Looking for gifts and edibles to take home from your trip to Manila’s Chinatown? Then you can’t miss Eng Bee Tin, a Chinese deli chain that has become synonymous with Binondo.

Regularly featured on food programmes and TV shows, the shop is frequented by locals and tourists alike for their wide range of traditional Chinese pastries and snacks, such as hopia (baked biscuits with a flaky, crumbly exterior and various fillings) as well as tikoy (rice cake).

Like many of the district’s food establishments, Eng Bee Tin started off as a small stall way back in 1912, making the business well over a hundred years old. There were ups and downs along the way – the company almost went bankrupt at one point – but bounced back after the founder’s grandson introduced a hopia made from ube, or purple yam. Purple remains a signature at Eng Bee Tin, featured in its branding and store colours.

Stepping inside, you’ll be welcomed by high ceilings decorated with traditional Chinese lanterns, and the Eng Bee Tin signboard in an auspicious red. The lower floor is where you’ll find all their products, while the upper floor houses a cafe called The Great Buddha Cafe.

Even on regular days, the store is almost always crowded, but there was a particularly long queue during our visit due to it being Christmas and New Year’s week. There was even a TV crew on site filming the bustling atmosphere and conducting interviews.

The shelves were packed with Eng Bee Tin’s signature hopia. They have over 22 variants, with the most popular being the ube. In Malaysia, we call these biscuits tausar peah, and it usually has a bean filling like mung bean or red bean.

Some of the interesting flavours here include pineapple, pandan, and even durian!

Another popular range from Eng Bee Tin is their tikoy (sticky rice cake). These are usually available leading up to the Lunar New Year.

They have a lot more flavours compared to nian gao in Malaysia, which is typically plain or sweetened with brown sugar. Here, you have flavours like sweet corn, peanut sesame, pandan, and incorporating a Spanish-Filipino twist, Dulce Leche.

I saw many familiar pastries and snacks, although they have different names, such as the Fortune Cookies (which are called fatt gou in Cantonese). These look like they are meant to be eaten; fatt gou in my household is usually used for prayers.

The asado rolls are similar to siew pao (baked pork buns), with a savoury meat filling. While the texture of siew pao is flaky and crumbly, these are more like bread, with a fluffy texture.

On the top floor you’ll find a wall of memories depicting key moments throughout the business’s years.

We bought different types of hopia as souvenirs to take back to Malaysia. I also got something called Tikoy Bumbong , which marries the tikoy and puto bumbong, a traditional Filipino treat of coconut rice cake. I like that even though the store carries traditional pastries, they’re constantly innovating as well with these unique creations. It’s heartening to see how a business has persevered through the years, bringing Filipino Chinese delights to a new generation of customers each time.

ENG BEE TIN (Main branch)

628 Ongpin St., Binondo, Manila, Philippines

Website

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