Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Quiapo-Let's take a journey

Quiapo, home to the famous Catholic Church of Nazarene, is also the center of the Muslim Community in Manila. These two religions have lived side-by-side for years, with the Church of Nazerene and Golden Mosque lying on opposite sides of the Quezon Bridge. Good cohesion has existed here, and many visitors, regardless of religion frequent the streets of Quiapo everyday.

Back in the heyday, Quiapo was known as "Old Downtown" and once was a center for trade and commerce. Nowadays, however it is known for cheap electronics, pirated DVDs, fresh flowers, and vegetables, bicycle parts and native handicrafts for balikbayans.

So what images are conjured to mind when one thinks of the Muslim Town of Quiapo? Unfortunately, living up to the stereotypes are the numerous stalls selling pirated DVDs, and South Sea pearls, but look beyond this and you can have a real cultural and culinary adventure.

Lets take a walk around.....

Come on in!

On the doorstep, you are greeted by a newly erected arch proclaiming "Ahlan Wasahlan" meaning "Welcome" in the Arabic language.
As you enter, you can already start to see interesting art.

Spanish style floor tiles

Islamic Inspired Mosaic Tiles


The Golden Mosque is a few steps walk from the Arch (on Globo de Oro St.). Most of the Muslim neighborhood seems to be centered around the Mosque, where worshipers are invited to pray from 4am until midnight.




During the holy month of Ramadan, most of the Muslim Town comes to a standstill with most restaurants opening an hour or so short of iftar (sunset), in order to begin the festivities for the observant.

Dotted around the Mosque you will find numerous eateries, side-by-side with stalls selling Muslim fashion such as Abaya for women and headscarves, Islamic CDs, DVDs, prayer beads and other religious effects.



There are a plethora of halal restaurants to choose from. Most of the eateries/restaurants are carinderia style, some that we would walk straight past and some that tempt you with their colorful displays, and aromas bringing you tastes of Moro, Maranao and Pinoy cuisine.
(The famous Moud's Halal Roasted Chicken is in Quiapo!)

In most of these eateries, the style of service is turo-turo or point. where the food is already prepared and displayed in silver trays or chafing dishes. You just point at what takes your fancy and its served up for you. One can expect to pay anything from P30-P70 for a decent meal.




Spoiled for choice?

There are also a number of stores selling halal produce, rice, and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Quiapo can be a taxing to get around with the constant hustle and bustle from the crowd, but its worth taking a look around, especially if you're in the mood for some delicious halal cuisine that's easy on the wallet.

Just another day in Quiapo.

26 comments:

  1. i have been there. the fried chicken is good and tasty. My family like it. It is cheap. The grill chicken is wonedeful. they serve other dishes too. But it is lack of space. waiteress are friendly...i like it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How.can.the.customer be.assured.of.the.halal food.sanitation?

    ReplyDelete
  3. How can a customer be assured of it's sanitation?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unfortunately, you can't be assured of the sanitation/hygiene standards. These eateries do not uphold or are not subject to the hygiene standards. Neither are any enforced.

    We have eaten at at halal eateries in Quiapo and Alhamdulillah it has been fine.

    Check it out and see for yourself. If the number of customers is anything to go by, then it's highly likely that the food is clean (and tasty!)

    Jazak Allah Khair,

    HalalManila Team

    ReplyDelete
  5. Assalamuallaikum wr, wb..
    Hi, next year i will travelling to manila, how can i go to quiapo from ermita, malate? what jeepney should i take? bus or taxi? Thanks.

    Wassalamualaikum

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alakum wa Salam,
      Thank you for stopping by. Getting to Quiapo from the Ermita area is pretty straightforward.

      You can take any jeepney which says "Quiapo" in the window. Tell the driver you're going to Quiapo, and it shouldn't cost you more than about 10 Pesos. Get off immediately after the Quiapo Bridge. You will be able to see the arch from the bridge, so you know you're in the right place.
      With no traffic the journey should take no longer than 20mins, passenger stops included.

      By taxi, again tell the driver Quiapo "near the mosque". The journey should take no longer than 10-15 mins with no traffic, and do not pay more than 90 Pesos.

      hope this helps InshAllah

      Delete
  6. interested to visit manila - luzon. is there muslim tour guide service available?
    komin of kuala lumpur

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Salaamalaikum, jazakaAllah khair for your post.

      Very sorry but I am not familiar with muslim tour guides. But if you need som information about Manila or Philippines you are welcome to email me on halalmanila@yahoo.co.uk, then I can send you some more detail information. There is a group here that is promoting a Muslim family vacation place, I could refer you to them if you wish to visit their muslim friendly resort inshaAllah.

      Please just send me any questions you might have to my mail or a PM on the HalalManila Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/halal.manila.philippines


      Fee Amaan Allaah

      Delete
  7. Salam'alaikum,

    i'm visiting manila 21/9 - 26/9. wish to visit the mosque in quiapo. is there's any our fellow muslims budget hotel / hostel for 1 night on 23/9 in Quiapo to be recommended? i've booked 3 night in makati and wish to cancel the second night for Quiapo. this mainly becaused of the halal food availability.. tqvm

    Usop
    Putrajaya, MY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walaykumsalaam,

      JazakaAllah Khair for your post.

      Unfortunately im not familiar with hotel/hostels in Quiapo, but you can check out the information in the bottom here. Dont think these are muslim hotels of any sort.

      You can also check out Malate, Ermita hotels/hostels, they have more options in this area, and there are still a lot of Halal places to eat there.

      Sorry for the late response, if you want more information please send an email on halalmanila@yahoo.co.uk

      CITYSTATE HOTEL around the Quiapo area.

      Palanca Street:
      Telephone No.: (632)-7367671
      Fax No.: (632)-7367678
      Rates: PhP 990.00 (Standard rooms for 2 persons)
      PhP 1090.00 (Suite rooms for 2 persons)

      Beside Quiapo Church:

      Telefax No. (632)-7369091
      Rates: PhP 990.00 (All standard rooms only)

      Both Hotels DON'T HAVE ON-LINE RESERVATION.

      Delete
  8. Assalamualaikum...
    Will be in Manila on 4 Desember, I would like to know how far is it from International Airport to Quipo ? How much the taxi fare, or should i take abus / jeeney from the airport to Quipo ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walaykumsalaam,

      JazakaAllah Khair for the post.

      It will take about 40-60min with taxi, depending on traffic, and where in Quiapo you are going.

      I would suggest taking a taxi going there, when you land and go out you will see airport taxis, yellow ones, these are more expensive. Ask the guards and information person in the airport where you can find the "regular taxis" normally you can get them at departure area outside.

      Regular taxi might set you back about 160-200 peso for that trip. Some taxi drivers might ask for more, make sure they use meter, so you can see the fare in display at the front.

      If that is still a bit too much you can try and take a bus and jeepney. I have not done this from the international airport, but there are options for this there, perhaps ask people there where you can get it, there might be a FX van going towards manila bay area, then you can change and take Bus or jeepney to Quiapo.

      Send an email to halalmanila@yahoo.co.uk if you need more information.

      Wasalaam Halal Manila

      Delete
  9. Thank you for this post. It's very helpful. I'll be moving to Manila next month and one of my main concerns is finding halal food/restaurant. I will probably reside in Makati. Do you know how to get to Quiapo from Makati by public transport (not taxi)?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your welcome, glad this blog can be of help inshaAllah :)

      Do you know where in Makati you will be living? There are a couple of ways you can travel there, besides taxi.

      I normally take a jeepney (depends where in Makati you travel from) to the LRT station (overground train), GIl Puyat Station (YELLOW LINE), then take the LRT towards Monumento - Roosevelt and go off at Carriedo Station, from Carriedo Station you can walk towards the muslim area with the Golden Mosque. Check in google maps on how to go around, or just ask people around when you go off at Carriedo station. Its very hectic there, but ones you been there a few times you get used to it and know your way around. To go to the muslim area you need to in this underground area, with many "tunnels" leading to different places in this area. It might be good to ask when your down there which of the "tunnel" stairs lead to the Golden Mosque.

      You can take the same way back, but i like to take the bus back, its a bit closer and more relaxing..just takes a bit longer. To go to the bus you need to go to the Quiapo church, it goes from there often, just at the main road close to the bridge. You can ask for the PVP liner bus (many of them are Blue with stars) going towards Makati. This bus will drop in many different stops in Makati, tell the conductor or driver where you need to go and they will know where to drop you.

      Here is a couple links that might be helpful, and if you need anymore information you can also send an email to: halalmanila@yahoo.co.uk


      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Puyat_LRT_Station

      http://www.ph-commute.com/2010/02/modes-of-transportation.html


      Good luck and let us know if you need any more information inshaAllah.


      Wasalaam, Halal Manila

      Delete
  10. Asalamualeykum,
    I am a studying medicine at OLFU and I have been in the Philippines for a month now. So far I was not able to find any masjid near the university. I am not happy that I haven't been to a masjid since I left USA. I will not have a class Friday afternoon and I am thinking about coming to the golden mosque for jum'aa. What is the best method of transpiration that will get me to the golden mosque?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walaykumsalaam brother,

      SubhanaAllah, sorry to hear that. It can be difficult sometimes to find a masjid here Manila.

      Is this Our Lady of Fatima University? Do you have an address of the campus your in? i can see when i make a search for it there are a couple of campus sites in Metro Manila.

      Then depending on where you are, I will try and find best way for you to go to Golden Mosque or perhaps any other near Masjids.

      I saw this message today, so I am sorry if you missed Jumuah yesterday.

      If you want you can also send us an email: halalmanila@yahoo.co.uk

      JazakaAllah Khair,

      Wasalaam, Halal Manila

      Delete
  11. Assalamualaikum

    I am getting married to an Indian National. He will come to Philippines next month. I just want to know what documents we have to prepare and any fees we have to pay?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walaykumsalaam

      Very sorry I am not sure of the process. There a couple of fees, and the total amount can come to around 10K i think. But it depends. If you have Facebook you can contact Mindoror Islamic Research Center, even though they are in Mindoro the Imam there do Certification of Marriage.

      https://www.facebook.com/MIRCI.info?fref=ts

      Hopefully you will get better answer from them inshaAllah.

      Otherwise contact Immigration and/or your local barangay office, they might be able to help out. As you are marrying a foreigner.


      Wasalaam,
      Halalmanila

      Delete
  12. Salamalaikum.....I'm a newly converted muslim. I'm here in philippines now with my family. They are not all muslims. I wish to have muslims friends so I can grow spiritually. Or maybe a community of muslim where I can join. I hope you can help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walaykum salaam warahmatullah, very sorry for my late response to your comment here. I do understand your situation, inshaAllah.

      Please email me at halalmanila@yahoo.co.uk

      So we can set you up with a group of muslims inshaAllah.

      Delete
  13. how much do they sell the abayas? thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi i want to convert muslim but i dont know any imam..im planning to go to the golden mosque in quiapo but i dont know where and who to talk to..

    Hope u can help me..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rassell, please excuse the late response. Could you please email me at halalmanila@yahoo.co.uk so i can provide further information for you inshaAllah.

      Thank you

      Delete
  15. Where did Muslims in Quiapo came from? What is their motherland?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of the Muslims in Quiapo comes from the South of the Philippines, Mindenao/Bangsamoro area and ARMM. There are several tribes, unfortunately i do not have all the details in this regard.

      There is a lot of information provided by searching in Google, however not sure how accurate all of it is. You may check http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?i=232&igm=4, for further information.

      and http://www.idcphalal.com/about-us.html,

      you might want to contact the last ones inshaAllah.

      Delete
  16. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...