Kiong Hee Huat Tsai!!
In Binondo and with most tsinoys that I met, Kiong Hee Huat Tsai is the proper way to greet Happy New Year! Kung Hei Fat Choi is a more commercialized greeting (I guess).
Personally, I am starting to get the hang of celebrating Chinese New Year after 5 years of being married to a Chinese family. I started to appreciate the family gatherings the night before Chinese New Year. Also, for the second straight year, we visited Binondo and joined the Chinese community in celebrating the Year of the Rat. I shifted my mindset to think about Chinese New Year the same way we celebrate the first of January. We are starting to build family traditions around Chinese New Year, so let me share with you how we celebrated it this year!
The night before Chinese New Year is always celebrated with a simple family gathering because it was the Chinese Christmas. Everyone was in red to bring good luck for the new year ahead. We played with Syoti Josh in the morning before Momma Rache and Aidan went out to meet Happy Slip.
Happy Slip Meet and Greet
It was nice to see Christine again during the Happy Slip meet-and-greet. The online community was smitten by her beauty and by her welcoming aura. She is no doubt a celebrity but she is still down-to-earth when dealing with other people. The event started with lunch at Mag:Net cafe and a solo performance by no other than Josh Verdes. I love Happy Slip’s message to the online community to pursue your passion and trust God to open the doors for you. I’m proud that she is a Filipina — beautiful, creative, and God-centered.
The online community was generally behaved and everyone was trying to get a video of Josh’ performance and her speech. Aside from the crowded Mag:Net cafe, the event was well managed by Yehey! Congrats Donald for a very successful meet and greet event!
I liked this picture of my Happy Wife in Red. This photo was taken by Aidan!
Chinese New Year in Binondo
We visited Binondo after, so that Aidan can chase the dragons. This dragon in particular is the longest one I have seen going around the Ongpin area. Aidan got scared of the loud firecrackers so we were not able to go near one. My original plan was to take a picture of the dragon with Aidan wearing his Stitch hat: Kiong Hee Huat Tsai!!
Once again, we tagged along with Ivan ManDy’s tour and we met Mr. Ube himself in his restaurant, Cafe Mezzanine!
Our favorite in Ivan’s Binondo Walk tours is the Kuchay Dumplings of Dong Bei! It is now a tradition in the family to eat Dong Bei Dumplings on Chinese New Year.
Crepe de Chine
Chinatown’s Crepe deĀ Chine
Sometimes, when you are in Binondo, you want to escape the crowded Ongpin scene and try out a restaurant that has the convenience of a Makati resto. Crepe de Chine (Chinese crepe) offers this convenience with unique crepe inspired food, the best restrooms in Binondo area, and a free WiFi! Thanks to Dianna for the Chinese new year treat @ Cafe de Chine!
Starter Crepes, Savory Crepes, Sandwiches | Pastas, Dessert Crepes, Merienda | Crepe de Chine photo Menu 1 | Crepe de Chine photo Menu 2
CDC Crepe Roll (P180). A delicious blend of assorted greens topped with grilled chicken slices, tomato wedges & pineapple tidbits drizzled with our special CDC sauce. Perfect for those who want to eat healthy and be full.
This was a surprisingly delicious and healthy. It is a simple salad wrapped by crepe with honey mustard sauce. Highly recommended.
Pasta Nepolitina (P190). A sweet and spicy combination of bacon, mushroom, olives and sun dried tomato that will explode in your mouth.
This is the bestseller in Crepe de Chine. We find it soaked in too much olive oil but we liked the ingredients more than the pasta itself.
Pizza Crepe (P130). Taking our crepes one step further! You truly won’t go wrong with this one.
What is the thinnest pizza in Manila? Of course, it is the crepe pizza of Crepe de Chine! Just imagine a pizza with crepe as its base (instead of dough) and put the pizza toppings. I finished most of it.
Mangoteena (P155). Mangoes, caramel honey chips, and MORE caramel! Need we say more?
Finally, a decent dessert place in Binondo!
Mad Nutter (P165). Banana smothered in our choco-peanut sauce topped with ice cream and loaded with nuts! You’ll go choco-nutty with this dessert!
I was supposed to abstain on chocolates but I just can’t resist this one.
Crepe de ChineLower Ground World Trade Exchange (tallest building in Binondo)
215 Juan Luna St. Binondo Manila (walking distance from Binondo Church)
Telephone: +632 244-2270. +632 243-4867
email: crepedechine@gmail.com
Plenty of parking space in the building.
World Trade Exchange View of Manila
The Best View of Manila is on top of Crepe de Chine’s building! I heard from Sidney about the magnificent views on top of the World Trade Exchange Building. We were so lucky to get a chance to see an aerial view of Manila from the helipad. They should have a promo that every P500 worth of food purchase entitles you to a great view of Manila!
Binondo Church and Plaza.
Manila Sunset View!
Kiong Hee Huat Tsai to all!!
….happy chinese new year & lots of GOOD LUCK to all citizens of this world lol!….thank you to all chinese around the world for bringing such varieties of delicious meals….thank you for helping the world economically & culturally…..thank you chinese people for helping keep WORLD harmony thru international foreign diplomacies inter reactions…..thank you
for your never ending patience resilience practicality optimistic & understanding of world conflicts histories & old tricks….may chinese people around the world be more bless wealthier healthier peaceful lucky as always….have fun….wishes i also hope in the past for the americans filipinos and all other countries….happy chinese new year again….
Ton, Kong Hee fat choi is mandarin (i think) and Kiong Hee Huat Tsai is hokien, they are different dialects. And since most of the chinese people here speak hokien, we use Kiong Hee Huat Tsai.
Happy New Year!
Kiong Hee Huat Tsai to you, Anton and Family! Kong Hay Fat Choi is actually Cantonese which is weird since most chinese in the country are Hookien speaking. Lovely post =) Im addicted to crepe and I love your shots. AND Aidan has a good eye ha, galing. I wonder what more he can do when he’s older. galing!
Aidan just looks so adorable looking at his food. Syoti is so big now. How time flies.
the deesert crepe at crepe de chine are ok, but the savorty crepes are overprice. the filling are very “tinitipid”
anton,
may kaduktong yung “Kiong Hee Huat Tsai” :d
the complete phrase is (told be a kid to his/her grandparent) “Kiong Hee Huat Tsai, Ang Pao Twe Lai”….hahaha…
peter
Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xin Nian Kuai Le! š
The crepes and all the pictures look great
kiong hee huat tsai is hokkien, gong xi fa cai is mandarin, kung hei fat choi is cantonese
the thinnest pizza i’ve tried was this thing from C Italian Dining in Pampanga. its like pizza that’s rolled up into a lumpia then you garnish it with gulay. its really good! š
Kong hei fat choy is a legitimate greeting by Chinese people to wish one another on the coming New Year.
It is Cantonese.
Kong hei fat choy to you and your lovely family!
(thanks for the plug).
kung growing big na si syoti dapat na tayong mag picturan! š
….though i resists any kinds-forms of intentional cruelties no matter what country anyone came from still i would like all people to notice-acknowledge the many good positive steps & things chinese people remarkably accomplished around the world….i am awed coz china is doing WAY a lot of good positive things for it’s own people around the world this last decades ‘important’ changes events that took place just by looking at those remarkable economic-political-enviromental-social progress chinese delivers everyday to it’s people even if it means making a lot of sacrifices in their decisions making but still you don’t hear see them publicly blamed their decisions on each other pretending they are all clean & no mistakes
but just perfect….no NOT at all….which is another remarkable characteristic….yes noises are signs part of free speeches or democracy….but what is good ‘democracy’in democratic countries GOOD for if democratic country like ours ‘cannot’ even solved killings of it’s own past president kennedy after years of investigations or at least investigations of any crimes where witnesses are still alive ‘at least’…..it is in a way{almost like a hypocrite}embarrassing to even pressured asked chinese or any asian countries to solved delivers their own crimes & punishments if americans themselves doctored denied if not ignored their own internal-external crimes{on time not decade later when convenient}since it came into existence but demand squeezed justices from other countries like asia or philippines latest cases thru the use of european union or the united nations or some black groups on the sidelines later to cater as back ups while our american system is screwed up under the radars either….democracies anywhere is a must & must be a good one but it must have the good right timing for it’s reasons to make sure that it is not use to sabotage or undermine or to weakened new imperfect ‘one woman’ leaderships working hard 24 hours a day almost 7 days a week to make new brave also risky but never before done changes uplifting or overhauling of it’s entire country govt. system & men to work to a better democratic economic social spiritual experiment with hopes that this new roads to recovery finds roots for a strenght to withstand never ending differences on political tug o wars or football political games in ways to curved corruptions and all other temptations inside philippines political fragile systems….i strongly believe philippines lady president will answer truthfully & honestly everything when she finnish her presidential terms in 2010 for a very good reasons-national security issues of the philippines-filipino people besides 2010 being the right good timing…..i strongly believe that justice must be justice NOT SABOTAGE…..justices ‘must’ not become a political or an economic squeezed…..so filipinos must be ‘careful’ not to become a victim of one….after 2010 is ‘guaranteed’ the best time….not the fall of a great country….
Kyong hee. š Welcome to Binondo!!!
I bring my friends to Crepe de Chine when we’re not cramming school projects. š The banana crepe is yummy.
thanks a lot for dropping by at Crepe de Chine:-) It was a pleasure to have you there (though we weren’t able to meet and greet personally). Hope tp bump into you soon:-)
actually, kong hei fat choi is cantonese. i don’t know why it’s the most popular/commercialized line for greeting someone a happy new year because the mandarin version, the official language, is “gong xi fa cai.” in the philippines, you see/meet a lot more fookien people than cantonese. in fact, most chinese here, including me, are fookien. you can here us greet our elders “kiong hi huat tsai” or “kiong hi” for short.