Child-Friendly Weekend in the Heart of Manila: Loving Lucky Chinatown Mall

The squeaky clean facade of the new Lucky Chinatown Mall.

I guess we're just lucky.  Oliver and I love going to the heart of Manila, in bustling Chinatown, where there's a vibrant pulse, and an infectious frenetic pace; where a dizzying spread of goods on offer are stupefyingly cheap.  Divisoria is legendary for being crazy crowded, and its not well-known for being child-friendly.  But we're lucky.  Chinatown is the newest child-friendly destination on Manila's Map, thanks to the conveniences provided by the new Lucky Chinatown Mall.  It's a spanking new mall that sits dead smack in the center of Binondo. 

Above:Binondo Church, en route to Lucky Chinatown Mall.

Dragon-adorned gate/archway signaling our entry into Chinatown proper.

It almost sneaks up on you without warning.  Driving there, we pass through the usual landmarks: Spanish-era Binondo church, old Manila buildings, and dragon-adorned entrance arches welcoming us to Chinatown.  Parking used to be a problem, in the narrow and congested streets.  Just the thought of finding parking was enough to put me off in the past.  But not anymore. Lucky Chinatown Mall comes with several levels of parking.  While a shiny new mall may stick out like a sore thumb in the historic quarter, I for one, welcome it as an idea whose time has come.  The mall isn't there to displace Divisoria's distinct shopping scene - rather - it is there to supplement it.  I can imagine a symbiotic relationship between the sanitized experience offered by Lucky Chinatown Mall, and the grittier bargaining mecca just outside. 

The glass panels above the mall's main entrance.

"Let a Hundred Flowers Blossom.  Weed Through the Old To Bring Forth the New" so says a decorative decal posted on the grand glass panels above the Mall's main entrance.  It's a fitting Chinese saying, appropriate for this part of Manila, an area with the (unverified) distinction of being the oldest Chinatown in the world - established in the 1590s by the Spanish colonizers.  Don't get me wrong. I'm not in favor of huge malls popping up everywhere (a hundred malls blossoming in the city is a scary thought for me, specially from an environmental standpoint!) And I find it lamentable when a huge mall opens up and kills smaller businesses - those independent family-run stores that have more character and are more in tune with local culture.

The Mall's Main Entrance.

But something tells me this won't be the case in Binondo.  Lucky Chinatown Mall's target market, and the kinds of stuff they sell do not compete with the stuff sold in Divisoria. To begin with, their food and merchandise tend to be pricey upmarket brands (think: Apple Store, Bread Talk, Crocs, UCC, to name a few).  They certainly have a steady supply of buyers from the locale - rich Chinese who own businesses in the area. 

 A "street performer" stationed in air-conditioned comfort at the mall's main atrium.

For Oliver and I, the mall itself is not the final destination.  It is a jump-off point, a base camp of sorts, where we'd park our car (and our kids!), before running off to bargain country next door. Oliver would weave his way through the fruit stalls on the streets, and buy several kilos of ultra-juicy Sagada oranges, a heavy load he'd deposit in our parked car.  Our kids are happy at Lucky Chinatown Mall, and have plenty of things to do while waiting for us to return from our mad dash outside. At the main atrium by the entrance, there were entertaining "street" performers - you know those types that station themselves in plazas and busy boulevards abroad - decked in costumes and pretending to be statues, still and unmoving, until some money is dropped onto their buckets/hats/tip boxes to trigger some movement.  There's a section of the mall with stores for children's fashion, and they can also spend time at the toy store and bookstore.  There's also a very nice, new cinema; a gaming arcade;  and plenty of places to eat at (there are even promos for kids to eat for free on weekends at some restaurants).  

 Narra and Guijo enjoying their noodle soup.

Salmon Roe - Nido Soup.

The Chinese food at King Chef (second floor above the entrance) is fast becoming our favorite.  Narra and Guijo were so excited with their noodle soup they were standing on their seats - every bite was executed with flourish - strands were pulled off the bowl with a fork, and slurped inch by inch from end to end (for Guijo this is accompanied with clapping and foot stomping, and happy baby babbling).  Narra also loves fishing out quail eggs from the salmon-roe-nido soup.  She's also a fan of prawns so we ordered some for her, and when they arrived, they looked particularly appetizing! They lay on a bed of tea leaves, ensconced in a striking basket-like-wrap woven "solihiya style".  It was a gastronomic feast and a cultural experience.

Prawns  on a bed of cooked tea leaves, ensconced in a solihiya-weave cone.

After our satisfying lunch, the adults in the group (that's Oliver, myself, and his sister Rina with her personal assistant in tow) parted ways with Lola Mama and the children who stayed in the mall supervised by their yayas.  We strolled - or should I say sprinted - outside.  I couldn't help but appreciate the juxtaposition between old and new.  I saw the  real estate developments towering over the usual river of colorful umbrellas. As soon as we turned the corner - the salty-sweet-sour stench of grimy streets assaulted my nostrils. The cacophony of sounds accompanying the chaotic hustle of a classic Divisoria weekend unfolded before our eyes.  And that made me glad.  Manila is alive and kicking, and we are at its heart, and it beats to its own rhythm.  I felt like a tourist, visiting my country (even if I was just here recently).

Salted prawns on a bed of crunchy tea leaves.

One can tell the area is on the cusp of an urban development facelift.  "Welcome to Chinatown Walk" it says on a huge window. And already, the facades of newer buildings can be seen though they have yet to open their doors to the public.  Here's my hope: that we do not turn the Philippines into Singapore. I've lived in Singapore long enough to respect it, and admire it for all the things it has achieved as a country in such a short time, but I found myself missing the Philippines while I was there - I missed our vibe, our rhythm, our chaos - those things that slipped out of control - the small enterprises that sprout  from the ground and blossom in all corners... I missed those real things that develop on their own - unplanned - those entrepreneural expressions that are organic rather than organized.  It's not the new mall per se that excites me, but the fact that it is here, amidst all this!  This mall has made the gem that is Divisoria ever more accessible.  The mall is there, for a measure of sanity - and sanitized toilets; but it is not there to take the place of the real reason one goes to this part of town to begin with. 

A view from a back street:Lucky Chinatown Mall's Upper Parking floors.

So here's our plan: We will come to Lucky Chinatown Mall with our kids.  We will patronize the mall, by paying for parking, and doing our groceries there, and eating at their restaurants, and watching in their cinemas, and buying stuff we need from their stores - but we will also always venture outside, for those things they do not offer - those things sold wholesale by the dozen, for fruits and other merchandise that do not find their way to grocery stores.  

The new Chinatown Walk in the heart of Manila.

When my father first saw Manila, he was 6, it was 1950, his father took him on a long bus ride from Nueva Ecija, and he was enthralled with the stately old buildings in Sta. Cruz, as he walked by his father's side, wide-eyed.  Now, it is 2012, and I get to bring my young kids here - it's only a short ride away, and we land on a stroller-friendly air-conditioned mall. But just outside, one gets a whiff of the same spirit of commerce my father saw in 1950 - it's that indefatigable spirit that remains alive from centuries past, from the Chinese trading post the Spanish colonizers established in 1590.  Who knew a new mall can make one think of history?  

So friends and family in Manila, if you haven't visited yet - Chinatown beckons anew! Go!