Binondo Food Trip Part 1: Wai Ying

Last night Yuri and I went on a roadtrip. A spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. And yes does qualify as a "roadtrip" because driving from Fairview to Manila is no small feat.

Benavidez St. at night

We decided to go to Binondo for a light midnight snack. Things got out of control though and our "light snack" turned into a full-blown meal that held me over up until breakfast today.

I'm quite embarassed to say that this would be my first time to eat at Binondo. Don't get me wrong, I'm at least a monthly visitor to the Divisoria scene (a 5-minute drive from Binondo) but I never really go there to eat.  I only go to the area to haggle and hoard supplies for our catering business.

So this time we went to Manila for the sole-purpose of eating.  Luckily we have a friend who's lived there her entire life.  Nothing beats getting information from the source.

She told us Benavidez St. is the only street you need to know about if you're a newbie to the Binondo food scene.    We did get there at a little past 12 midnight so that kinda narrowed down our choices.   Good thing my friend's #2 pick was still open at that late hour.

Narrow store front.

Wai Ying is the real deal.  If you're looking for a clean Chinese resto, this is NOT the place to visit.  Wai Ying is a hole-in-the-wall Chinese fast food joint.   They're famous for their affordable and delicious meals.  You'd have to be willing to get down and dirty though.  It's part of the charm and the experience that is Wai Ying.

2nd floor seating.

The place was more than three-fourths full when we got there.  By the time we were done, which was at around 1am, the place was packed!  It reminded me of Hongkong and Malaysia, where the hawkers and locals start pouring into the streets around 11-ish (PM) onwards.  Everyone's just out to eat!

White Chicken Mami Php 95.00

My friend was raving about the White Chicken Mami so I knew we had to order that.  I did not expect their portions to be huge!  Especially for the price.  They used a quarter of a chicken per order.  The white chicken was sooooo good.  The meat was tender and well-seasoned (as far as white chicken dishes go).  The Ginger-Scallion sauce was the icing on the cake!  It took the dish to a whole new level.

Deep-Fried Mantou Php 50.00

The Deep-Fried Mantou (Chinese steamed buns) was also highly-reccommended by our friend.  Crisp on the outside and light and chewy on the inside.  We were advised to dip it in condensed milk so we had to request some from the server, since it's not something they usually serve with the mantou.  That became our dessert.  Yum!  

Radish Cake with a Hoisin Dipping Sauce Php 55.00

Kutchai Dumpling Php 55.00

We also ordered a plate of Radish Cake and Kutchai Dumpling (ground pork with garlic chives).

Plus, their HK Milk Tea was really refreshing.  It was a steal for Php 50.00 per glass.

We ordered all these for just us two.  LOL.  They're a lot more filling than you realize.  In fact, I could barely stand up when we were done. 

Our Verdict:

Erm I kinda forgot to take pictures of our plates after we finished eating because there was just too much food.  My bad.  We had to take home our left-over radish cake and mantou.  This is not a reflection on the taste or the quality of their dishes.  We were just gluttons on this trip.  I'm giving this place 4 stars (out of 5).  The food is amazingly affordable!  Still can't get over it.  Everything cost us less than Php 300.00.  Cleanliness was the only issue but, again, that is part of the adventure.  :)     

I'm definitely going back for their amazing Soy Chicken (Php 380.00) and dimsum (Php 45.00 - Php 75.00).

If all goes according to plan, we'll be having another Binondo food trip next weekend.  Can't wait!



Address: 927 Benavidez St., Binondo, Manila
Hours: 7AM - 2AM