The Best Filipino Street Food in Quiapo Manila

Quiapo is the heart of Manila, so this is where you can find everything. Quiapo is the heart of Old Manila. Pre-World War II, it was the center of all things and was said to be one of the most beautiful places in the capital. The word Quiapo comes from the word plant. Because we are near the river Pasig, there are a lot of plants here called Quiapo. When you say Quiapo, you think of Poong Nazareno, you think of Lady of Mount Carmel, because it's our pride that we have two basilicas that we use to get strength from our devotion. A lot has changed since then and you will find peeks and winks to the past layered with the trappings of the modern world. While it may look different, the energy and the people make this a truly Filipino experience. If you want some of the best street food in the country, Quiapo is a good place to start. It all started with my mother. In 2002, we went to Manila. That's when my mother started her business here. Whatever recipe we used to make, nothing has changed. The ingredients are just like in Adobo. There's garlic, ginger, onion, then you saute it in oil. Then you add the shredded chicken, the minced chicken. Then you add soy sauce and pepper. You don't even need to look for the right ingredients. You just need to look for water. Water, ma'am. Aside from the cheap price of P10, it's delicious. You keep coming back for more. Aling Rosa started in Palaculaco. Until then, she saved up for her house. She got a job there on Hidalgo Street. It's good for Aling Rosa because she really started with a small business until her store changed. I'm Rosario Hilario, from Tondo. I'm the owner of the famous Quiapo Sotahon, owned by my mother. I started selling Sotahon in 2017. Before, I would just walk around the store to buy food. But now, they come here to eat. Before, my store was just for Palabok and Spaghetti. Now, my store is permissive. Sotahon is trending now. It's cheap, super cheap. I'm happy with the amount of my customers. Before, only the elderly would eat Sotahon. Now, it's for kids and young people. When I cook Sotahon, it's really full of meat juice. It's like a style dish. So, when I put it in a bowl, it's really delicious. Aling Wawai's specialty is still Pancit. Pancit Palabok, Pancit Sitangon, Pancit Anton, and she also has different kinds of Kakanil. Personally, her Kakanil is my favorite. When there's a lot of food, it's appetizing. It's like you really want to eat, right? In Aling Wawai's Sotahon, they say that the secret is the beef broth. So, we can see that she's pouring it in bulk. I'm Rodenia Ramirez, 42 years old. I've been working here at Wawai Pancitan for almost 25 years. When Wawai Pancitan really started, she already had Kakanil, which is Biko, Suman, Kasaba. Our Sotahon is really delicious. We won't lie. The broth is really full of beef. Our meat is beef sanggyupsal. I'm so proud when we see that kind of reaction from our customers. It's delicious! I'm so... Even if I'm not the one cooking, I'm the one serving them. I'm like a father. Thank you so much because you really like our food. So, one of the hidden delicious foods here in Quiapo is EJ's Ikirin. It's visited not only by the local vendors but also by those who visit Quiapo. Their specialty is the adobo and the calvareta. Whenever I come here, their food is delicious. Ej's Ikirin is one of the best places to eat in Quiapo. It's a place where you can taste not only beef but also senior citizens. Ej's Ikirin is their only branch. When you taste Ej's Ikirin, they have a ham that's not common. Usually, what they sell here is either sliced, sliced ham, or whole ham. But what they learned the best is sliced ham with sweet syrup. That's their bestseller. One of their bestsellers is the kikiam. We've tasted a lot of kikiam, but the kikiam of Excellente is really different. It's cheap, but at the same time, it's delicious. You know, during the pandemic, many people learned about Quiapo. Before, our food was ham, this was the only street food, this was the food in Muslim Town. But now, you can see sotanghon, pancet, pastil, that are really popular. So it means that Quiapo really has an innovation. Like earlier, because there are a lot of coconuts, they make sorbet to sell. So you can see the discount of Quiapo. So if you want to experience what's delicious and what you can see in Quiapo, visit us and experience our life here in Quiapo.