Carvajal Street Market: More than what meets the eye

Situated between two towering buildings along Juan Luna Street and some meters worth of walk from the Binondo Church is Carvajal Street, a quaint alley barely three meters wide. Nestled between a bank on the left-hand side and a Western-style fast food restaurant on the other, Carvajal Street is one of the go-to places in Binondo for quick food finds and a unique Chinatown experience.

The unique and busy alley of Binondo's Carvajal Street. (Photo from here)

Unless one specifically looks for it, this street closed to vehicular traffic is barely noticeable to an unobservant eye. However, even heavy rains cannot prohibit a plethora of pedestrians, buyers, and sellers from coming and going to and from the street.

According to Ivan ManDy of Old Manila Walks Tour, Carvajal Street was first called “Ho-Sua-Hang,” which means “umbrella alley” in Fookien, during the days when the main product traded in the place were umbrellas.

Drivers of pedicabs and kuliglig (sidecars powered by motors used for fishing boats) call on to passers-by, code-switching between Filipino and a handy dose of Chinese. Strong-built men go about the street, carrying stacks of boxes on their shoulders while Chinese-looking mothers usher their children, still clad in their school uniforms, in and out of the shops.

Roderick Manansala, a resident of Binondo for twenty years and a seller at Carvajal Street, recalls that there were drug stores first before food became the primary attraction of the alley. Today, the street is lined with wet market-like stalls and eateries, among many others.

Upon entering the street, a vivid display of colors welcomes potential customers. The walls are lined with cases heaping with fruits of various kinds not usually seen in regular supermarkets and groceries. On both sides, green and red apples, plump mangosteens, cherries, kiwis, pears, lemons, exquisite-looking dragonfruits, lychees, huge watermelons, papayas, and watermelons are sold by vendors who, unlike in most wet markets, do not beset the customers with unsolicited offers and remarks.

A fruity feast for the eyes.

Carvajal Street's selection of gastronomic delights welcomes visitors and "suki" alike

Alongside the fruit stalls, other establishments can be found showing how the residents and proprietors at Carvajal Street succeeded in mixing modernity with traditional practices, most notable of which are the drug stores. On one side of the street is the usual kind, gleaming in white light with stern-looking pharmacists. On the other side are traditional Chinese ones with cabinets of bottles filled with herbs and curious-looking concoctions, giving off a slightly pungent smell.

One of these is the Lui Chuon Tong Chinese drug store, which its manager Bonita Uy claims to be the original drug store in Carvajal Street. “We’ve been here for 60 years,” said Uy in her heavily-lilted English. Visitors who wish to buy authentic and traditional Chinese medicines are sure to find what they’re looking for in shops like Lui Chuon Tong.

There are also vendors selling meat, poultry, and fish displayed casually on low tables beside air-conditioned meat shops with glass doors, uniformed crew, and big signage. There are also travel agencies, side-by-side optical shops, bookstores, health clinics, and “convenience stores” which sell Chinese figurines and knick-knacks visitors can buy as souvenirs.

Going further inside, one can attest to Carvajal Street’s claim as an all-in-one stop in Binondo, especially for food adventurers. Hole-in-the-wall stores offer both Chinese and Filipino delicacies, both for those on the go and those who wish to stay and eat inside the shops. Some stores sell Chinese street food and some sell Pinoy rice cakes such as suman, bibingka, and sapin-sapin.

A Chinatown must-have: Siopao in various colors, sizes, and flavors

In the middle of this cultural fusion are restaurants and eateries that serve quick and delectable meals for people dropping by in Carvajal Street. Rita’s Native Food-Lutong Bahay offers Pinoy favorites such as sinigang, menudo, adobo, and dinuguan, among others. Quick Snack, on the other hand, has a wide array of Chinese dishes. For as low as 70 to a couple of hundred pesos, foodies can try the sumptuous noodle dishes, dumplings, fresh spring rolls (or lumpia), and an assortment of Chinese cakes.

Towards Yuchengco Street to the other end of the street market are stalls selling vegetables neatly lined on wooden trays. It is noticeable, however, that unlike in usual wet markets, vendors in Carvajal Street do not put price labels on their products. Selling a kilo of apples at P100 and a kilo of cherries for P600, they must be trying not to baffle newcomers with the price of their goods.

While the products at Carvajal Street aren’t the cheapest, a stroll in this unique alley is a must-do while in Binondo. The assortment of sights and sounds, the hodgepodge of Filipino-Chinese culture and cuisine in such close proximity behind the unimposing façade can disarm both natives and tourists alike.