In the Philippines, food is a serious pastime. Filipinos tend to usually eat 6 times a day, with rice forming part of every meal.
Most countries have a culture which is eating three times a day from a clearly defined menu. But in the Philippines, the rules are different. Beside the normal three meals a day, there is also merienda. A light snack which is no longer just a spanish style cake or pastry but can be a small portion of anything!.
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| Photo : Lechon is a popular festive dish - Grilling is the most common way of cooking in Philippines |
Types of meat
Filipino food confirms to the St. John's "nose to tail" style of food - fish / marine life, pork, beef and chicken forming the staples. Parts like knuckles, innards, fat, belly and skin are normally part of food.
Fried Bangus (milk fish)
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| Photo : Fried Bangus (milk fish) at a restaurant |
Food courts :
In most Malls there is a food court. Up to 30 individual restaurants selling different types of food whch is then eaten in a common area. This is a big step forward in eating out. You are no longer limited to the items on a single menu. But beware of ordering something that looks like something from home because you may have a surprise that may not be pleasant.
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| Chicken and rice at Mang Inasal |
Street food -
You will see many street vendors selling mais(sweet corn), barbequed pork, chicken and banana, chicharon(pork skin or ears or chicken skin or entrails) squid balls, fish balls, kikiam, squid, eggs in bright orange batter, siomai, peanuts with or without shells, skin and chilli and the famous Balut (boiled duck embryo) and Penoy (Hard boiled duck egg). There are many sticky rice snacks many with coconut or casava some coloured with the screaming violet color of Ube.
The hygiene of street food may not be as good as food courts and restaurants.
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| Balut (duck embryo) is considered a delicacy |
Pulutan (food to eat with alcoholic drinks) -
Almost anything from the menu can be bought to eat while you drink but it will be a small (or "short") order. Popular pulutan is french fries with tomato sauce, embotido, tokwa't baboy (fried soya bean curd with fatty fork), kikiam, fish, squid or chicken balls, fried chicken, fried calamares in batter (squid rings) and many other items.
Popular dishes -
The name of the dish tells you the origin. Traditional and real Filipino foods sit alongside Chinese adaptions and Spanish/Mexican introductions to give foods like adobo, dinuguan, ginataan, sisig, turon, puto, bopis, papaitan, sinigang, tinola, kare-kare, longanisa, tocino, pochero, menudo, lechon, chop suey, pancit, lumpia, escebeche, afritada, paksiw, beef tapa and hot dogs.
If you have travelled thousands of kilometres to get here, then try some of the local gastromic delights. In Metro Manila, waiters and waitresses in places that have foreigners as customers will all speak English and will advise you on dishes. Not all foods suit the European palate. Ampalaya, or bitter gourd, is a favourite Filipino food but definitely and acquired taste. It can still taste bitter in your throat! Dinuguan is sometimes caled chocolate pudding but it is made from pork blood. Filipinos like fatty pork with the skin left on while it is boiled or stewed. Bagoong is shrimp paste and is very salty.
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| Crispy pata (fried pig's knuckles or trotters) |
If you are in doubt, then order safe foods like pancit canton - simlar to chow mein made with wheat noodles, pancit bihon made with rice noodles or pancit sotanghon made from bean thread noodles. There is also pancit malabon made with thick rice noodles. Chop suey. pork chop or fried chicken.
In many places, you will see tosilog, longsilog, bangsilog, daingsilog. These are fried egg (itlog) served with tocino (Filipino ham) or longanisa(garlic pork sausage) bangus (milk fish) or daing(dried fish). All are popular for breakfast or merienda.
Try siopao for merienda. It is a chinese steamed dumpling filled with mixed meats (bola bola) or pork with garlic (asado). Tear or cut it open and apply the sauce that is supplied but don't forget to remove the paper on the base!
Seafood
Filipnos love seafood. The national fish is Bangus (milk fish) and is found on sale everywhere. It has many bones, so opt for the boneless bangus if it is available. Other common seafood are tambakol, espada, tangigue, cream dory, yellow fin tuna, many varieties of prawns, oysters, squid, mussells, crabs, lobster, sea cucumber, seaweed and many others.
Sea food at Alona beach
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| Seafood at a restaurant at Alona beach (Bohol). This is a common sight in most beach resorts in Philippines |
Chicken -
Chicken is very popular and the native chicken has a wonderful flavor. Local pork is of high quality and lean cuts are becoming more popular as the health lobby against cholestoral gains popularity. Local beef is also very good. Carabao meat is often available and tastes similar to beef but is a little more gamey. Goat (kambing) is a popular pulutan (food to accompany beer), however, it is not found commonly.
Vegetarian food -
Vegetarian food is a rarity in Philippines, and not easily understood (The vegetables seciton in the menu usually means meat with vegetables, and not vegetables alone). Additionally, Filipino cooking is usually sparse, and vegetables tend to be boiled / cooked for just a little time.
Pinakbet
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| Pinakbet (Filipino vegetable stew) is made of mixed vegetables and shrimps |
On the other hand, some vegetables are grown in abundance (The costs of vegetables in Philippines is higher than in other south eastern countries). Potatoes, Bell peppers, cabbage, cauluflower, brocolli, carrots, onions are found alongside Asian produce such as kalbasa, upo, patola, okra, chinese leaf, pak choy and bok choy (pechay), ampalaya, talong(aubergine), alugbati, pipino, kang-kong, sayote, singkamas, sigarilya, bagiuo beans, sitaw, malungay, tomatos and many others.
If you suffer from gout, then avoid chicharon bulaklak, Bopis and Papaitan. They will be certain to trigger an attack.
Fruits -
Fruits are plentiful, though not as much as found in the streets of Thailand . Some are seasonal. Philippine mangoes are usually sweet and found around the year (Filipinos like to think they are the best in the world). Bananas have many varieties lakatan, latandan, senoritas and saba and are always available. Pineapple, santol, lanzones, rambutan, dalandan (Philippine orange) chico, star apple, balambing, atis, guyabano, langka, durian, mangosteen, marang, watermelon, pomelo, papaya and, of course, coconut. Grapes and apples are usually imported.
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| A local fruit stand |
Bread is a surprise for most foreigners because sugar is added to the basic recipe of flour, yeast and salt which gives it an almost cake like taste. Sugar free bread is beginning to come on the market but there is a premium price to pay. Pan de sal is a traditional Spanish salt bread and is a cheap and tasty. Obtaining sugar-less bread is difficult in Philippines and obtainable in certain European run bakeries in tourist spots.
Cakes tend to be of just 5 types: Sponge which is very fine texture, Brownie type cake often spread with icing, Donuts either filled with cream or covered in icing, Tarts which have a fruit based filling and finally, Bread type cakes that sometimes resemble Danish pastries.
Alcoholic Drinks-
Alcohol is cheap in Philippines even by Filipino standards - a bottle of rum is cheaper than a kilo of potatoes! San Miguel (often called SMB) is by far the larges producer of drinks. Pale pilsen, Light and Red Horse dominate the market and are excellent lager type beers. Asia breweries are miniscule by comparison. Localy produced Brandy, Rum, Whisky, Gin and Vodka are all very good and remarkably cheap. You will pay up to 20 times as much for an imported drink and they often are not as good as the local variety. There are traditional drinks like Lumbanog (Coconut sap wine) and Tuba (made from Coconut Milk).
Beer and rum is found more commonly in neighbourhood stores (called sari sari stores) as compared to fruits!
Non Alcoholic Drinks
Buko (young coconut milk) is sold at many places (though not as commonly available as in Thailand and India). Other juices and shakes found at kiosks include Gulaman, Pineapple, Melon, Buko Pandan but make sure they advertise that they use purified water. When these are sold at road side kiosks, they usually contian 50% synthetic sweet water, and 50% juice.
Water and Ice
You will see blocks of ice being dragged through the streets at they may end up in drinks! Bottled water is widely available as well as bottled and tinned fruit drinks from Del Monte, Dole and Magnolia. There is not a dairy industry so milk is UHT or dried. There are some very good powdered juices including ice tea of various colors, strawberry, orange, dalandan, pomelo, pineapple, mange, guyabano and many others.
Coffee
Coffee, Chocolate and Mocha drinks are very popular both hot and iced but try other local companies and not just the intenational chains. 3-in-1 coffee is commonly found (making fresh coffee and tea is a rarity in Philippines, as it is not a common habit in most Filipino households to have coffee / tea in the morning at home)
Not only are the drinks cheaper but you will be assisting the farmers who produce the beans. Iced tea is widely available in fast food chains such as Chow King and hot tea (without milk) is usually served with Kalamansi (Philippine Lime).
Adobo is the national food of Philippines and Cassava Cake is the most appetizing dessert which is found in this gorgeous destination. Dried mango,pineapple,banana, coconut and papaya are the main tropical fruits.
If you really want burgers (which is available commonly) and fries,pizza, pasta etc then there is plenty of choice also.
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| Figaro is a popular chain in cities |
