Divisoria Bites

That Saturday, I got a call from my sister inviting me to go to Divisoria with her - this is in downtown Manila, where all cheap possible items (clothing, food and toys)are found. Off we went at 3PM complete with Eric (her hubby) and Isko (their assistant) and after nearly an hour from Paranaque, parked the car at one of its malls - 168 Mall - which I believe is one of the safest possible places to park in the area.

Our first stop was the paper supplies store where my sister gets her food packaging materials needed for her sandwich place. As soon as we were done with our "official business", we changed into our "shopping mode" and went from mall to mall - 168 and Divi Mall, with stops in between - there is nothing like shopping also along the streets of Divisoria - you will find great bargains for flip - flops, shorts, shirts and even kitchen wares.

By the end of our 2 hour "malling", we headed back to 168 Mall, which is about 2 blocks away from Divi Mall. On the 4th floor, you will find the food court which offers a variety of fast food items - barbecues, pizzas, burgers and various cuisines - Chinese, Filipino, American and Thai. My favorite spot is Chariya's Kitchen which is owned by chef and culinary instructor Chariya offering affordable and authentic Thai Favorites. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of her food at this time - I was so hungry that I devoured everthing right away, but mind you, it is my absolute favorite food stop anytime.

Authentic Thai
I readily ordered my favorite Paad Thai which is flat rice noodles cooked in a special sweet-sour-spicy sauce and topped with a generous amount of egg, leeks, shrimps and meat. To match it with, I also ordered their fried spring rolls which vegetarians would enjoy as it is stuffed with assorted vegetables such as carrots, cabbage and leeks and served with sweet chili sauce. Hungry as I was, one can easily finish an order of these. When in the area, try also her Thai Iced tea which is laced with evaporated milk.

We ended our meal just when the mall has closed and were only allowed one access area to exit the mall premises. Twas quite a trek from the gate to where we parked which justifies our excuse for trying another food place in the area. Just when we were about to leave Divisoria, we passed by Crepe De Chine and, as if we haven't just eaten, decided to eat some more.

Crepe De Chine


Located in Juan Luna street in Binondo, Crepe de Chine offers not only crepes but sandwiches and pasta as well. I was particularly intrigued with the Yang Chow Crepe, that I just had to try it (and convince my companions to join me as well). Filled with ground beef, green peas, corn kernels, carrots, egg omelet and a sweet teriyaki style sauce, it was huge enough for sharing. I enjoyed it, though Eric (my brother in law), who was not a fan of sweet meat dishes thought otherwise. Other savory crepe offerings are Braised Beef crepe (think Beef Pares in your crepe), Seafood Marinara crepe and Mabuhay adobo.

We also tried the CDC Party Dessert Sampler, which featured 3 different crepes, banana, peach and mango, served with sauces such as vanilla, raspberry and caramel and generously topped with whipped cream and 3 types of ice cream and garnished with maraschino cherries. As expected, you will find other popular dessert crepe variants such as Choc-O-nuts (for the nut fanatic), Mango Teena and Apple Jubilee.

I personally enjoyed the crepe (wrapper) which was not gummy and was not too sweet which complemented the natural sweetness of the fruits used for filling. However, I just find the Php270 price quite high.

Another thing that I noticed was that they have very good brewed coffee (I am a fan of Cafe Americano, plain and simple), you know, the kind that has a froth on the surface and at Php45, it is absolutely reasonable.

What's more, with the pretty ambiance of the place, you wouldn't think that you are actually downtown. We raved about the beautiful swing-inspired nook made of palo-china that we bugged Isko to make one for our garden.


I have yet to find more food places in Divisoria, but for now, these two places proved to be worth my "food" trip.