Your best culinary memory in the Philippines

The better half is tasty enough and the food is fine here too.

Cheers, Steve.

Hello bigpearl,

I'm sure that the better half is tasty......

food is fine here too

Do tell us a bit more about that too!

Cheers,

Yoginee

Expat.com team

Hello bigpearl,
I'm sure that the better half is tasty......

food is fine here too


Do tell us a bit more about that too!

Cheers,

Yoginee
Expat.com team
-@Yoginee

You do realise that in your position as a Moderator, this post could go way off topic? I am sure we would all like to know about bigpearls other half but the reply you get from him maybe a bit more than you bargained for especially with the word tasty thrown in the mix

Hello Cherryann01,

I've taken bigpearl's post lightly since this is a light topic that we are discussing.

There was no need for me to be serious about it.

A bit of dark humour does not harm anyone!

On another note, what about you? What's your best culinary memory in the Philippines?

Cheers,

Yoginee

Expat.com team

I have been in the Philippines for 8 years.  My best culinary memory was of having Austrian food prepared at a German restaurant that is no longer in business. 

Tom yum soup on Siquijor island about a month ago. Our first time tasting this Thai dish and we both found it fantastic.

Our new project is to find the ingredients  (fresh I hope) and learn how to prepare this soup.

My fingers are crossed we don't have to use substitutes as most any packaged ingredients in the PI are less than ideal IMO. 

Hate to dissapoint but I dislike most filipino foods except noodles - they use fish sauce on most foods which ruins it- i hate fish so i am screwed. If not for kfc pizza hut and macdonalds i would have left two years ago.

if you didnt grow up in Philippines the food is disgusting

@AngusOk

I agree. Let’s face it how many cities in the world have Filipino restaurants.

There is one big exception and that is the Sisig dish from Pampanga. In fact all pork in the Philippines is delicious.

When I’m in the country if I want a snack I tend to stick with Starbucks as their coffee is remarkably good as is their muffins which taste so much nicer for some reason than in the UK.

So we have Austrian food cooked at a German restaurant, muffins from Starbucks and that’s about it

philippine food sucks then

lol I knew the comments would be such. Not a fan either, albeit will eat it anyway, except pork. I did go to a really nice restaurant in Tagaytay, but wasnt Filipino food tho

Edit: My favorite dish I really like is Molongai and mongo bean, fresh rice, and smoked fish. Masarap!!!

Hate to dissapoint but I dislike most filipino foods except noodles - they use fish sauce on most foods which ruins it- i hate fish so i am screwed. If not for kfc pizza hut and macdonalds i would have left two years ago.
if you didnt grow up in Philippines the food is disgusting
-@AngusOk

If your eating habits are based on USA fast food, then you are just lazy.  You can buy the meat, fruit, grains and vegetables available and cook it any way you like.  Who is making you put fish sauce on  everything?

Guess I'll join the club. I'm not a fan of Filipino food either. My diet is different than the rest of the family, I have a hybrid diet.

The hybrid part is fried rice, vegetables over rice, also other dishes made over rice: chicken, chicken livers, beef or pork. The secret for my enjoyment is the sauce.

My wife makes me my favorite American style food, so rarely does the family eat the same food as me. She makes a great Philly Cheese Steak.

When I met my wife in Las Vegas she was a cook in a Filipino Buffet.

Hate to dissapoint but I dislike most filipino foods except noodles - they use fish sauce on most foods which ruins it- i hate fish so i am screwed. If not for kfc pizza hut and macdonalds i would have left two years ago.
if you didnt grow up in Philippines the food is disgusting
-@AngusOk

Your name says it all. . . . . "Angus".

Lucky your parents didn't name you "WAGYU".

The first time I arrived here, I couldn't stand the sourness in almost Philippine cuisine. But now, after years, I'm looking for kalamansi by myself, LOL.

I can eat almost all the dishes here. I love Tilapia, sisig, adobo, pusit, and a lot more.

most Filipino food are horrendous. the majority of the dishes are cooked in oil

the only dishes i typically eat are sisig, lechon manok, sinignag, chicken adobo, tapsilog. i am allergic to most fish/seafoods unfortunately.

i eat rice with majority of my lunch meals but no more than a cup and a half if its white rice; occasionally with breakfast , but for me its a lot of chicken or high-protien oatmeal which i make from scratch. greens and other vegetables are a must with dinner.

if rice is a must for you, eat red or brown if you can get it. either is a little more expensive but much more healthier than white rice which is heavy in sugars and starch.

@Agus_Salim ohhhh yes, I forgot the pusit, love that!!

I also do not enjoy most Filipino foods, deep fried (Yuk), over cooked (hard as hell) and use vinegar as a preservative, leave cooked meals on the table from lunch to midnight. I have cut back on rice for medical grounds and cook most of my own meals, family line up for most of them. I like to experiment with foods, 2 slices of smoked English bacon diced lifts mongo to a new level. I hate to say it but my wife is a terrible cook, daughter is much better. I am luck that my family will try what I cook, I have heard others are not so lucky. My wife went to Manila for a week and I did the family cooking, on her return the children said "she can go away any time and tatay can cook for us (real proud). Message me if you want any tips on cooking in Ph.

regards  Bruce

I also do not enjoy most Filipino foods, deep fried (Yuk), over cooked (hard as hell) and use vinegar as a preservative, leave cooked meals on the table from lunch to midnight. I have cut back on rice for medical grounds and cook most of my own meals, family line up for most of them. I like to experiment with foods, 2 slices of smoked English bacon diced lifts mongo to a new level. I hate to say it but my wife is a terrible cook, daughter is much better. I am luck that my family will try what I cook, I have heard others are not so lucky. My wife went to Manila for a week and I did the family cooking, on her return the children said "she can go away any time and tatay can cook for us (real proud). Message me if you want any tips on cooking in Ph.
regards Bruce
-@GoDees

Good on you and I am surprised you could find decent English bacon. If you add some decent sausages, a couple of fried eggs, some toast and baked beans (not the crappy ones over there), you could tempt me for breakfast haha

Hello @@Cherryann01

I have a good (Australian supplier) of smoked English bacon here on Mactan. Is that any help to you ?

@Filamretire What I find odd is the Pusit here is so easy to chew. While in my country, Indonesia, it requires lots of hard work just to finish one slice of Pusit. Maybe it's the effect of their vinegar.

@Agus_Salim Could be, yes, some vinegar is used

Some years ago now, my Wife and I, on holiday in Ph, had Dinner at the old "Seafood Markt" Resraurant in Makati, with my Sister in Law and her partner. After the meal I said to him how much I had enjoyed the Food. He said 'the food was ok', but next week he would take us to the 'Best Seafood Restaurant in Manila'.

This turned out to be the Workers Canteen in the Wholesale Fishmarket in Baclaran.

Outside we bought a few Vegetables and 1/4 Lechon. Inside, advised by one of the staff we filled a basket with Fish, Shellfish and Seaweeeds.

This was then cooked for us by the very friendly ladies in the kitchen.

The food was wonderfull, Absolutely Fresh Fish. Expertly cooked. Washed down with some (Many) San Migs.

It was probably the best meal I have ever eaten.

Hello @@Cherryann01
I have a good (Australian supplier) of smoked English bacon here on Mactan. Is that any help to you ?
-@GoDees

Upon arrival at Mactan last week, we hired a full size van for my luggage and dog and went straight to S&R. I looked at bacon prices and at $12 USD per pound I said hell no. I like bacon but I expect USDA Choice+ beef for that kinda money. Not Bacon.

@Larry Fisher OMG Larry... where was that Bacon being sold at PH Trump Tower?.. hehe   We don't pay that price for a LB...   Tony

chicken adobo with rice philippines dish

@Larry Fisher Hello Larry

Just checked my bill, P630 a Kg, I think that works out a about US$5 a lb.

Ordered through "Wholotta Foods" here in Mactan.

My special taste was the Lechon from Hayag little reso and streetrestaurant. Simple, but the taste of the Lechon was and is VERY NICE. Further i miss the vegetables in reataurant and streetfood shops. Also i think: Filipino,s don,t have feeling for tast. When its much on the tablet then its nice for them. I coock sometimes Dutch food, but they don,t eat it, while there must be rice in the menu. Then they fill there stomack with rice,

@GoDees My Filipina wife likes the fried isda and plain rice etc.. and I do not. So I use grab food and order out for KFC, pizza and McDonalds a few times per week. Europeans are the saviors for Westerners with their sausage, beef and roast chicken so we eat out a lot at restaurants owned by them. We do have an electric range and the wife does cook American mom foods like meatloaf, roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, pressure cooked beef soups and roasted chicken with cream if mushroom and pepper jack cheese.

Most Middle & working class Filipinos tend to eat really unhealthily.  Super high GI rice 3-4 times a day, fried fish & very few vegetables is best case scenario.  The middle class supplement this with even worse American style junk-food & high sugar chemical drinks.

The younger middle classes are starting to eat more healthily, so the better dishes are becoming slowly more available in eateries.

Sinigang is pretty ubiquitous, usually made with a crappy sachet of chemical sinigang flavouring though - if you find a place making it correctly with sampalok (tamarind) then I’ve found this is a good sign. 

Day to day a tinola/sinigang/bulalo with papaya, singkamas or Sayote for carbs & whatever green leafy veg is fresh at the market is good.

@Larry Fisher Hello Larry

Just checked my bill, P630 a Kg, I think that works out a about US$5 a lb.

Ordered through "Wholotta Foods" here in Mactan.

-@GoDees

I need to correct myself. We went back to the city last week and went to S&R again. It's beef bacon,  honey cured, and 650 per kilo. So not as bad. I didn't realize first trip it was kilos. Bought some and have been eating regularly for breakfast.  Nice bacon.

I m chef cook and french baker . For us food is inside the culture. I m in philippine since few month...

It s depend of your culture and education of taste...if you are american you will enjoy same food than your country, the food who make you diabetic and fat. The real philippine food is not very good if you compare with vietnamese food. But depend if you like to cook.philippine have very good products(fruits, vegetable fish..)but if you don t cook you can t appreciate. We are a generation of speed work and speed life and not taking time to cook.

These are some of my go to foods for local dishes. sisig, adobo, pancit canton, kilawin, Tapsilog, Lugaw, Garlic Fried Rice

@xavierasia My favorite food is fresh fish from the sea.bought at Dingaland

There was a thread about this recently on r/Philippines, and even Filipinos mostly said their food sucked.

Lechon and halo halo can be good. That's about it.

There was a thread about this recently on r/Philippines, and even Filipinos mostly said their food sucked.
Lechon and halo halo can be good. That's about it.
-@sekmet

halo halo is without doubt one of the worst desserts I have ever tried. The taste and texture make me want to gag.

I'm also in the food here totally sucks camp, especially if you compare it with other south-east asian countries, every single one of them is better.

Adobo, Sisig and Kare-Kare are the only good onces i can name. My girl is great at cooking, so the mentioned fried rice is great and all her soups are really a gift from heaven.

It's a shame and i blame it on the US american influence of this country. Together with the idiocracy of food brand addiction and fast food it ruins all expectations while at the same time manages to be extremely overpriced.

Seriously why are the restaurant prices all on the level of European restaurants? It can't be the labour cost of the chef or the waitresses .

Right, USA is to blame for bad food choices in the Philippines.  Do we really need Sauer Krauts?

@Lothar Scholz

I'm not so sure you can blame America for the taste or influence of Fiipino foods...that seems pretty backwards. how do you come to that concusion? haha.

Filipino foods, for the most part,  remains absolutely horrendous. there are only 3-4 dishes i can actually stand. It remains the less favorable of any other national cuisine in the Region.  My favorites are Thai and Malaysian.  absolutely delicious.

Hello bigpearl,
I'm sure that the better half is tasty......

food is fine here too


Do tell us a bit more about that too!

Cheers,

Yoginee
Expat.com team
-@Yoginee

Sorry, I missed all the msg's, my bad. Firstly I'm sure every ones better half is tasty and was meant to be light hearted.

I eat 90% of the Filipino dishes available in restaurants, mum and dad roadside cafeterias, street foods as well as at home. (we don't dine out that often). We both cook local as well as western style food and Ben has learnt (a long time ago) to back off on the soy, salt, oyster sauce and no shrimp paste. He has also followed my lead with "eat more vegetables and fruit" as they are cheap and good for the body.

My favorites like many are home cooked Sisig and Adobo, two of Bens best dishes and 10 times better than any restaurant. We also only eat filleted fish as I don't like fighting the bones, like Tilapia, the same with crabs you have to wrestle to get a taste. 

Thai dishes are delicious as are Italian or for that matter Sauerkraut.

When in Rome? Perhaps I'm lucky as I have a cast iron gut.

Cheers, Steve.