When I started blogging and got invited for foodie events, I enjoy going on food crawls. I can’t remember though, the crawl where I went to more than 5 restaurants. But then I enjoy joining them, but in the long run, it got a little tedious. So nowadays, I only join if it’s less than 5 places or when I’m doing it with friends.
One of the food crawls that I love to do is when my friends plan to go to Chinatown in Binondo. This is the only food crawl that I don’t get tired of and event though I’m full to the brim and any movement might cause me to regurgitate everything that I’ve eaten, I will force myself to put more food into my mouth.
I’ve frequented some of the well-known restaurants in Chinatown, but there are still a lot I haven’t tried. Since whenever I go there, I always go to my favorite ones. Just before all the lockdown happened, I was still able to go to Binondo for some Chinese resto food crawl with my friends as part of touring our Swiss friends, that we met in Siargao, in and around Manila. Our first stop was at the Great Buddha Café for some appetizers, some dim sums to warm up our tummies.
Great Buddha Café is a fairly new restaurant in Chinatown and one of the modern ones. But the people behind this brand is not new in Binondo nor with Chinese cuisine as they are the same people behind Eng Bee Tin, one of the oldest producers of Filipino-Chinese delicacies and breads in this area.
Great Buddha Café is a place to experience authentic Cantonese food and some quick bites. You can find it at the second floor of the largest Eng Bee Tin store in Chinatown. They have a huge modern dining hall and a souvenir area as well.
These are the dim sums that we try to get our appetite running for this Chinatown food crawl:
Shrimp Hakaw – fresh, plump shrimps encased in a soft dough shell. It is my favorite dim sum even though I am allergic to shrimps. It’s a staple option on nearly every Chinese-restaurant menu; a simple yet sophisticated dim sum in my opinion. Great Buddha’s is freshly cooked and did not disappoint.
Pan Fried Dumplings – pieces of dough wrapped around a minced pork and vegetables filling. They are boiled then pan fried. Great Buddha’s version is just so-so in my opinion.
Chicken Feet – chicken feet cooked with sweet soy sauce, scallions, chilis, bell peppers and black beans then steamed in bamboo baskets. This is one of the many traditional Chinese dishes and not everyone has the stomach to try this but it’s one of my favorites and my family’s. My mother always cooks this at home when she finds an opportunity. But of course, the one in Chinese restaurants are still the best.
Premium Pork and Shrimp Siomai – steamed minced pork, minced shrimp and veggies wrapped in dumpling wrappers then steamed. One of my friends really likes this siomai from Great Buddha’s. It’s not one of the best that I’ve tried but it’s really good.
HK Style Flaky Egg Tart – egg tarts are made popular in Macau and Hong Kong with some Portuguese influence. I love Great Buddha’s version are really yummy. Not only that it has custard filling but also some sweet mushed beans. This is a must try!
Cream Cheese Nai Cha – this is a Hong Kong style milk tea drink topped with a cheese foam. I really like this because of the strong tea flavor and the cheese foam was really yummy and complements the milk tea. A must order, if you ask me.
The prices of the dim sums at Great Buddha Café may be slightly pricier than that of the other Chinese restaurants around Chinatown but Great Buddha is one “sort of” a high-end compared to its competitors.
Everything is good, the place is well-lit, well ventilated, clean and spacious. The only thing that need improvement here is their service, the waiting time was too long despite that time that we were there only few customers where present, yet the orders took a little while to be served. Other than that, I enjoyed all the dim sums that we ate.
THE GREAT BUDDHA CAFÉ
2F, 628 Ongpin Street,
Binondo, Manila
I’ve frequented some of the well-known restaurants in Chinatown, but there are still a lot I haven’t tried. Since whenever I go there, I always go to my favorite ones. Just before all the lockdown happened, I was still able to go to Binondo for some Chinese resto food crawl with my friends as part of touring our Swiss friends, that we met in Siargao, in and around Manila. Our first stop was at the Great Buddha Café for some appetizers, some dim sums to warm up our tummies.
Great Buddha Café is a fairly new restaurant in Chinatown and one of the modern ones. But the people behind this brand is not new in Binondo nor with Chinese cuisine as they are the same people behind Eng Bee Tin, one of the oldest producers of Filipino-Chinese delicacies and breads in this area.
Great Buddha Café is a place to experience authentic Cantonese food and some quick bites. You can find it at the second floor of the largest Eng Bee Tin store in Chinatown. They have a huge modern dining hall and a souvenir area as well.
These are the dim sums that we try to get our appetite running for this Chinatown food crawl:
Shrimp Hakaw – fresh, plump shrimps encased in a soft dough shell. It is my favorite dim sum even though I am allergic to shrimps. It’s a staple option on nearly every Chinese-restaurant menu; a simple yet sophisticated dim sum in my opinion. Great Buddha’s is freshly cooked and did not disappoint.
Pan Fried Dumplings – pieces of dough wrapped around a minced pork and vegetables filling. They are boiled then pan fried. Great Buddha’s version is just so-so in my opinion.
Chicken Feet – chicken feet cooked with sweet soy sauce, scallions, chilis, bell peppers and black beans then steamed in bamboo baskets. This is one of the many traditional Chinese dishes and not everyone has the stomach to try this but it’s one of my favorites and my family’s. My mother always cooks this at home when she finds an opportunity. But of course, the one in Chinese restaurants are still the best.
HK Style Flaky Egg Tart – egg tarts are made popular in Macau and Hong Kong with some Portuguese influence. I love Great Buddha’s version are really yummy. Not only that it has custard filling but also some sweet mushed beans. This is a must try!
Cream Cheese Nai Cha – this is a Hong Kong style milk tea drink topped with a cheese foam. I really like this because of the strong tea flavor and the cheese foam was really yummy and complements the milk tea. A must order, if you ask me.
The prices of the dim sums at Great Buddha Café may be slightly pricier than that of the other Chinese restaurants around Chinatown but Great Buddha is one “sort of” a high-end compared to its competitors.
2F, 628 Ongpin Street,
Binondo, Manila
Contact Nos: +63282419999
Facebook: facebook.com/greatbuddhacafe
Instagram: instagram.com/greatbuddhacafe
For more information, complete menu and restaurant reviews, check out their Zomato profile:
Want to taste Chinese food too. It looks so delicious 😍
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