more details.
See https://www.buzzsprout.com/privacy for Privacy Policy.
Welcome to FilTrip, a podcast where we explore everything fun, weird, and in between about the Philippines. And now a quick shout out. Check out Manila Candle. Manila Candle features Filipino inspired scents like Tagaytay, Palawan, Ube Halaya and Buco and Mango. They also have fun ones like Ay Nako and Bahala Ka Sa Buhay Mo.
Patch:Enjoy their car fresheners, wax melts and merchandise to visit manilacandle.com and take a trip to the Philippines through their scents.
Carmina:Back to our show.
Patch:Today's trip is a holiday trip, and a holiday trip is when we talk about a specific holiday observance festival or celebration, and interesting facts about that holiday. In this episode, we will be talking about the Lunar New Year.
Carmina:At last year's Lunar New Year episode, we covered so much about how our culture and history were heavily influenced by the Chinese, even before Spain, colonized the Philippines. So much so that our language, our traditions, and our food reflect those influences.
Patch:You said food and I immediately got distracted.<laugh>
Carmina:<laugh>, But...
Patch:We could talk about that later.
Carmina:Exactly. We're not talking about food just yet. So last year's episode, we also briefly talked about Binondo, the oldest Chinatown in the world. And today's episode, an honor of this year's Lunar New Year is a deep dive on this fascinating place.
Patch:Even before the Spanish arrived in the Philippines, Mindoro was a well-known trade port for the Chinese, and that also includes other so-called states at the time, one of which was the kingdom of Tondo. Chinese goods were shipped from the port of Tondo across the Archipelago. The Chinese economic activity was one of the reasons. While Agapi relocated his capital from Cebu Manila, and the Chinese merchant settled along the Pasig River banks seeking either profit or a new life, and defying the Ming Emperor himself, who forbade people from leaving China.
Carmina:I didn't realize the emperor forbade them to go anywhere.
Patch:Yes, at that time, silver was the most important currency.
Carmina:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>,
Patch:They were trying to hold onto that currency, so they were forbidden to go beyond the Chinese borders. Of course, they started to immigrate to other areas, including the Philippines. When the Spaniards arrived in, they faced a number of challenges to deal with this. The Spaniards enlisted the help of local chiefs and pitted the Filipinos against each other. Divide and conquer, right?
Carmina:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>,
Patch:But the Chinese on the other hand were a different story. They were foreigners, but they were also economically significant to the Philippines and Spain's hope of capturing the Chinese market. The Spanish were very wary of the Chinese, very afraid of Chinese invasion despite understanding their importance in the economy.
Carmina:So Patch, the Governor General At that time, Luis Pérez Dasmariñas, was given a royal decree to expel all Chinese from Manila. Because of that distrust and Patch, they were expelled really very far, so far away,<laugh> to a place called Binondo. I'm laughing because guess how far Binondo is from Intramuros?
Patch:How far is it?
Carmina:Just aross the Pasig River. Which i n modern t imes i s about 10 minutes by car and 25 minutes by foot. I mean, can you really call that an expulsion?< laugh>? The Governor General had to have the appearance of obeying the royal order, but he also knew that he needed the Chinese, as you said earlier, trade day-to-day needs artisans for the Gallion trade cheap labor. So they really were vital to the Spaniards, not just in commerce, but also in their everyday life being needed. But being feared i s a pervasive theme between the Spaniards and the Chinese. So Patch, it's not only the distance. That's fascinating about Binondo. The Governor General purchased that land. Not only did he purchase it, he gave a land grant to a group of Chinese merchants and artisans in perpetuity and tax f ree. They were also given some measure of limited freedom to govern themselves. So that just goes to show you how much they were really needed. The other reason why they were kept at a very close distance is because the Spaniards wanted to keep a close eye on them. There were always fears of Chinese sympathies with Chinese pirates and also uprisings.
Patch:They had to be within the distance of their cannons.
Carmina:Let's be real. They were scared.
Patch:That's right.<laugh>.
Carmina:So of course that wasn't enough. Right? The Spanish friars had to join in the action<laugh>. The church invested a lot of money and effort in converting the Chinese in Binondo. In the beginning, at least, nobody was allowed to move in Binondo unless you were baptized. The Spanish friars also had the ambition of converting Chinese in mainland China. So their thinking was if there were a lot more Chinese mestizo offspring that would help them evangelize in China, because of the combination of the land grant plus the religious authority by the friars, Binondo really enjoyed some kind of special status. The people who were left in charge of B, those Chinese merchants and artisans were even allowed to collect rent from any outsider who settled there. The bottom line is, it was a really big deal for the Chinese, because previously they were confined to the Parian, which was definitely subpar compared to Binondo.
Patch:The Parian was often described as really the ghettos. So it must have been difficult living in that area.
Carmina:There is a common misconception, though, that only the Chinese settled in Binondo. But as time went on, even the Indios or the Native Filipinos were allowed to settle there. And then what happened was separate communities began to form. There were the ethnic Chinese, the Chinese Mestizos, and the Indios. So three major factions. You can just imagine the dynamics that formed over the centuries because of this. In the beginning, the ethnic Chinese and the Mestizos were in the same camp. Then when the Mestizos grew a number, they broke away from the ethnic Chinese. And then finally the Mestizos and the Indios were in the same camp against the Spaniards during the Philippine revolution, have you ever wondered why it's called Binondo?
Patch:Doesn't it mean like the Hills?
Carmina:It was originally called either Binondok or Min, and as we know in Tagalog, the word bundok means hilly or elevated, but there's also an alternative origin story. The prefixed B BI means by an English. It was a point of reference to the relative location Tondo, hence<foreign>. Ordo.
Patch:Oh, that makes sense.
Carmina:<laugh>, Right? I mean, all of them make sense. Who the heck knows? Which really is the original<laugh>. But no matter how it got its name, one thing is clear then and now it's still the center of trade and commerce and Patch. I didn't know this. Everyone wants to move to Binondo because it has one of the highest land values nationwide.
Patch:Wow.
Carmina:And I don't know about you Patch, but when I was young, I really only<laugh> associated Binondo with food.
Patch:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>.
Carmina:But there's so much history there all throughout Binondo, and through the magic of technology, I was able to join a walking tour of Binondo<laugh> through YouTube.
Patch:That's so cool. Tell me about what you saw.
Carmina:It's so funny because the description of the show notes said, just walk, no talk.
Patch:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>.
Carmina:So it was about a half hour of really just walking through Binondo. During Chinese New Year. One of the major entry points to Binondo from Manila is through the Jones Bridge. It connects the two, and then when you cross Jones Bridge and enter Binondo, you'll see a formal entry. And it's a magnificent looking arch that I thought has always been there, but apparently it was only built in 2015.
Patch:What?<laugh>
Carmina:Yes. It claims to be the largest Chinatown arch in the world.
Patch:I didn't realize it was the largest one. We will not only be the oldest, but we will have the largest<laugh> entrance.
Carmina:One historical claim is not enough. It's 63.8 feet high, and that 3.8 is very significant because this arch is 3.8 feet taller than the one in Washington DC.
Patch:<laugh>.
Carmina:But you know, Patch, to be honest, I was initially worried because you know, we have a lot of earthquakes in the Philippines. Right?
Patch:Right.
Carmina:Thankfully, it has foundations that are very, very deep to prevent its collapse in the event of earthquakes. And certainly had its share. This is the other fascinating fact about it. Not one single centavo was spent by the Philippine government. It was apparently funded by the city of Guango. I mean, I really started to wonder what nefarious reasons there were
Patch:<laugh>. Yes. That's the silence
Carmina:<laugh>. And I think this is informative. The locals don't necessarily fully approve of it because the translation of the Chinese characters literally mean China Town. Two words. So some people think that the implication is it's an outpost of China, which given the current geopolitical tensions, isn't very popular or desired in the Philippines right now. And then the locals also felt that it's not really reflective of Binondo's history. There are apparently four other arches anyway that existed before this one. These four arches were built in the seventies to formalize diplomatic relations between the people's Republic of China in the Philippines. One of them that's the most prominent is the Filipino Chinese friendship arch, which is, you know, very close to this gigantic arch that was built in 2015. In the past, it was literally the gateway to Binondo. If, if you're coming from the South, and if you read the arch on the left, it reads in Tagalog, Filipino chin. In the middle are the Chinese characters that basically say the same thing. And on the right it says Filipino, Chinese friendship arch in English. Then the other one that's significant because it's another gateway if you're coming from Santa Cruz, is the arch of goodwill. It says[inaudible] in Tagalog, starting on the left, followed by the Chinese characters, and then followed by the English translation stating arch of goodwill. The other two are apparently me<laugh> with no particular special meaning. All they say are develop Metro Manila and support new society. But nevertheless, the people in Binondo felt, we got four of them. Did we really need this one? But you know, in fairness, it really is spectacular
Patch:And it is the tallest.
Carmina:<laugh> In the world.
Patch:In the world.
Carmina:So, Patch, can I continue in this walking tour?
Patch:Yeah, of course.
Carmina:So when I followed the path of this walking tour, the next place was the Plaza Calderon dela Barca. It's not known as Plaza Calderon dela Barca anymore. So originally it was known as Plaza de Binondo. Then it was named after the King of Spain, Carlos the fourth, then Calderon dela Barca. And finally today it's known as the Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz. But during the Spanish colonial period, it was apparently one of the biggest and Manila. It was so impressive because there were a lot of trees. It was surrounded by a small forest. It really evoked a lot of the great plazas in Spain, and it was also surrounded by mansions. Also around it are very important buildings. One of them is the Binondo Church, which I just know we'll talk about a little bit more. The La Insular Cigar and Cigarette Factory, which became one of the premier cigar manufacturers in the country. And the Hotel de Oriente.
Patch:Wasn't it the first luxury hotel in the Philippines?
Carmina:That's right. It opened in 1889, and Jose Rizal stayed in room 22 when he arrived from Hong Kong on June 26th, 1892. It had three stories, 83 rooms had electricity, and apparently this was a wow factor at that time. It had ceiling fans.
Patch:Understandably so. I mean, of course it could get pretty hot.
Carmina:It was damaged and the war, unfortunately, but whatever was left was dismantled and transported and replicated at a place called Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, in my opinion, is one of the most important historical preservation efforts in our lifetime Patch.
Patch:I agree.
Carmina:Anyway, back to the hotel, I watched another YouTube video that will link in our show note showing it in its current location in Las Casas< laugh>. But anyway,< laugh>, it was so impressive. I can't believe something like that existed in Manila.
Patch:Right. I remember seeing pictures of the staircase that they were rebuilding. It looked so
Carmina:Intricate to enter, you have to remove your shoes and you'll understand why when you see the floors. It had beautiful patterns all throughout, and the patterns were different depending on which part of the hotel you were. The staircase that you were mentioning was a double staircase leading to the balcony. It was so grand, and the ceilings, walls, and fixtures all had painstaking detail. The grand ballroom is also huge, and today, conventions and conferences are held there. The ceilings have intricate carvings and the walls are adorned by life size sculptures. Anyway, back to the plaza.<laugh>, sorry about the detour<laugh>. So at the plaza, there are four monuments, which again, is apparently some sort of record.
Patch:Do you think there's a significance to the number four<laugh>?
Carmina:I don't know why.
Patch:Wasn't there like for um, entrance ways or arches? Oh,
Carmina:That's right,<laugh>. I already forgot about that. I'm not sure. But it seemed that these four monuments ended up here by some sort of coincidence. The smallest and least maintained is a tribute to Joaquin Santa Marina, who was the founder of that La Insular Cigar and Cigarette Factory that I mentioned earlier. And it was probably built in the late 19th century. Then there's another one that's a tall que that was built in 1916. It was dedicated to the Filipino Chinese printer Thomas Pinpin, who we talked about in last year's episode. He was credited for introducing the Philippines to printing, and as we mentioned last time, he helped spread Catholicism with his printing of the Bible. It used to be in Plaza Cervantes, but was transferred there in 1979 because there was road work in that area and was never moved back. Just stayed there.
Patch:It was comfortable there.
Carmina:There's a memorial to the Filipino Chinese victims of World War II, which was built in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. And then lastly, the most prominent and the biggest was of San Lorenzo Ruiz by the sculptor Eduardo Castillo, which was built in 1989, two years after he was canonized. But even before it was named in honor of him. Binondo church really was a very prominent church in Binondo. One of its notable features, Patch is the octagonal five tier Chinese style bell tower. It looks somewhat like a pagoda, doesn't it?
Patch:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>.
Carmina:Which is really symbolic of the Chinese infused culture and history. It was damaged many times over the centuries because of war, earthquakes and fires. The first major damage was when the British invaded in 1762 and was restored in 1852. Then there was an earthquake on July 3rd, 1863. So it again had to be rebuilt. During that earthquake patch, there were seven priests who were huddled underneath a gothic arch and survived while hundreds of other people were crushed to death when the dome fell, then in 1944, it was again damaged this time by US Air Force bombing. During that bombing, all the archived historical documents were destroyed. So of the original design, only the Chinese style octagonal, bell Tower survives.
Patch:I came across a little trivia about Binondo church. So apparently in either 1893 or 1894, Andres Bonifacio, who i s our nationalist and revolutionary, was married to G regoria de Jesus i n Binondo Church.
Carmina:Right. The last thing I wanna discuss about this church Patch is a little bit spooky.
Patch:What<laugh>?
Carmina:You sound really scared.<laugh>. The paving outside is made from Chinese cemetery headstones.
Patch:Oh, Right.
Carmina:And you know, and a lot of Catholic churches all around the world. If you noticed, if you're rich, you can be buried inside the church, or your headstone could be on the floor or within the walls. So the wealthier you are, the closer you are to the altar or the church. But the Dominican friars really wanted to erase the Chinese names. And so when you look at some of these headstones, a lot of the Chinese names were apparently replaced with Spanish ones, or the headstones that were taken from the less prominent Chinese names were erased. There are so many Binondo streets and structures that have these headstones. So one day when we go todo, we have to look for them. They're in plant boxes in the nearby Santa Cruz church. They could be pavement and the University of Santa Thomas grounds. But the good news is that they are declared a national cultural treasure by the National Museum.
Patch:You know, Carmina, we talked about the origin Ongpin, but I was also curious. How it was during the American era, apparently they refer to that as like the golden age Ofo. There was a lot of economic freedom, and it became the showcase of the Far East of American modernization. Escolta was the equivalent of Bond Street at that time, and was also the financial center of the country. It was also known as Manila's Broadway. It housed the Lyric Theater, the capital Theater, and other major production houses.
Carmina:It became a destination for Art Deco and then Baroque architecture.
Patch:Carmina. What is Baroque architecture?
Carmina:<laugh>. Here you go again. When you're difficult questions. Thankfully I am prepared. Again.<laugh> Baroque architecture conveys grandiose ornamental and symmetrical style of design, which was popular in the gilded age of the late 19th century and early 20th century. One of the articles that I read described Manila as comparable to cities like Paris, London, and Madrid because of these architectural gems. And it was named the most beautiful city in the Far East. Meanwhile, Patch, do you know what Hong Kong, Jakarta and Singapore were considered back then?
Patch:No.
Carmina:What they were called backwater outposts during that time. And of course today they surpass us. What the heck happened?<laugh>? Well, we know, right? War neglect,
Patch:Corruption.
Carmina:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. One building that I do want to mention is the Crystal Arcade. It had an art deco design, and it was the first air conditioned shopping establishment when it opened in June, 1932. The interior was modeled after Parisian arcades. It had covered walkways, glass covered display windows and cafes. The building's finish was said to have resembled a gleaming crystal and patch. The architect Andres Luna de San Pedro was the son of none other than the great revolutionary artist, Juan Luna. Also, the first stock exchange in the Philippines called the Manila Stock Exchange was also located inside. I mean, just hearing about that, you can just imagine the magnificence of this building. Unfortunately, it was a casualty of World War ii, and for a while a few businesses still set up shop there. But in the 1960s, it was unfortunately demolished and was replaced by the Philippine National Bank Building. Okay, Patch, should we move onto our favorite topic?
Patch:Food? Yay.
Carmina:<laugh>, of course. Patch, we can't cover every great place to eat in just one episode, but we chose a few restaurants because of some interesting factoids and history behind them.
Patch:So I came across one, and I really regret that. I've never eaten there, but it's called the To Ho Antigua, which is the country's oldest restaurant. To ho is just a name. It doesn't really mean anything, but there were some rumors that it meant to ho, which translates apparently to just enough in Hokkien. It's really significant because not only has the store passed on from generation to generation, it's been open since 1888. But according to some food historians, it's actually was founded in 1866, by Manuela, was frequented by Jose Rizal himself.
Carmina:That kind of makes sense, because he did go to school at University of San Tomas nearby. So I can just imagine that he and his buds frequented that place. Another restaurant that I wanted to talk about, the President Grand Palace Tea House, and that's where you can get those multi-course Chinese lauriat m eals. So Patch, I just wanna tell you a story aboutlauriat because one of ou r v ery good friends, for whatever reason, I was always tagging along with their family when they had these lauriat meals.
Patch:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>.
Carmina:And lauriat is such a, you know, ceremony. So a lauriat is a sit do wn b anquet prepared for special occasions and for traditional circles, you can't really call something a lauriat unless it features eight to 10 dishes. At the very least.
Patch:It comes from lao diat, which translates to special location from Fukien. The seat of honor must be in the center if the table is round. So my question to you is, where are you usually seated?<laugh>.
Carmina:I was just thankful to be tagging along. I didn't care if they put me in the high chair right on the side of the table. And one thing that sticks out in my mind is a game that our friends family used to play, which is guessing the bill at the end of the meal,<laugh> and whoever got it, the closest won. I'm forgetting what they actually won. I think it had something to do with getting the money. The difference between the bill and and the guests and very smart that they're dead.<laugh> devised it to be whoever was the closest, because the closest you are to the bill, the smaller the amount that he's gonna have to pay.<laugh>. Thank you for inviting me all those years. Anyway, so back to the President Grand Palace. It was established in 1979, and it's really well loved by tourists and locals, and it serves one of the most authentic Cantonese dishes. But it really wasn't a restaurant patch in the beginning. It used to be an old Chinese theater, and the restaurant is said to have maintained the old theater seats. It has 700 seats with a full scale stage and four private rooms. So I thought that was just a really impressive scale. And also the fact that they tried to preserve the theater feel of it.
Patch:So Carmina, there is this other famous restaurant, which is the Savory restaurant. I remember eating the chicken, but it was brought to us. But it was like a gift from one of a family friend. But I never really ate in the establishment itself.
Carmina:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>.
Patch:So the first Savory Restaurant was located at the foot of the Jones Bridge in Escolta. Started by four brothers who immigrated from China in the 1930s, Mariano, Vicente, Tony, and Jose Ting. At first, they started selling noodles in the nearby Quiapo neighborhood, but they also introduced the Chinese fried chicken. And in 1950, the four brothers opened their restaurant in Escolta Street and put this fried chicken, which became very popular in their menu, and it was called the Savory Luncheonette. Over the years, though, the family had gone their separate ways and different factions opened their different Savory restaurants. So there's the classic savory, original savory restaurant. And so there's a little bit of controversy as to which one really is the original, but it all comes from the same family.
Carmina:Speaking of family drama, the next place I wanted to talk about is Eng Bee Tin is known as a Chinese deli. It used to be just a stall that sold treats. And I think in last year's episode we did talk about the ancestor who set this shop up.
Patch:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>.
Carmina:I didn't realize though that it had an interesting story. In more recent times, the business started to have a lot of competition, and it declined. Beginning in the seventies, the modern day successor to the business in the eighties named Jerry Chua was facing bankruptcy. He was only 21 at that time, but he was the eldest. So he was expected to take over. The story goes, he needed to cool off one day. So he stopped by one of the supermarkets and decided to eat some ice cream. He was chatting with a vendor and asked her what the best selling flavor was, and guess what she said? What[inaudible] So that sparked an idea in his head to make Ube Hopa, which is kind of sacrilegious in that time. Right? That's not one of the traditional ingredients of Hopa. He was so dedicated to this idea that he even went to Pampanga to master Ube making under the best Ube Halaya makers there. And he was really banking on it to save the business. The irony was it wasn't immediately accepted in the Philippines, but guess where it was popular?
Patch:Where?
Carmina:Here in the US.<laugh>.
Patch:< laugh> A nd it was only when it was featured in a TV show called Cityline did it become popular. Since then, he became known as Mr. Ub e, and he credits it with saving the business and expanding it. So today, when you go to Binondo from the humble stall, it used to be, it's now a multi fl oor b uilding. So on one floor there's a shop on the other, there's a cafe. I keep thinking about the<laugh><laugh>. I know, right? And it's really delicious. I think the way that Eng Bee Tin makes J ia is one of my favorites. And then there's another one that caught my e ye. So this one is called C afe Mezanine, and it's called that because it's on the second floor of a building, and right below it is the restaurant, which is known as the oldest fast food. A nd B ono, the Cafe Mezanine has panoramic views of the surrounding neighborhood, and it serves a wide variety of traditional Chinese food and s ome. But what caught my eye in the video is the sign, because right below the n ame Cafe M ezzanine, there are smaller letters that say Volunteer Fireman's Coffee Shop. So naturally that p eaked my curiosity. Yeah. I don't know if you're thinking about this, but I wasn't curious about it because here in the U S right, there's the Fireman's calendar. M m. That circulates around the holidays.<laugh><laugh>.
Carmina:That's not why I was curious about it. Just to make it clear, it's dedicated to supporting the Binondo Paco Fire Search and Rescue Brigade, so that it can continue its volunteer service to the community, as in a hundred percent of its profits go there.
Patch:Wow.
Carmina:And it's owned by no other than Jerry Chua, who is the current Eng Bee Tin owner. And I was so curious why he would do this. Apparently he was a fire volunteer in Binondo.
Patch:Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, that's very admirable of him.
Carmina:He really does believe in giving back to the community. So if you go to the Cafe Mezzanine, it's decorated by fireman hats and the ceiling is purple. As a tribute to the Ube Halaya that saved the Eng Bee Tin business.
Patch:<laugh>.
Carmina:And I also read that he bought firetrucks and painted them purple. It's so cool.
Patch:<laugh>. That is so cool.
Carmina:It's best known for Lechon Kawali or deep fried pork belly accompanied by Kampung, which is flavored rice. They also serve soup number five, the main star of which are bulls, testicles,
Patch:<laugh>. I think there are many jokes about soup number five,
Carmina:But here the context is apparently it's worthy of a five alarm fire.<laugh>. I think the story of Jerry Chua is really symbolic of the history of the resilience of Chinese Filipinos and the love that they've developed for what they now call their home, which is the Philippines.
Patch:And we're all very grateful.
Carmina:<laugh><laugh>. My belly is definitely
Patch:<laugh>. I, I think we're gonna have to end this episode soon,
Carmina:<laugh>. I mean, we haven't even talked about all of the other interesting sites that I saw on this walking tour. Like Lado Fountain, the Santa Cruz Church, the Santa Christos. There's just so much more. But you know there's always the next Lunar New Year.
Patch:And that's our episode. We hope you join us on our next trip.[inaudible] Thanks for listening to FilTrip with Carmina and Patch. Support FilTrip through Patreon or PayPal, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever all podcasts are downloaded.
:Thanks to FilTrip sponsor, Solepack, a functional shoe accessory bag. Visit thesolepack.com for more details.
Patch:Email us at thefiltrip@gmail.com.