This is why Erwan deserves that James Beard Award. Excellent work that Erwan and his FEATR team are doing!

Something I must clarify: We Austronesians (including Indonesians and Malaysians), and later on Indians and Arabs, sailed to China first to trade from the Han Dynasty, around 200 BC onwards. This seems to be something REPEATEDLY misrepresented in modern-day art and exhibits which always show Chinese traders arriving, instead of the other way around. China didn't have seafaring ships until the Song Dynasty at 900 AD. They had flat-bottomed river and near-coastal boats, but nothing that could cross deep water. Trade was a dirty profession in Confucianism. So the emperor cleaned it up by characterizing trade as "tribute", when in fact those tributes were pretty much just acquiring a trade license. Ships from Southeast Asia docked in coastal ports in China and exchanged goods, largely for porcelain and silks. This was recorded in Chinese records which described the Southeast Asian ships (which they called the K'unlun Po) as massive with multiple sails. They sometimes hired these ships as passengers for pilgrimage to India's Buddhist sites (also recorded in Chinese books). The goods were in turn sold through a chain of ports throughout Island Southeast Asia, as well as to Siam (Thailand), Cochin (northern Vietnam), Champa (southern Vietnam, Austronesian), Martaban (Myanmar), southern India, Sri Lanka, and all the way to Persia, Arabia, and East Africa. This trade route became part of the spice trade later on. But it was first established by Austronesians. China acquired ships by copying the ships of the Srivijaya traders by 900 AD. Including the junk sails which are originally Southeast Asian. Though the flat-bottomed design persisted, they did innovate by introduced a central rudder. The old distaste at trade was loosening. They started making short trade voyages on their own. But nothing major. Then Kublai Khan arrived and shut off Chinese trade in the Yuan Dynasty (1278 to 1368 AD). Though the Khanate repurposed the ships in their attempts to subjugate Japan, Java (both failed, because the ships sank from storms), and Champa (failed because the Chams had a better navy). When the Ming Dynasty took over. This was the start of true Chinese trading. When large fleets funded by the emperor set sail to trade. Zheng He made his expeditions to Southeast Asia and Africa (in the early 1400s AD) during this period. Though mischaracterized by Chinese sources as a "voyage of discovery", Zheng He was merely sailing through sea routes that are literally almost 2000 years old. Remember, this happened less than 100 years before Vasco de Gama arrived in India. Trade once again stopped when the Jurchens (a.k.a. the Manchu, who are a khanate-like group that are not ethnically Chinese) took over in the early 1600s AD and established the Qing Dynasty. Which coincided with the arrival of Europeans. This period saw mass migration of ethnic Chinese (mostly Hokken and Cantonese) to Southeast Asia to escape the Jurchen rule. This was also the period when for the first time, the Chinese were forced to shave their hair (forbidden in Confucianism) and fashion it into queues. This was the beginning of the Chinatowns, as refugees started to form their own communities and assimilated with local Southeast Asian culture. This was also the period when those Southeast Asian states were themselves under Europe. In our case, Spain.

@featrmedia

3 ай бұрын

Thanks as always! Yes we mentionned that we probably went to China first at 6:02 sequence :)

@AngryKittens

3 ай бұрын

@@featrmedia Sorry, I didn't mean the video itself. I was referring to the diorama in the museum. Though I can't exactly fault them. Paintings and textbook illustrations also tend to show it that way, mostly because the centuries of Spanish rule have made us forget we were the ones with the ships. Though this was preserved partially among the Moros, who still had ships and tried to maintain their trade links with China and the former Majapahit (now Malay-dominated) states.

@PaulRamone356

3 ай бұрын

wow, thank you for the short but informative share.

@LarryfromPH

3 ай бұрын

That's exactly the reason why only a small percentage of Filipinos are Chinese! This perspective that it was Southeast Asians that go to China to trade should be highlighted instead of the other way around and it definitely makes sense! China's claim of the SCS historically is totally debunked as it was Southeast Asians that used to sail this sea!

@Yk-if3ev

3 ай бұрын

Finally, someone post it here. As a Northeast Asian major in Asian studies, I have known this a fact since 2004. We are Austroneans, the Kings of the Sea.

I am born and raised in the Philippines, but now living in California for the better part of my 51 year old life. I have been to Binondo many times growing up, but this gave me new and better understanding of the Chinese-Filipino culture in this neighborhood. Thank you so much, FEATR for continuing to put the diverse and complex aspects of the Filipinos at home. I will be sure to partake in this walking tour the next time I go to Manila to learn more….:)

@featrmedia

3 ай бұрын

Thank you! Yes, you may book your walking tours in Binondo for your next adventure here in Manila. Details are on the description. ☺️

pasintabi sa ibang food vloggers na nagfeature na ng binondo food trip, mukbang kineme or food education. pero this for me so far ang pinaka malupet over-all, featr team esp erwan. may minor lapses paminan minsan pero ang ganda talaga ng outcome pag sila... plus erwan's VO makes it more vibin

@Wesley-wo3eo

3 ай бұрын

Gaya ni Chui Show na trying hard na boy tender juicy hahaha

@CCSupernova

3 ай бұрын

sipsip hahaha

@maldita5602

3 ай бұрын

@@CCSupernova troll boo

@makiduvs8327

3 ай бұрын

why can't we have more of influencers, food vloggers like this? Its not even about Erwan speaking english that made this super good, it's how they took time and research.

@Nono-lr1ry

3 ай бұрын

To be fair, not all food vloggers have the budget/resources to produce something like this. They mostly work solo, without a team, so you can't expect a similar content in terms of depth and quality. But I agree, this is a good watch about Binondo. Enjoyed it!

This Chinatown vlog stands out as one of the top productions, showcasing a blend of food, heritage, culture, and history reminiscent of Anthony Bourdain. It sets a high standard that other influencers would be wise to emulate.

Thank you FEATR for introducing us to ourselves. Your team is doing a great work. Please keep going!

Erwan asked some great questions. This is one of the best episodes so far. Astig talaga tong featr

@rheamontera8889

3 ай бұрын

I totally agree with you. The questions thrown were not just of a typical food vlog but digging into our history. Some of it made my mind really think.

Toho Antigua is more than just the oldest restaurant. They helped preserve the history and drew significance for the Filipinos to trace and look back into how we became what we are now. Respect for those who stayed, strived - to thrive.

Anson Yu touched on a good point about nationalism and the revolution. It's often portrayed as the fight of brown Filipinos when in reality, white, mestizo and Sangley Filipinos have also fought for freedom and equality. The Philippines has been a country comprising of different ancestries for hundreds of years but somehow there is still a pervading notion of what being Filipino entails. The Chinoys have made a significant contribution to the culture and have earned their rightful place in the community. It's too bad that the Spanish population have lost its presence after WW2 but imagine Manila had all three continue to co-exist together. Would love FEATR to consider running a story on Spanish establishments in the city if they still exists. Thank you for highlighting deeper topics around food as a way to understand the Filipino identity.

@joeylee877

3 ай бұрын

I'm looking for this comment! SRLY, if you're not pango, brown/tanned skinned or you are mixed race, you are not Pilipino or you are less a Pilipino. Di ko gets ung logic nun. Mantalang, if you check further down someone's ancestry, for sure may mga other race na included sa bloodline nila. 🙄🙄

@MA-pn9zx

3 ай бұрын

@@joeylee877 I don't get it either. Rizal had Spanish and Chinese lineage. Gomburza consisted of a white and two mestizo Filipino priests. We've been a part of this country's history for hundreds of years yet continuously excluded and often erased from its' collective identity every time the words "You don't look Filipino" is being uttered.

@gabbytay

3 ай бұрын

​@@MA-pn9zx it is not good for national propaganda, since the US are painting china as being the bad guy and we as a nation have been Pro american eversince post ww2 except maybe digong's admin, if you mention most of the national heroes are part Chinese, it doesn't look good, Better erase that part of history. I feel Pinoys love these previous colonizers more than the Chinoys who have lived among the ethnic malay, indo and negritos and fought for these same people for 500+ years.

@MA-pn9zx

3 ай бұрын

@@gabbytay Thank you. What you said further reiterate the points I've made about the erasure of certain parts of the Filipino identity that doesn't fit the narrative that's being pushed. Having physical attributes that is deemed desirable by the general population yet being othered, often villainized for sharing the same ancestry and features as the colonizer is a duality that some Filipinos experience.

@GatDagohoy

3 ай бұрын

Who cares about those half breeds. We Austronesians are the majority in this country. This country is Austronesian. Not Chinese, not Spanish, definitely not American. The Mestizo's and Sangley's only fought for their own interests, never for freedom, or for the people, especially during the 1890's revolution. Did you not know many of the Mestizo's and Sangley's, especially the ones involved in politics and businessman would switch sides during the revolution and play both sides as long as it benefitted them. Those Mestizo's and Sangley's have no honour and don't care about the majority Austronesian population in this country, the Mestizo's and Sangley's only care about ruling this country and enriching themselves. They've been ruling these islands since the Spanish colonial period. And how has their rule benefitted the people of this country? Nothing. This country is sh!t poor and will continue to be poor as long as the Mestizo's and Sangley's are in power. Just look at Marcos Jr, literally of Spanish and Chinese ancestry himself, worst of the worst. This country is ruled by corrupt political halfbreed dynasties...

Long time fan of Masuki siopao. My gosh, pupunta ako sa Sat. Baka sobrang dami na pumunta dahil sa feature na ito.😅

Erwan Heussaff's expertise and unique style could indeed offer a refreshing perspective in the realm of television programming. His blend of education and entertainment could appeal to a wide audience and potentially elevate the quality of content on major local broadcasting networks. It’s about time Erwan must and should have a TV program. 👍

@rarara6770

Ай бұрын

Don't decide for other people. Just watch.

I hope people who watch this video appreciate the wealth of information that has been shared here. From the history of the Chinese migration to the Philippines, the Socio-anthropological perspective of the dialogue, this has been very very well made. :) This kind if information used to be only found in dusty books and hours long lecture of my undergraduate classes. I'm so glad that It's being made accessible to a lot of people by content like this!

One thing I like about watching FEATR'S videos is that you get educated about the culture surrounding the food that is featured.

@dumplingdana

Ай бұрын

ReaL. Also at the end of the video you get to realize bigger things about yourself and the culture around you. Such a nice video from featr!

This episode has gained to be my favorite, it reminisce my days living in the Binondo. I am a Filipino from the Visayas brought to to this part of Manila and the 1960s to now was much different then. Living side by side with good Chinese neighbors. I got to recall when they mentioned the Chinese Opera staged in the street for the Chinese Community in Binondo. Grew up enjoying mami siopao a lot especially that brown sauce which I got to laugh when it was mentioned that it goes not just with siopao but with the mami as well and so with hot sauce. I learned these watching an old Chinese man adding the sauces to the mami and had been enjoying mami this way, you could try it that way. Ongpin was amazing passing the place when I learned to commute going home from school in Intramuros. It was the glorious time of trading Chinese jewelry, art in jade green and red, even an elephant tusk intricately designed which were crafted with finest details and so much more Chinese highly valued items. Wish these were documented then since the place is different these days. The panciterias were something I got to learn to enjoy in high school with my a friend especially the comidas which is a serving for pancit canton fried chicken Shanghai and Pinipig Crunch ice cream. A lot has changed though I still visit the place when we moved to Quezon City in 1980. Missed much the panciterias in front of Santa Cruz Church. There are food items I believe no longer in the menu since it was trimmed down to the favorites catering the present taste.

Erwan is the new age Anthony Bourdain. Amazing story teller. Kudos❤

@ruffFlip

3 ай бұрын

Nah. Gotta travel outside to be the legend if bourdain

No Binondo food trip is complete without Masuki. Their siopao is THE BEST ever!! Congrats on this neighbor Willen 👍👍.. and of all Binondo food trip i’ve watched, this is topnotch.. good job featr/erwan👍👍

One of the best vlogs! Chinese and Filipino's have a very deep root of Culture Diversity. It may have a Difference in Religion but One thing is for sure, FOOD will Unite the People. 💯

I miss the Filipino community. It may not have been perfect, but it truly is comforting to have bayanihan in some form. I came back home last year only to find that Filipino communities abroad are stronger than in our home country.

Love this segment and how you merge food and culture for Filipinos to have a better understanding and appreciation of our own heritage. Keep up the good work Erwan and team.

Who knew hopia, mami and siopao could have this level of dissertation? Wonderful! Kudos featr team. Ang galing.

Please keep making these type of contents, very substantial.

We were lucky to do Old Manila walk and binondo food Wok tour by Anson and Ivan last November. This video just made me wanna go back home.

Kudos FEATR team for inspiring local creators like myself to produce quality content about the Philippines. I’m based in Davao and letting the world know that we have more to offer than just Durian and Pomelo.

What a great presentation of the Chinese-Filipino culture from Erwan! Kudos to Featr!

Greatly appreciate the deep dive of Binondo! More of these, please!

I love when erwan is not trying to be like a wiseacre kind of person in every talk/interview. he listens very well as if he's really interested

I cannot help not to like this video. Very informative and beautifully made.

FINALLY!! been waiting for your Binondo food trip

Just discovered this awesome channel. Thanks, Erwan. More power to you

Another great episode! Will run to Binondo this weekend!

Great episode. I learned a lot in this 35-minute video more than any other Binondo YT videos.

Nagutom ako dun ah! 😅😋 ordering some Chinese now! 😂

Beautify the Binondo and its surrounding area for it to become a food tourist destination not just for locals but also for foreign. Disallow parking, control the entry of public transport like trike, widen & clear the side walk of any obstacles. Implement underground cabling and enforced renovation on surround buildings that needed to be renovated.

Thank you for creating this short documentary . 🙏 much love from Iloilo ♡

One of the finest documentary❤️ this is so loving to watch❤️

23:27 Actually, the bola bola siopao does exist outside of the Philippines. It is Chinese Cantonese in origin and known as da bao. The Vietnamese has their version as well.

Google News Brought me here. Subbed! 👍 Very insightful video, have to start binge watching your vlogs 👍

I'm visiting the Philippines this April! Will definitely stop by Binondo now

When I took my Masters at University of Asia and the Pacific, the first thing our Professor did was to tour us in Binondo❤We ate the laureate❤❤❤Oh mG! that was swesome❤❤❤

Thank you for always producing top quality content! I always look forward to watching your videos. I could watch them all day! 🔥

one of the best episode of featr ❤

Great video with touch of history ❤❤❤

Wow! I've learned a lot from this video historically wise and how Chinese-Filipino communities think and adapt in the Philippines. Thank you for making this!

Really enjoyed this episode. (Shout out to you, Kleo!)

As always Featr doing food vlogs the right way. Mouth watering, educational and thought provoking. Thank you for the generous contents you guys have been coming up with.

Erwan hosted best in this documentary not only food but the two cultures with history. Great vidz, dudz. Love it. Hoping to see and visit Chinatown! ❤❤❤❤❤

I’m a chinoy who lives in US n married to a U.S. borned Japanese. I grew up eating food in Binondo n etc. I started watching u on n off when u started hanging out with Will. I appreciate n respect how u love to educate yourself n your audience. Blessings2u n your family. Liked n subscribed.👍🏼 Happy Lunar Day 🏮🥳🎊🎉🎎☮️🙏🏼❗️

Nice to watch vlogs where you learn something. Thank you for featuring these restaurants . Now I know where to eat in Binondo. Can’t wait to come home soon :)

Binondo will always be my favorite for a really gooood food crawl. Thanks for this feauture video FEATR Always coming through 🙌🏼😍😍

With my short attention span, I'm amazed I finished the video without skips. Kudos Team FEATR ❤

Love Binondo thanks for this feature!

Again, FEATR didn't disappoint!🙌🏻 Who would've thought na hindi ka lang pala sa pagkain mabubusog while watching this video, but as well with the history/origin of these foods. Good job sir Erwan & the rest of the team. Mor of these po, please.❤️🇵🇭

In some US Chinese groceries, you can also get hopia. The predominant brand I've seen so far is Eng Bee Tin. This goes to show that Phil-chinese food is accepted also by the US Chinese community.

Very nice feature of Toho my family's fave since the time of my Lolo! thank you Erwann

Dear NETFLIX why oh why aren't you getting featr? This is why I go to youtube...to see these types of videos..Featr really delivers. Erwan is so genuine when he speaks..walang script but he delivers it so well..haay. galing!

Binondo is one of my fave places lalo na kapag lamunan ang usapan. Thank U for this vlog/docu about Binondo. ❤

Such an educational but so exciting video to watch. The conversation is pleasant and informing, Erwan is so cool in handling this so is his invited guests. So much to explore about Binondo that was done beautifully by this presentation. I've been to Binondo , but now my interest to know more of the place multiplies because of this feature. You can see how prepared Erwan is, how intelligent he is doing his craft and how big is his heart dealing with people.

very informative, Thanks❤!

In every building thats built in our country is a long story of history. This is so insightful and I hope many would make content like this.

@dumplingdana

Ай бұрын

It's great that he made this food tour as a way of story telling. I never got bored throughout the video.

Erwan is really a great story teller ❤

This is a wonderful feature on the Chinoys sans any stereotyping.

My dad used to take us in To Ho Panceteria. I remember chinese a bit age are serving us. I think they are the owners of To Ho. I love the green peas quail eggs cashew, pansit canton, fried rice. It was only a small restaurant before but the food is really very good.

The history of our country is deep, especially when it comes to trading, I've been to Binondo and ongpin a lot but this makes me realize that i still have to dig deeper and look around especially those areas that I've missed whenever I have doubts if im still in Chinatown or not 😂 thank you Featr, good job as always guys! 😊 PS: the talk here about Silk road and whatnot, You really need to watch more documentaries and read a lot of books to have a glimpse about how Trading with china and other asian countries started. I said Glimpse cause that part of history goes way back, hundreds or thousands of years. So if you really enjoy jumping into that rabbit hole, go on 😂 i support you, im crazy about those topics too. ❤

thank you FEATR for making a contents like this. For giving us a broad perspective and knowledge about our history. I don’t really understand why u guys are so underrated sigh!! Thank you FEATR team for all the efforts you do.

This episode is so good! Featr never fails to both entertain and educate us.

Kakagutom naman show na to. Parang gusto ko ng lumipad para kumain dyan!

Great content

Omg! I remember eating Masuki way back 2016, when I had binondo food crawl with my friends back then! brings so much memories!

This is now my fsvorite vlog. I love the dialogue

this is just so informative.

Another great episode keep it up🔥

Always love your vlog ❤

Thanks, Erwan, for another wonderful documentary. I hope KZread viewers will appreciate more educational videos rather than the popular trashy contents nowadays.

I see Anthony Bourdain in you. Good job! Keep doing what you're doing.

Love this video as my first time going to San Francisco China town I believe binondo can showcase its beauty as it’s the first oldest China town in the world

When I lived in Manila, I love to eat Mami, Siopao and Siomai at Ma Mon Luk. It's incomparable. I've been to Honkong and Singapore but I like the Filipino version. Here in Canada, I'm missing it. I need to travel back there to relive my experience.

@peekaboopeekaboo1165

3 ай бұрын

Philippine version ...made by the Chinoy .

My go to watch when im eating and you learn so much from it

Been to Binondo twice already. I want to eat at Toho next!

very informative

Very nice feature.

i remember during pandemic you were bash because they said you were tryinh hard to be a filipino. but now i watch all your vlog. actually if there will be the next tourism secretary. i think you are fit to the position even a department of agriculture. kodus to and your team keep it up.

To sum things up about this vlog, food in Binondo is Pinoy food. More contents like this please!

12:26 no Binondo video is complete without this guy! First time I’ve seen him on Anthony Bourdain’s show

the story telling is fire

My grandparents used to lived in Soler st. lagi kami bumibisita sa kanila, nakakamiss kasi marami kaming memories in binondo.. naabutan ko pa that we ride kalesa papuntang arangke, takot na takot ako sa mga kabayo hahaha.. tapos kakain kami ng giant siopao with hot soy milk, solve na solve na kami.

Well done ❤❤❤

Masarap ang siopao dati sa Makong saka Lingnam dati sa tabi ng arranque market at Ha Guan sa magdalena. Mga chinese pa yata ang gumagawa nun. pero ngayon medyo parang nag bago na. pero ok pa rin compare dito sa Taiwan kapag kumain ka ng siopao walang sauce. kaya improvise na lang pag uwi ng bahay. miss ko na yung chinatown dati na wala pang masyadong mga chinese mainlander. Dati kami kami lang mga chinoy.

Keep doing good contents! ❤❤❤

This is very Tony Bourdain-esque Props to FEATR for producing high quality food content 👏👏👏

Always proud of our country, I carry this pride wherever I go ❤

I hope you will also do Intramuros or a mixed Intramuros -Bonondo vlog and how Spanish and Chinese culture changed Manila.

Not much recognition for Anson Yu. He's the best person for this episode ♥

Masuki signature sign translate to "The first Double Portion Noodle Family Restaurant". In Pinyin "Ma Mian Ti Yi Chia"...wonder how it turn to Masuki....

If there’s any person that can define and answer “What it means to be a Filipino?”. I truly believe that it would be Erwan and Featr team who can do it. Saw some glimpses of it in this video, hope the team can explore it someday.

Never been to Binondo but I had the chance to visit China town in Malaysia, very Chinese yung food nila, steam fish, noodle soups etc ... I don't know at Binondo though.

Erwan is the Alton Brown of pinoy food. Great work sir

We always eat at Toho and Ma mon luk since our younger days and Ivan Man Dy is still looking good. 👍

I ❤ this... My family doesn't know my grandmother's origin but I grew up seeing her celebrating chinese holidays and party's... She even follows chinese traditions or superstitions. I never heard speak chinese though, growing up I found myself getting obsessed over chinese superstitions and beliefs.

So. Its my Mom's 67th birthday in July this year. Then its my Dad's 67th in December. Then its their 39th wedding anniversary next January. I think I know where Im going to take them out now. Thanks for sharing this since Im planning and Im saving up for their birthdays and their anniversary. I already have a korean fine dining resto in mind so Im just going to add this to the list and if Im lucky Im gonna find an authentic japanese one in the coming days☺

Good thing to know some history