Binondo, Manila, also known to many as the Philippines' "Chinatown", is the place to be when it comes to everything Chinese. Every nook and cranny of Binondo depicts it rich history and Chinese culture. It also is the haven of delectable and authentic Chinese cuisine. If you're asking where to get the best siomai, the most delicious siopao, the most succulent mami or congee, or even the freshest baked hopia, Binondo is the place you're looking for. The busy streets of Binonso are home to the many food places, from the high-end Chinese restaurants to typical carinderias or food stalls. Regardless of where you decide to dine, every restaurant serves the most delicious Chinese goodies. But, if you're more of the budget type, and you want affordable Chinese food, don't fret. We know a food place at Binondo that could be just right for you.
Just along one of the most famous streets in Binondo is a place known as 'Estero'. It is called as such because the place is located beside an inlet canal. The place may be a bit foul and dirty, and the ambiance is not something that would awe you, but the food here is simply to crave for. We specifically ate at the food place called Estero Fastfood. Be warned - there are some dishes here which are not for the faint of heart, but trust us, you'll like it after you taste it. Like what we've said before, the food here is absolutely affordable. We basically ordered a lot (since we were a group; and can we just stress the word LOT), and paid just a little less than 2,000 pesos. Yep, define dirt cheap. Typically no Chinese restaurant could beat the prices at Binondo Estero.
Of course, you shouldn't expect and extravagant service. However, we didn't have any problems with regards to the service of our food. The waitresses were accommodating, despite the fact that the environment is very different from the usual restaurants in Metro Manila. We actually didn't expect this kind of service. We were expecting service which was a bit more informal. But, the people here are kind. Like any other waitress, they give suggestions as to what their best-sellers are and what people should try at their food place.
Here are the dishes that we tried at Estero:
Nido Soup with Quail Eggs, 80 php (Small); 120 php (Medium); 160 php (Large)
Glutton Guy: The soup was just okay for me because it didn't have anything special that satisfied my palate. For 160 pesos, though, it's absolutely worth it. What really stood out for me were the quail eggs. I'm a fan of quail eggs. It's easy to eat because they're bite-sized, so you could just eat them with one gulp. In my opinion, the bits of meat in the soup were more of a failure. It would have been better if the soup didn't have it.The flavor was really good, nevertheless. : )
Glutton Girl: I was surprised at the serving size of their Nido soup. For 160 pesos, it was already good for one whole group. It could actually serve around 8-10 persons. Soups at other Chinese restaurants are more expensive than that. Plus, they don't serve the whole crowd. The flavor of the soup was good, though it was a bit lacking for me. A little bit of salt and pepper would actually do the trick here. Taking into consideration the price, I would order this again upon my next visit. It's delicious and it's 'sulit'.
Shanghai Fried Rice, 70 php (Small); 135 php (Medium); 160 php (Large)
Glutton Guy: Well, it's not the best rice I have tasted, but the rice at Estero definitely feeds a lot of people. For 160 pesos, this again is another very affordable dish. There weren't a lot of ingredients in the dish unlike the usual Yang Chow fried rice in other Chinese restaurants. But, it was good, one way or another. I didn't really fall for it, but when you're really hungry and craving for Chinese food, you wouldn't really mind that. I guess for a rice dish it will do. : )
Glutton Girl: Estero's Shanghai fried rice was an okay dish. For some reason I didn't like how the rice was cooked. I wanted it to be firm, but the rice we had was a bit mushy. There weren't a lot of ingredients as well, so the flavor wasn't that intense and the dish wasn't very colorful. If I were too cook it, I would have added some green peas and some diced carrots. But, with regards to the flavors, I liked this rice dish.
Crispy Frog Legs, 110 php (Small); 165 php (Medium); 220 php (Large)
Glutton Guy: This is an exotic dish that's absolutely a must-try. If eating at Burger King will not be complete without ordering the burger, eating at Estero would not be complete without the frog legs. We actually wanted the frog legs with the chili sauce. But since they had no chili sauce, we opted to buy the crispy frog legs instead. At first I was a bit skeptical if I would eat it or not. But, the urge to try it made me go for it. I have read a lot of rave reviews about the frog legs of Estero. I have to say, I actually liked it. It tasted a lot like chicken, just like what the people who have tried it said. It was just a bit difficult to eat because it had smaller bones than chicken. But, it was really delicious. It's perfect for people who want to try something 'different'. No wonder people keep ordering this dish. I just wish the frog legs didn't come from frogs caught from the estero. : )
Glutton Girl: I actually didn't want to leave Binondo without having a taste of the frog legs. Before getting there my mind was already fixed that I was going to try the frog legs. I haven't tasted frog legs before, though. But as they say, there's a first time for everything. I wasn't even afraid to try it. Good thing I took the risk of trying these out. The frog legs were really good. Like what Glutton Guy said, the legs were a bit difficult to eat because they were smaller and they had smaller bones as compared to chicken. But, when it came to the taste I absolutely had nothing bad to say. A memorable dish at my Estero experience, I have to say.
Beef with Broccoli, 90 php (Small); 135 php (Medium); 180 php (Large)
Glutton Guy: Not one of the best dishes I have tasted at Estero. Beef with broccoli is one of my favorite dishes in Chinese restaurants. Regardless which food place I order it, the dish never failed in satisfying me because the beef was always tender and the sauce was flavorful. But, Estero's beef with broccoli had a different approach that really didn't work for me. Although the beef was tender and the broccoli was good, it really didn't deliver wholly as a dish. I found the sauce a bit interesting because the flavor is a bit different from the usual. It's probably the Chinese touch. I didn't fall for it when I ate it, though. In my opinion, I would be better off with another beef dish. : )
Glutton Girl: We decided to order beef since we didn't want any pork for our lunch. My diet restrained me from ordering anything fatty. We ordered beef with broccoli for our beef dish. It was just okay for me. I have actually tasted better versions of this dish in other Chinese restaurants. I loved the broccoli, though. It gave the dish the crunchiness which I liked. But, you could see from the color of the sauce that it's not as rich nor as flavorful as the usual beef with broccoli. Also, it's not as flavorful as the ones I have tried before. If I were to order this again at Estero, I would just get a single order of it.
Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet, 90 php (Small); 135 php (Medium); 180 php (Large)
Glutton Guy: This was another okay dish for me. Fish fillet is another dish that I really love at Chinese restaurants, especially the sweet and sour fish fillet. Since it's my favorite, I would be expecting an excellent version of the dish everytime I order it. Apparently, it didn't work out as I expected it to be. It was a bit mediocre for me. The fish fillets I have tasted before are a lot better than this one. Although, the sweet and sour sauce was delicious. It's just the fish which ruined the dish for me. I didn't get the crunchy outside from the fish as I would usually get, and it wasn't flaky on the inside. It actually was a bit mushy even. The vegetables gave some crunchiness and color to the dish, though. : )
Glutton Girl: This fish fillet dish was actually good. It's not the best fish dish I've tasted, but it worked for me (as compared to the beef with broccoli dish). I liked the sweet and sour sauce very much. Most people cook sweet and sour sauces by just buying the sweet and sour sauce in a bottle and adding some extra seasonings to the sauce. I didn't feel that they used that here. I also liked the vegetables on the dish. The fish was good. They're not as delicious as I was expecting them to be, but it did taste like fish fillet, so that'll work for me.
Chospuey Guisado, 90 php (Small); 135 php (Medium); 180 php (Large)
Glutton Guy: Finally, after two 'just okay' dishes, here's something worth recommending! Estero's chopsuey was really really delicious. I not only liked it, I loved it. The good thing about this dish was that it offered something different. Instead of using meat as one of the ingredients, they used squid. It had a better flavor for me since chopsuey is one Chinese dish that every Chinese should know how to cook. Chinese restaurants can never go wrong in cooking chopsuey. The vegetables were crunchy and delicious, a quality that's very typical from a chopsuey dish. The squid wasn't rubbery at all, which I really liked as well. Overall, this was an excellent vegetable dish. : )
Glutton Girl: When I order chopsuey at Chinese restaurants, I want the vegetables to have a vibrant color and that crunch when you bite into them. Furthermore, I want it to be saucy. I'm not really a fan of chopsuey dishes that are dry. All the things I was looking for in chopsuey, I found in Estero's chopsuey. The vegetables looked fresh and had that crunch, and the dish overall had lots of sauce. Presentation-wise, however, it didn't look appealing, but the taste is really delicious. Plus, the serving size is again enough to feed a group. The chopsuey here is something that you should definitely try.
Buttered Chicken, 100 php (Small); 150 php (Medium); 200 (Large)
Glutton Guy: This is so far the best dish I have tried here at Estero. This dish really worked for me. I loved how the chicken was cooked. It really was infused with that buttery, garlic-y taste that I really loved so much. I have tried this dish before at a food place in Malate. The chicken, when I first tried it, had smaller pieces. But, the buttered chicken at Estero was better. Even now, I could still taste the delicious chicken with that butter and garlic flavor. The chicken had that crispy skin and that soft inside which I really loved. This dish is an absolute must-try! : )
Glutton Girl: This dish was not on our supposed order. But, eventually we decided to order some just to see what it tasted like. It looked just like fried chicken with butter and garlic, and it looked simple to prepare. But for some reason the people at Estero really did a great job cooking this dish. The butter and the garlic really complemented the chicken, both ingredients intensifying the flavor of the dish. The chicken, furthermore, had that soft inside which was just absolutely delicious. I just really couldn't get enough of it. When I go back to Estero, I would order a lot of this. Seriously.
Calamares, 100 php (Small); 150 php (Medium); 200 php (Large)
Glutton Guy: Estero's calamares is another dish that I loved. Squid is one of my most favorite seafoods, so it wouldn't be a surprising fact that I loved the calamares here. The squid was cooked perfectly and the batter used was delicious. It's not that crunchy, but it tasted really good. Squid can sometimes be difficult to cook because overcooking it can make it rubbery and difficult to chew. Estero's calamares dish wasn't like that. It's a perfect 'ulam' and an excellent 'pulutan'. : )
Glutton Girl: What I liked about the calamres at Estero was that even though it was very similar to the usual calamares, it still seemed like it's something you haven't tasted before. I just loved the flavor of the calamares. Even though it wasn't crunchy I still liked it very much. Dipping it in the spicy vinegar sauce really does the trick of making it more flavorful. I could actually finish the whole dish on my own.
A trip at Binondo Estero is something that you should experience when you visit Binondo. True, there are some dishes which didn't work out for us, but the experience of trying authentic Chinese dishes that are delicious and affordable at the same time is just something that you wouldn't want to pass. If you're having a hard time looking for the place, just remember that it's beside the estero, so you should be looking for bridges. When you see one, that should be an indication that you're near the food place. It might be difficult to spot, but the the food you're gonna taste here is worth the search. Chinese food is good, but Chinese food at Chinatown, better. And what better place to eat Chinese food at Chinatown than at Binondo Estero.
Here's how we rated Binondo Estero:
Food:
Price:
Place:
Service:
(Binondo Estero is located at 847-G Ongpin Street, Binondo, Manila. From Binondo church, just go straight at Ongpin Street, passing the Eng Bee Tin hopia store, 2 bridges, and a supermarket. You will also pass the Mr. Ube store. It's just beside one of the bridges that you're going to pass. When you see the Salazar Bakeshop, then you just missed it. But, it's just near the store.)
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