Bites of Asia Series: the allure of Christmas in Manila
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Karen Hamilton
December 25, 2008
This post is part of the Bites of Asia series – a set of posts I wrote in December 2008 before we left for 27 days of exploring the Philippines, Macau, and Hong Kong. If you’d like updates of our trip as it happens in real time, subscribe to my Twitter feed or better yet, follow me on Twitter.
Streets of Manila, originally uploaded by wili_hybrid.
Manila, my birth place, is where we plan to spend a good chunk of time. I haven’t been back in over 20 years, and haven’t seen my maternal grandfather in over a decade. By now, I’m sure there will have been many happy tears shed and many perusing of photographs on both sides.
For the most part, we’ll be acquiescing to my grandfather’s tourist agenda for us and scheduling in as much quality time with my extended family between now and New Year’s Day.
A number of friends from around the world have also been emailing me with what to do while we’re in the Philippines. Some have been goldmines of info, and the zeal with which they impart travel advice makes it apparent how much they love this country, no matter where they live now. One friend in particular, Cheryll, had this outstanding list about spending Christmas in Manila:
Christmas at the Pen, originally uploaded by marky!!.
Since I have spent my life in the Philippines until I moved here in 2007, here’s my take on Pinoy Christmas:
- Please don’t ever ever miss eating puto bumbong and bibingka if you will be attending the dawn mass. They should be in a lot of street corners during that time of the year as well. If it’s too street food-y for you, you can always go to a restaurant called Via Mare where these items are served…though the street-bought puto bumbong and bibingka are the best!
- If you’re into shopping, there are a lot of bazaars running in December and of course, there’s shopping in Greenhills. A lot of good cheap stuff…only if you can brave the crowds.
- In Makati City, Greenbelt and the Fort are the places to go. Almost all the big designer brands have stores there. There should be weekly fireworks displays happening in these places too.
- In Mandaluyong City, there’s this street called Policarpio street that is visited by hordes of people every year just to see their christmas light display.
- Fort Santiago and Intramuros are tourist spots that are good to see too. Old World (Spanish) charm.
- One good Pinoy food experience is going to Kamay-Kainan or Barrio Fiesta for authentic Filipino dishes. There will even be groups of pinoy singers and dancers who will serenade you while you eat, if you don’t mind the distraction.
- Enjoy the seafood in the Philippines!
- Enjoy the street food: fishballs, squidballs, quikiam, balut and penoy. Mmm…I miss them all!
Categories: Asia, Beyond Vancouver, Food, Philippines, Restaurants, Travel
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Nice entry. I’ve been blogging about how much I miss Christmas there and some of your pointers are of many reasons why it’s awesome.
Of course it will never be the same though without having your family there. It makes it extra memorable.