Fresh Lumpia, The fresh version of lumpia is a bit like a spring roll crossed with a burrito. It’s big and fat and filled with meat, lettuce, carrots, peanuts, I think there was even some coconut in there. On the side there’s a sweet sauce, or you can opt for vinegar. It’s pretty awesome. Don’t forget to try the deep fried version – even more awesome.
Get it at: The Legazpi Sunday market (corner of Legazpi St and Rufino St)
Paksiyo Baboy Bisaya (Pork and Banana Claypot), Shanks of pork simmered in a soy based sauce with bananas. It tastes as wild as it sounds. I freakin’ love it!
Get it at: Fely J’s in Greenbelt 5
Chicharon, Chicharon are like the Doritos of The Philippines. They snack on it like finger food and open a big bag of them while sitting down for a movie. Basically it’s deep fried pork skin, and aside from eating it on its own they also garnish various dishes with it. What’s it taste like? Well, kinda like a bag of very porky tasting Munchos, which I’m not really the biggest fan of. The locals however, absolutely love it.
Get it at: You will find it in most supermarkets and markets.
Manila’s economy is diverse and multifaceted. With its excellent protected harbor, Manila serves as the Chief Seaport of the Country. Diverse manufacturers produce industrial-related products such as chemicals, textiles, clothing, and electronic goods. Food and beverages and tobacco products also are produced. There are also local entrepreneurs who continue to process primary commodities for export including rope, plywood, refined sugar, copra, and coconut oil. The food-processing industry is one of the most stable major manufacturing sector in the city. Manila is also a major publishing center in the Philippines.
Manila was known before as “Ginto” (gold) or “Suvarnadvipa” by neighboring settlements and was officially named as the Kingdom of Maynila or the “Kota Seludong”, one of the three major city-states that dominated the area by the lower reaches and mouth of the Pasig River before the arrival of the Spaniards.During the latter half of the Ming Dynasty, the kingdom flourished as a result of direct trade relations with China. Its rulers, who lived in the Ancient Tondo which was considered as their traditional capital of the empire, were sovereign kings and were addressed as “panginoon” (lords); “anak banwa” (son of heaven); or “lakandula” (lord of the palace).
Before 15th century, the city was invaded by Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei and was made an Islam community. Some areas with alliance to China were attacked thus making it as Bruneian satellite state. Because of these and with the arrival of traders and proselytes from Malaysia and Indonesia, the city became an Islam community.
Year 1571, Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founded the Manila and was made as the capital of the Philippine islands which Spain would control for the next three centuries, from 1565 to 1898.
Tourism in Manila attracts over 1 million tourists each year. Some of the always visited destinations are the walled city of Intramuros, Manila Zoo, the City Chinatown and the most recognizable icon in the Philippines, the Rizal Park. The city is also famous for its events such as the feast of Black Nazarene, free performances of the celebrities in Rizal Park and other events in the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Other notable museums in the city are:
The geography of the City of Manila is characterized by its coastal position at the estuary of the Pasig River that flows to Manila Bay. The city is located on a naturally protected harbor, regarded as one of the finest harbors in Asia. The scarce availability of land is a contributing factor that makes Manila the densest populated city in the world.
Almost all of the city sits atop of centuries of prehistoric alluvial deposits built up by the Pasig River and on some land reclaimed from Manila Bay. The city's land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable land reclamation along the waterfronts since the American colonial times. Some of the natural variations in topography have been evened out due to the urbanization of the city. Manila lies 800 miles (1,300 km) from mainland Asia.
Before and during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Manila was the provincial capital over a province whose territory at one time covered nearly all of Luzon, and included the modern territorial subdivisions of Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Mindoro, Masbate and Marinduque. Later, these subdivisions were themselves made provinces, leaving Manila province with a territory roughly equal to the present City of Manila proper (except Intramuros, the capital site), and the northwestern two-thirds of Rizal province. The boundary of Manila province went from northeast to southwest, including Antipolo, Cainta, Taytay and Taguig, and all of the towns north and west of them, in Manila province; and Angono, Teresa, Morong, and the towns south and east of them, in Laguna province. Early in the province's history, the provincial name was changed from Manila to Tondo Province, by which it was known for most of the Spanish era.
In about 1853, four pueblos or towns of Tondo Province were joined with the northeastern towns of Laguna province to form the politico-military Distrito de los Montes de San Mateo, or District of the San Mateo Mountains. The Tondo Province annexed to this new district the towns of Cainta, Taytay, Antipolo and Boso-boso, while Laguna contributed the towns of Angono, Binangonan, Cardona, Morong, Baras, Tanay, Pililla and Jalajala. But the name of the new district proved unwieldy, too long, and misled many into thinking the town of San Mateo (in Tondo province) was the capital of the San Mateo Mountain District, when in reality the district capital was in Morong. So, in 1859, following common practice of the day, the district was renamed after its capital; namely, Morong District. At about the same time, Tondo Province was renamed Manila Province.
When the Spaniards turned over the Philippines to the hands of the Americans, a civil government was formed. In about the same period, the Manila Province was dissolved by the Philippine Commission, and its pueblos were incorporated with those of the District of Morong, forming the new Province of Rizal. A few weeks, a new charter for the City of Manila, defining its boundaries and annexing some of towns of the Province of Rizal to its districts. These boundaries were slightly revised and redefined on January 29, 1902 when the suburb of Gagalangin was annexed to the city district of Tondo, and the former pueblo of Santa Ana was turned into a city district of Manila. On July 30 of the same year, the city board officially divided the city into 13 political subdivisions named as districts, and the boundaries of each were defined. On August 15 of the same year, the pueblo of Pandacan was annexed as a city district. Since then the boundaries and city districts of Manila have remained essentially the same.
During World War II, the city of Manila was declared an open city and its administrative boundaries expanded to outlying cities and municipalities. It was called the Greater Manila and included districts such as Bagumbayan means New Town (South of Manila), Bagumpanahon means "New Era" (Sampaloc, Quiapo, San Miguel and Santa Cruz), Bagumbuhay means "New Life" (Tondo), Bagong Diwa means "New Order" (Binondo & San Nicholas), the then newly established Quezon City was collapsed and divided into two districts, while the municipalities of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Malabon, Makati, Mandaluyong, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, and San Juan became districts of Manila.
The indigenous people of the Manila area were Tagalogs, with other native ethnic groups of the country later inhabiting the region due to migration. Other groups that have moved to Manila include the Bicolanos, Visayans, Ilocanos, Kapampangan, Pangasinan and Moro groups, as well as tribal groups like the Bajau and the Igorot.
Manila is home to the oldest Chinatown in the world, Binondo, which was established in 1594. This is historically where the Spanish allowed converted sangleys (indigenous Filipino wives and mixed-race descendants) to live. This small town was already a hub of Chinese commerce before the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century.
Manila also has large populations of Americans, Spaniards and Koreans. Metro Manila is a social urban conglomerate and one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world.