Many said:
You will love Filipino food for sure
There is nothing better than seafood in the Philippines
Filipinos are proud of their very own local dishes
Sorry guys for disappointing you, but it is not true in our opinion.
Our Food Travels
You all should know by now that we are both food lovers and new flavour hunters. Every single trip, whether we discover new places inside or outside China, is related in some way to food.
Before flying off for a new adventure to a new country, we do a proper research into new cuisines trying to find out which dishes we should avoid and which one can’t be missed out.
So far, we enjoyed Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Khmer cuisines the most, whereas Sri Lankan dishes (although they were incredibly cheap and accessible) were not our favorite. Unfortunately, with tears in my eyes and broken heart, we must add Filipino street cuisine to our “I would rather go hungry than eat this food again” list.
Why? Here comes a long list… but before that let’s see what Filipino food is (should be) all about.
A few words about Filipino street cuisine
It is possible that not many have heard of Filipino street food before. We all know what Thai and Vietnamese, Japanese or even Polish cuisine is all about, before even traveling to these countries. As for the food in the Philippines, due to the small number of restaurants available abroad, we are still not familiar with Filipino dishes.
It is commonly believed that Filipino food has also been defined by a melting pot of influences, springing from the Spaniards who colonized the Philippines for nearly four centuries to the Chinese settlers.
The Filipino cuisine embraces all the common elements of Asian cuisine – sweet, salty, spicy and sour. Ingredients commonly used include garlic, vinegar and soy sauce, all of which are used in chicken adobo – easily one of the most recognizable Filipino dishes.
We have also read that Filipino meals range from the very simple, like a meal of fried salted fish and rice, to the elaborate paellas created for fiestas or even lasagna of Italian origin.
Top 5 famous Filipino dishes are lechon (roasted pig), longganisa (the local sausage), torta (omelette) and adobo (chicken served with soy sauce).
Moreover, while other Asian cuisines may be known for a more subtle delivery and presentation, Filipino cuisine is often delivered all at once in a single presentation (we have not experienced it at all though).
Expectations vs. Reality
What we hoped to experience…
Before coming to the Philippines, we have found CNN Travel’s list of 50 Filipino foods that define the Philippines featuring such dishes as:
- Adobo – chicken and pork cooked in vinegar, salt, garlic, pepper, soy sauce and other spices.
- Lechon – roasted pig with the crisp, golden-brown skin served with liver sauce.
- Kare-kare – stew of oxtail served with delicious sauce made from ground toasted rice and crushed peanuts and presented with some banana blossom, eggplants and string beans.
We also hoped to try some fresh exotic fruits and veggies, grilled seafood, smoked meat and fish, plenty of balut (developing duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten in the shell), local soups, different kind of rice (red and yellow), kind of dim sum and dumplings, sticky rice and a great composition of herbs and spices.
What we have experienced…
Let me start from telling you that for the first few days we gave the local food a go. We were open to new things, we were willing to eat anything locals gave us and we were so curious about new dishes. That has changed after 4 days of stomachache, dizziness and feeling overtired and bloated.
Never travel without Medical Travel insurance. It’s not that expensive and a lot cheaper than paying for travel emergencies out of your own pocket.
The fruits we bought at local markets daily looked and tasted old and gross. Bananas (they changed color into black) were the worst (you could see some flies flying around and sitting on the bunch of them). Apples were tiny, oranges and nectarines were extremely sour and pineapples were soaked in some kind of liquid that smelled bad. The only good fruits available there were sour mangoes sold with pepper and sugar as well as watermelons.
As for the veggies from local markets, we didn’t try them at all (apart from buying some at the supermarket) because we were not able to cook them. They looked ok though.
What shocked us the most was the poor quality of food. Most of dishes were left on the table without being covered with a lid, or without a fan to get rid of the flies, as it’s a common practice in other Asian countries. Fish and meat were mixed up together in the same bowl, sausages were displayed on a plate surrounded by flies and bugs, everyone was touching food with their fingers to try before buying and what was the worst the food was left on display for all night long and didn’t disappear from there unless someone bought it (we saw the same fish dish on display for two days in a row in one of local restaurants in Manila). It was a big mess, trust me!
The Filipino food is packed with salt, sugar and oil. The meat we were served was soaking in oil, the fish that supposed to be grilled was full of oil and veggies we wanted to try contained more oil than the fattest meat we saw there. As we know, oil makes you feel so tired and slows your metabolism down. After having a few small Filipino lunches, we felt bloated and tired and we could tell it was the food.
We not only started feeling fat (literally), but also suffered from stomachache and diarrhea. I had a massive migraine, mood swings and heartbum caused by spicy and oily pork.
No wonder why, in the north, the vast majority of Filipino kids and young people are overweight. This is something we have noticed straight away. People in young age are huge and it’s due to poor quality of food.
Prices
The Filipino food was extremely cheap though. Coffee was $0.22, bread was for less than $0.5 and meal dishes were never more than $1 (including rice). That was the biggest advantage of dining out in local places. On the other hand, if you wanted to eat something healthy and more Western (brown bread, brown rice, cooked veggies, yogurt, grilled or steamed fish, oatmeal, dried fruits, etc.) you had to pay a lot of money (more than you would pay in your own country).
Love for sugar
Filipinos, unlike Chinese, seem to love bread, cakes, pastries, muffins, buns and everything that contains a lot of sugar. So do we, but we must say some of them were way too sweet even for chocolate monsters like us.
We found it so similar to Sri Lanka. The streets are full of local bakeries open 24/7 and you can see locals buying tones of donuts and cookies. They are extremely cheap and you could get like 3 for a price of 1. All displays looked so tempting and you could smell the fresh bread everywhere.
Biggest disappointments
The biggest disappointment was not trying traditional Filipino dishes. Why? We simply could not find them! We visited enormous amount of local food stands and restaurants asking for balut, adobo, asado, daing and more and we we have heard was “Not here. We have some fish and fried pork only.”, “Do you want to try noodles instead?”, “We have some boiled eggs”. So, so disappointing!
All we managed to eat was binignit ( Visayan vegetable soup made by Visayans with slices of sabá bananas, taro, and sweet potato), bihon (rice noodles fried with soy sauce some citrus) and lomi (Filipino-Chinese dish made with a variety of thick fresh egg noodles). These were yummy and we recommend them all to everyone.
Haggling
After a few minutes in Manila, we knew foreigners were expected to pay more than locals. When it came to food prices, there was no haggling involved. Most of prices in supermarkets and local stored were fixed so there was no need to bargain. As for local markets, we were ripped off a few times, but it was still cheap so we did not mind it that much.
Conclusion
Based on our experience, Filipino street food did not live up to our expectations at all. Let’s hope we can make it there again in the future and have more luck!
Still this is just our opinion and you can make up your own mind by flying to the Philippines yourself. Check out the flight prices and you may find it’s cheaper to go than you think.
Are you a fan of Filipino street food? What was your experience with the local food there?
2020 Update
Note from Cez
Agness wrote this article in 2014 just after we returned from our trip to the Philippines. This part is our update in 2020 while the rest of the article remains unchanged.
If You’re Triggered/Offended
It has never been our goal to offend anyone, and this is our personal opinion/experience. Yet, many people took it as a personal attack. If you’re one of those people, there are a few ways to vent your anger/excess energy. You can:
- Insult us. It’s not going to change our past experience but may influence what we think of you. While it’s the option that most people choose, it’s the most negative and least impactful one.
- Provide constructive feedback/criticism. Big thanks to all those who decided to do this. We appreciate your constructive comments and take your words to heart. We received many invites to try your cooking. While, at the moment, it’s unlikely we will visit the Philippines again, you can share your advice/recipes with readers of Etramping by contributing an article.
- Improve the situation in the Philippines by donating to a charity. Best option of all. Many of you recognized a deeper problem and how disadvantaged some poor people are in the Philippines. If you can read this, you’re probably in a position to help out. Consider supporting a charity that aims to get poor people out of poverty, especially children in the Filipino slums.
We are not associated with Oikos Helping Hand in any way but personally know someone who visited them and has seen their work in the Philippines.
If You’re a Foreigner
The Philippines is a beautiful country with very passionate people (you can see it in the comments section). It’s one of those countries that we recommend everyone to visit and experience for themselves!
We have created a very comprehensive one week itinerary to the Philippines which would help you explore some of the best parts of this country comfortably and in a short time.
As to the food, regardless of our opinion/experience, you should try it for yourself. Just be careful with the hygiene – just as you would anywhere else.
End of Update
835 thoughts on “I Would Rather Go Hungry Than Eat Filipino Street Food Again!”
you were with the wrong tourist guides or no guide at all imo.
if you wanted to taste almost all filipino dishes at your own comfort you should have stayed around Makati there are lots of hotels there, then go to Glorietta mall also located in makati, there are some restaurants or buffet inside the mall that serves almost all filipino dishes like what you were looking for one of them if i remember correctly is Max’s, Dad’s and Saisaki. There is Cabalen but i don’t recommend that one, i hate the food there almost everything were way too salty.
you wont find them on the streets for sure it’s either in hotels, restaurants inside the malls, high class beach resort restaurants or have someone cook them for you privately
oh and by the way, i live in manila and i don’t trust street foods at all, lol. unless i know the vendor/cook personally and lives in my neighborhood or a relative.
Hi Agnes,
I couldn’t agree more, yes food sucks especially those commercially sold along the streets which validates your honest observation. I am a Filipino, the best Philippine food is not in the open market. The best Filipino cuisine has become rare as time goes by, it became a cuisine hunting game. It is only served if you are a guest to a home. The best Filipino food comes out by request, your host will find a way to find what you like. even local know this practice, food hunting.
i agree when you said, you better go hungry than eat Filipino food. Now the Hunger Games begins for you, come back, and truly search the rare true Filipino food. Hint 1: be a home guest Hint 2: Start up north, going down south of the Philippines find the variety of specialty by from 76 provinces, each have their own rare delicacies.
Please do try again to get the most of the now rare true Filipino cuisine.
i want to see another blog about the Filipino food on the second taste.
best regards, cheers
good read. all those pictures look really shitty. but what really makes no sense to me is the fact that you ate street food. they are like prison food outside of prison. next time try to eat some place nice. geesh
Hi,
Thank you for stopping by. I wanted to experience what most of local people eat in their countries. Eating on food stalls, streets etc is more typical and more show of an embedded culture than going to a Restaurant! There is nothing better than experiencing a country through its local cuisine. By local I mean visiting and dining out in small restaurants, buying food in local stores, markets and at food stands. I have visited many Asian countries and they way I eat is always the same. I loved my Thai cuisine experience and culinary journey across Cambodia or Vietnam. Unfortunately, the Philippines cuisine has let me down…
Thanks for sharing the link! I really appreciate that!
I know you love the adventure but no side walk eating you could get really sick, its not hygienic and the standard is very poor. Look after yourself while you are way. greasy salty food Filipinos don’t mind that, that’s why a lot lot of the Filipinos die at a very young age.
I am a Filipino, I love Filipino food! But when my European friend came to visit for a month, everything have changed. He didnt like Filipino food at all, even when we go to expensive restaurants, he just orders salads or pastas. He explains every details of why he was not eating what im eating, from burnt parts to greasiness, i realized it was gross. I still love Filipino food, its what i eat everyday, it is what my mom cooks. But i began to be very meticulous on how it was made, if it was too salty or oily etc. Well, Filipino foods are supposed to be that way, but i began to go to the groceries to buy sodiumless salts, organic etc. Yes they cost a little bit more and u can only buy them in groceries, where not the ordinary local filipino buy there food. It is sad that the rich history and the quality of Filipino food is gone because of the money before quality mindset. Poverty, corruption at its best. Welcome to my country, but whatever crazy shit is in here, i still say, Pilipinas kong Mahal.
Every country has its own Traditional/Authentic food to offer… you grew up with donuts, burgers and pizza, they grew up with pasta, some with sushi etc… and I grew up with Adobo, lechon, Inasal/inihaw, balut… I agree street food is bad due to their poor preparation… Not Healthy? yes! Yummy? for us is a BIG YES because WE (Pinoys) Grew UP with that kind of food.. and guess what.. We have healthy or more presentable version of that, all you need is to know the right place…. did you have a filipino companion? or you do it yourself? and oh the local sausage your talking? you cannot buy it on 7’11 store.. Both Public and Supermarket offers LONGANISA but not 7’11… In short YOUR “I Would Rather Go Hungry Than Eat Filipino Food Again!” started with the wrong place to do it… I’m not mad with your comments about our food I’m actually feel sorry that you didn’t experienced the real authentic pinoy food.
since u r speaking ur mind might as well speak mine too, i think u love china and chinese food, tell u what i been i china several times an i tried thier local family home food ( junan, guangzhou, shenzhen zhuhai have u ever in this place? or maybe only in beijing?)and guess what is disgusting in any way, oily. greasy. fatty. what ever the word but that is only 1part of china on the other side i got exactly what i want, what im trying to say is we dont try to generalize until we experience most of it so sad that now u have a bad impression to my belove filipino dish and base on the pictures those are not even a public market coz u know what if u go to a market a real1 u will find what ur looking for and u wont be disappointed. people eat not only filipino as they want the way they want u want to eat rubbish u get rubbish. next time be careful with ur words i believe r not professional enough to give such comments.
Hey Laura,
I guess the main problem here is not the food but the places you went to. It may seen hard to believe but Filipino cuisine is actually one of the best cuisines becuase of it’s diversity and flavors. As I have read, you went to Ilocos right? Ilocos actually offers very good longganisas and a dipping sauce made of vinegar which is authentic and known world wide. I have no idea why you went to 711 and ordered longganisa though. you can never ger authentic home made food from that store. That is a convenience store in which you also have back there. And if you are up to authentic filipino food, you should definitely go to filipino restaurants which we have a lot. And believe it or not they are as affordable as the karinderyas you went to. You really can’t count hawkers, karinderya and 711 as a place that offers authentic filipino cuisine. They offer alternative food for those who are on a budget and can’t afford to cook or go to a restaurant. I just think that it is very early for you to judge FILIPINO CUISINE in general when you have only visited a few places. I also think that when you travel, you should not rely on the locals too much. They have different opinions on which is delicious or not. As you can see, we are extremely challenged by the economy, that is the main reason why othwr locals prefer karinderyas or side street food carts since they are on a budget and they couldnt afford to eat in an authentic filipino restaurant.
Just wanna say that I’m not hatin. And I hope that you still visit our country next time. I guess what Filipinos our angry about is the audacity to tell that you’d rather go hungry than eat our food. It’s a bit insensitive knowing that there are a lot of people/children here that are dying because of hunger and poverty. So I hope you understand why Filipinos are reacting badly about your blog.
Just a piece of advice, research. Before you travel, do some researh on restaurants and food. That will definitely help you find what you are looking for. It’s better be wise than be sorry.
Hello Agnes! You may have realized this, but you went to the wrong places.
unfortunate of your adventure. we experience that everyday. just like what jei milan said. knowing where to eat is another thing. most straight out street vendors are gross, cheap, souped-down quality pinoy dishes. more than 95% is not sanitary and the type of customers patronize them are the lower class pinoys who can’t afford more than $2 to eat in a day. so expect that how it was cooked, they will not even like. but they have to eat.
You are judging other culture’s food basing on your poor research and choices in your stay. Generalizing it is seems to be exaggerated and maybe in a way, uneducated and uncultured.
You should do your research more so not to offend some people in your next country of visit.
$25/a day in the Philippines can go a long way. Very long way, in fact, minimum daily wage here is just about $6-7 dollar and can support a family.
Living at $25/day is already for the very privilege. If you have done your research more, I may not have fault you for your poor judgment. Maybe a result of the food you just ate today.
Hello. You seem to be a smart girl. But your title is just way off i am filipina and i have to say it was mean of you to say that. You just went to the wrong places but that’s no reason for you to call this article like so. change it.
As many had responded to your blog, the next time you visit any country, make sure you have a local who can guide you…
You never experience the real Filipino food at all…
You are in Ilocos, and you ask for a “longganiza” on a convenient store? That’s not where do you think you will find the authentic longganiza after all…
We mean authentic Filipino cuisine cannot be found and serve on the street alone, you can have a taste of it when you ask around.
What you get on the sidewalk or any nook and corner here in the Philippines doesn’t resemble nor in anyway represented the real authentic dishes that we Filipinos love to.
They are quick dishes intended for students, workers from nearby as stated by one response here.
I can’t blame you for trying what you say “where the common people eat” mentality, you really get the price of what you really pay and asked for in return.
Unfortunately, you really went to all the wrong places and were served all the wrong dishes. Locals would not consider what you had “Filipino” food. I recognize that as street food from provincial locations, basically whatever was cheap and handy.
Hi, I understand our country has a lot of imperfections. I didn’t react on your previous blog post about your trip because I think it is (in a way) true. But this post is just stupid. I am a Filipino who lives in Thailand. I can say personally, that Filipino food is not as exciting or as exotic as the food in other countries. If it was, it would have been as famous as Thai or Japanese food. Do the world a favor by not leave your comfort zones. Please stop insulting our culture and our people. Thank you
Our experience is based on 2 weeks we spent in the Philippines. During this time (I know it’s a short period of time), we wanted to experience what most of local people eat in their countries. Eating on food stalls, streets etc is more typical and more show of an embedded culture than going to a posh restaurant! Personally restaurants elaborate dishes that are not always typical or what your everyday person eats. This is our personal experience with local street food.
Honestly, it’s difficult to get the experience of an average local in the Philippines by eating out, even from street vendors and karinderias, because honestly, it’s a luxury to be able to go somewhere and have someone else cook your food for you. If you spent the entirety of your two weeks just eating from food carts and roadside eateries, you didn’t get an accurate overview of local eating at all. If you wanted to know what the average local eats like, you should have been a gracious guest in the country, met people, shared meals with people in their homes – because that is how people eat.
Again, for most Filipino families, going out and having someone cook food for them at all is a luxury that they only indulge in once in a while – most of the time, they are at the palengke (marketplace) every day or so, haggling for ingredients (mostly vegetables and fish) that they need to cook for themselves at home.
So again, you have an accurate perception of what Filipino street food is like, but not what the everyday eating experience of the Filipino is like. Not even close.
I agree with you completely, I am FIlipino and here from the Philippines, I hope people are not sending you too many hateful comments. It’s just your opinion and you were not insulting any Filipinos I do not know why some people are so (too) sensitive :(
If this is how you feel about eating in restaurants, whether they be posh or not, you should probably avoid generalizing the whole cuisine on account of 2 weeks of street food. It is incredibly unfair and haste that you feel comfortable writing these things about a country you don’t seem to understand very well. Filipino food varies, just as most world cuisines, on the socio-economic status of the cook or clientele. It’s unfortunate but it’s true. So before you write in your blog , be sure to contextualize your experience and research on the wider implications of what you eat where you dine.
Ps- You’d be happy to know that any Filipino family would love to host you (free of charge) and share with you our cuisine. And hey, in this case it will be even cheaper than your anti-restaurant policy.
If you look at the price of the foods you bought it is so cheap it is only for regular Filipino who earned below $1 a day, never try street foods in metro manila, go to some province if you want a safe foods….
Hi Agness! Anyway, this post caused some really heated replies on your part and it really takes patience to answer to it. While i do have to commend you on sticking to your rightful opinion here’s why saying that Filipino food did not live up to your expectation is problematic.
Mostly i replied to you as such because you have not eaten Filipino food!!
– Our culture is one that keeps strong Family values, Much like how Chinese people order Lauriat style in a buffet meant to be shared, Filipinos will make food in one huge batch meant to be eaten with a lot of people– this is why side stall eateries and hawker stands that are so popular in other parts of South East Asia do not serve the same function here. The average Filipino everyday worker would rather brave a 3 hour commute to have a home cooked meal rather than have a 50 cent poor excuse of a dinner at some random carinderia
Now it is easy to assume that with a limited market a carinderia would only cater to people who will not be able to get home for a proper meal (truck drivers, cab drivers etc.) It is incredibly unhealthy because its sole purpose to to tide over a hungry person so he can do his job and earn his wage to feed his family. A carinderia owner would have to make it loaded with preservatives (salt, soy sauce, vinegar) so it would keep longer so the owner doesnt end up throwing it away.
So the Filipino street food you had just functions as a snack most of the time.
Also, i don’t know why you saw plenty of overweight kids but recent statistics show that malnutrition is prevalent in my country. A lot of people are poor, and the government steals the funding supposedly used for fertilizers and pesticides- on hindsight it would mean that our vegetables and fruits are organic. Yes bananas are supposed to be spotty and Nectarines are sour, yet the immaculately spotless fruits i buy in Costco is all thanks to Monsanto (which isnt bad, it means high yield production which fuels the economy of Banana Republics such as Costa Rica or Mexico)
I am not making excuses for the problems of my country but as a Traveler, i am not in a position to derisively call out an ENTIRE CUISINE along with the COUNTRY and UNIQUE CULTURE that goes along with it. I know that if i am privileged enough to travel then i could afford the extra money that goes to the local people so i could have a decent meal. Because that’s how a tourism driven economy works- by people who pay the locals for goods and services.
Everyone’s been ripped off at one point or another, but do we b*tch about it. No, i don’t because i believe that the third world countries like mine cannot afford the quality education that allows me to see the wider picture.
I never comment on posts like this. In fact if you caught me during exam season i wouldn’t even give a flying f*ck but your post has been viral and so many are sharing and my country has a horrendous rep already, i just don’t think that “Horrible Food” is one of its many many many problems.
Ciao!
“Eating on food stalls, streets etc is more typical and more show of an embedded culture than going to a posh restaurant!”
The one mistake that you have made is that you think that everyone in the world eats out. Eating in food stalls is NOT A TYPICAL FILIPINO THING TO DO.
A typical Filipino normally eats home cook meals at home. We take time to get ingredients ready and cook from scratch. We rarely eat out on a regular basis. Most “locals” will only eat in the places that you ate if they have no where else to eat if they are out and really hungry. But most of the time, we cook our own meals and eat at home. As Filipinos are a family-oriented nation, meal time are always spent at the dinner table sharing a meal and family and friends.
Although, yes. Most Filipino foods are salty as compared to other nations which to us Filipinos would taste too bland. We do try to bring out the flavour of our meals that foreigners like you would think it too strong a taste.
You don’t have to eat an an expensive restaurant to get the Filipino dining experience. Get a Filipino family to adopt you for a week or two and experience REAL FILIPINO food cooked by a typical Filipino.
Next time you visit the Philippines please feel free to contact me at (+63)9228630322 or (+63) 9354451020. I will be your tour guide and I will show you and cook for you and experience the true Filipino Foods that your are looking for. I currently live in Angeles City – “the culinary capital of the Philippines” but I grew up in Northern Luzon.
I hate reading your blog because you are discriminating and judging our Filipino Food culture easily. Remember, the Philippines is a 7,100+ islands and 2 weeks is not enough to understand and taste all the Filipino cuisines. I lived in the Philippines for 30 years already and I still didn’t experience all the food in Visayas and Mindanao. Now compare it to your 2 weeks stay and why we are reacting to your blog.
Next time, make a post if you are to go to the Philippines. I’m sure a lot of Filipinos would be willing to give you info on which places you can eat ‘local style.’ What you ate are ‘budget foods’ or turo-turo – Unhealthy, under-prepared, and sometimes unsanitary. The people who eat them are either on a budget or are too busy to wait for the legit, Filipino home-cooked meals.
I’m a local and don’t eat the food you featured, nor do I frequent sidewalk vendors unless there’s absolutely nothing else available. The places you went to and the food you tried are not accurate representations of Filipino Food. Before you go hungry, allow me to invite you to try proper Filipino food.
I also think you’re really pretty Agness. I’d like to rock your culinary world with Filipino food. I shall woo you like a proper Filipino gentleman, with flowers and my driver playing guitar in the background while I sing.
Allow me to host you and correct the impression you have.
your pictures of sample Filipino foods is dirty,cheap and gross… even I, a typical Filipina will not dare touch it, moreso feed it to my kids. As a travel/food blogger you sure don’t know how to do your assignment well. Also, we’re not like other asians who typically eat dirty street foods. Home cooked meal and decent restaurant food is what a TYPICAL FILIPINO EAT EVERYDAY.
Hi! First of all, I’m sorry that you had a bad experience eating Filipino food in the Philippines, BUT, it was of your own fault. I grew up in Manila, and YET, I have never eaten in those places where I think you ate. Looking at the pictures of food you posted, I’m thinking you ate at really poor carinderias and turo-turo where food is cooked the cheapest way possible with little care about sanitation. They looked gross and disgusting, and not like the Filipino food I grew up with and love to eat. Even I would get sick if I eat those food. Even the benignit, pansit bihon, and lomi you liked and recommended, looking at the pictures, I won’t even try tasting them, even though I love all those food and are one of my favorites. You didn’t have to eat at expensive and elaborate or posh restaurants… there are a lot of decent Filipino restaurants that are affordable, and yet delicious and clean. The places where you ate does not measure up to the quality and taste of an authentic Filipino food… the food you ate are “watered down” food and is not what you would typically taste and eat in Filipino homes. I dunno where you stayed in Pagudpod, and where you ordered that traditional filipino breakfast, but let me tell you, our traditional filipino breakfast would usually consist of fried rice or steamed rice, eggs (scrambled or sunny side up), longganisa, tocino, or tapa, or daing, tuyo, or any fried fish, with sliced tomatoes, and coffee or juice, and slice of fruit that is in season like pineapple, mango, etcetera…. alternate traditional filipino breakfast would be chocolate porridge, hot pan de sal (bread), eggs, hot dogs or corned beef, fresh goat cheese, coffee, and milk. Those are the traditional filipino breakfast I grew up with. I hope that you give it a try again and next time if ever you do, please try to spend more money and do research on where you can eat good and clean filipino food.
Sorry for your bad experience on our food, atleast you had guts and tried. Filipino foods are the 4th least popular in the world so what you expect? But i want to tell you one thing, you must become a filipino to appreciate the food we eat. I grew up eating those foods you’re mocking. I came from a poor family earning less than minimum wage and we’re going in the streets to buy some cheap street foods for dinner. Yes it sucks but thats what our money can buy. You will never learn the culture you’re looking for by just tasting the food. Know the background, know the history and ask why.. Ask why they’re preparing the food in such unhygienic way? Ask why it so cheap? Ask why they prepare the food unpleasing in the eye? That because the foods are for the poor. Have you been ask yourself if you met some poor people in your circle? I highly doubt you don’t. We’ve been colonize by western countries for 400 years. They stole our resources, treasures and identities, and that you western people can have a better life right now. The food in the stalls are prepared just for filipinos, not to please you. If you wanna have some good food, go in good restaurants, if you want bad, just dont eat and die in hunger. Don’t just travel to blog and inform some travelers about your experience, travel like you have same souls with the locals on what country you are in. Respect is universal, but you are entitled in your own opinion and it is your blog. Have you been tried to get hungry? Like nothing to eat? I’d experienced that 3 days without food to eat only water. Every foods are special when you’re hungry….and yeah.. You went in the wrong places to find good filipino food. You went and ate the food of the Filipino Survivors.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing!
We met Sabrina. She loved her Filipino experience. We didn’t talk much about the food though.
Dear Jack,
I am sampling local culture here not referring to people but food. No one should feel hurt or anything as it’s my view and valid like anyone’s. Sorry to hear you took it so personal.
No it’s not valid. It’s your opinion but you cant conclude something because of that opinion. That will make what youre saying LIES. Do you get this? It is like saying “i had a bad experience so filipino food sucks” or “filipino food makes filipinos obese” seriously? What if I eat tons of food from your country? That would make me obese too.
Hi Jay. Read the headline on the front page once again. It says “Travelling like tramps for less than $25 a day”. What we do here is looking for cheap and delicious street food which we could not find in the Philippines. Even the most expensive supermarkets in the Philippines didn’t serve fresh fruits neither veggies.
Thank you for sharing Abe!
1) Sharing my personal experience on Filipino street food which did not come up to my expectations.
2) Sampling local culture though local food.
3) Showing my readers that you can’t really rely on Filipino food when you have a tight budget.
4) Pointing out that obesity is a major problem in the Philippines due to bad quality food locals consume on a regular basis.
Obesity is far from being a problem in the Philippines. You should get your eyes checked. You might have been having double vision. I also don’t comment on things like this but you attacked our country on the basis of an experience in 1 local part and by judging our cuisine with street food. I also don’t eat street food. You should make a trip back and visit Pampanga or other provinces. Btw, $25/person is more than enough to experience real Filipino food. Not enough research on your part.You didn’t see any fresh fruits and vegetables in major supermarkets? Where did you go? You go to SM Hypermarket and you have an array of fresh fruits and vegetables. You have the right to your opinion but you should be responsible enough to back up your “facts” and accept criticism. What gets me is the fact that you keep saying over and over that the Philippines is an obese country! Seriously?!
Obesity? Dear Lord, which area of the Philippines did you visit? In another dimension?
With all due respect, I came from the Culinary Capital of the Phillipines and I should feed you with my cooking so your perception of our food will change. You may have gone to the wrong places that’s why you never found the good food there. That or you don’t have a good palate. Anyway, you’re only one of the few who mocked our food. Next time go to high end places to try our food. Don’t go on the cheap.
We asked people in the street and they sent us to 7-11. Sorry for following locals’ advice.
Yeah… it happens…
So also, next time…
Ask 3 locals/people not just one…
(it’s my rule of thumb when asking for directions during my travels here and abroad… *wink)
The person/local you asked might have been intimidated since you were a foreigner – it happens. LOL
Hmmm…
Are you sure the locals understood you? Did you say longganisa or did you say sausage?
People may have misunderstood you.
i am a local, but just like you, i do not eat filipino food – for entirely different reasons. i guess i am just not used to the taste.
as for your experience, i guess you really should not “eat what the locals eat” … the Philippines is a 3rd world country. you should expect majority of the population to eat street food or badly prepared food – stuff middle class people do their best to avoid.
your title was a bit extreme, but i enjoyed reading it. i have never experience what you experienced, from the terrible breakfast to having to eat only burnt fish and rice for lunch (i have been served better stuff on a hiking trip). truth be told, i would rather go hungry that eat what you ate too! ok, i am kidding … i would rather eat at mcdonald’s that eat what you ate.
I always love a good,honest post – just like this one. I think you are entitled to write any feelings you had during the trip and if you don’t like something then it’s fine, it was what it was. And reading your experiences from this blog, you are one of the few travelers that really try to eat like a local and blend in with them. Good food doesn’t necessarily have to come from posh, expensive restaurants, most of the time I find street food delicious too!
So sorry you had to go through with it Agness, I totally understand! There were times when I travel and didn’t like the food too and it was annoying.
Thanks for replying. Bear with how emotional some of the replies are. I know you’re not being personal but the blog title sometimes says it all if not too much. I can even be angry at you for not specifying FILIPINO STREET FOOD than generally saying FILIPINO FOOD. For us FILIPINO food is what our mom cook for us. We grow with our mom’s food. STREET FOOD is not authentic either because it’s BUSINESS FOOD.
So if you keep on saying “eating at these local restaurants, eatery, street food” is getting the “AUTHENTIC Filipino cuisine”, you are dead wrong.
AUTHENTIC is what our Filipino moms cook.
In Europe, you have these street cafes and usually eat on small dishes, healthy fruits, etc. Everything sounds and looks like luxury for most Filipinos. Your poor locals are even way better than our middle class locals. I understand European way of eating: healthy, by bits, appreciating the quiet or nothingness of the moment, etc.
Your country is a rich country. Our country is poor. So please don’t generalize. Don’t forget where you come from and where you are eating at. Can you really say African food sucks because you experienced eating the poor food, like eating CLAY? That’s why I can understand the rant, and that’s because you generalized it with your title “FILIPINO FOOD.”
I’m not surprised that most of Filipinos are getting emotional when reading the title of the post. It’s a bit extreme, but that’s the way I felt when experiencing the food in the Philippines. We did not have any Filipinos friends who would take us home and treat us with the food their moms would cook for us. We didn’t visit any Filipinos houses and as the post says, it’s all about the street food we tried. We ate the way locals eat. And that’s the truth. The food was never fresh, it was way too salty, sweet and very oily. I just can’t understand how locals can eat this way. In China, for example, people are also very poor, but they eat much healthier. They cook fresh rice every day, add veggies and meat, they grill food and keep it in fridges. They avoid sugar and snack on fresh fruits. Fruits and veggies are available everywhere.
To us, street food is authentic because it’s what locals eat every day. So what do you cook at home? Fresh veggies? Where do you take them from? Locals markets? We have visited various fruit and veggie markets and trust me, nothing there looked fresh…
I can totally understand it is due to poverty and not many can afford to eat healthy. I never said the Philippines “sucked” because of the food. If you check out my post on Banaue you can see how amazing my travel experience was there. The Filipino scenery and landscape simply took my breath away, but the food disappointed me. BIG TIME.
Besides, Poland is not that rich, but I understand your point. Sorry if you felt insulted by the post, but as I said countless times, this is my personal experience with dining out like a local in the Philippines and the food I was served made me sick and unhappy.
Naah, your blog’s content did not insult me but the title is. I hope your title is not a feeling “for good”. You either have to choose to stick to your “TRAMP” lifestyle or go out of it once in a while to experience the local food prepared at its best.
It is already given and known that food from the streets or “karenderias” are oily and poorly prepared …for those who don’t care about taste and health but just so they could have a cheap fill.
I’m sure if you’ll plan to visit the Philippines again you could contact one of us here. I’m sure each could come from different provinces.
How unfortunate! I have yet to visit the Philippines, but we have a large Filipino community here in L.A., and I’ve always enjoyed Filipino food, so it’s unfortunate that you didn’t have a positive food experience there. But I’m curious to know how you researched where to eat prior to your trip. Did you follow the advice of local bloggers or read restaurant reviews first or did you just take your chances at random eateries when you got there?
Hi there! I’m a Filipino and sad to say you’ve experienced this, even I sometimes don’t eat in local eateries coz they have the reputation for stuff that you mentioned. Don’t worry about the bashes here because they care about Filipino pride and stuff. Some of them don’t know constructive criticism and didn’t get the whole picture of the story itself. I think that they were offended by the title of the post. I’ll tell you that you were at the wrong places at the wrong time. If your a health buff like me that doesn’t like oily foods or sugary stuff on foods may I suggest try this foods. Niliga, sinigang, bangus(fish), tanigue(fish), Laing, chopsuey, and there are some cheap but good eateries around you really just have to look for it. Sorry for getting ripped off,I know how it feels. Even locals are getting ripped off if they can see if they can take advantage of them. For sanitation stuff on foods, yes we have somehow a low standard on that stuff because of poor governance both locally and nationally. All they care about is money, money, money and I forgot one more thing money. So it also applies to the markets as well. I don’t get that we are an agricultural country that can’t serve decent fresh fruits and veggies. The ones you encountered were a result of greed as well or just for the sake of money we’ll sell this stuff also even if it’s not ripe or the ones you posted. I even struggle to find nice fruits here. There are so many stuff more to mention but I’m hungry already,hehe anyway give Philippines second chance. You might change your mind, when I was in hongkong the first time sucked because I was in the wrong place but when I came back it was a mind blowing experience food wise.
Too bad Filipino food didn’t suit you! I didn’t eat a lot when I was in Banaue. That is some mean looking adobo and the curry is too watery. I like curry and adobo, but what I eat is way better than these in the pictures. A current favorite of mine is a spicy vegetable dish called Bicol express (beans cooked in coconut milk and seasoned with local chili).
The best dumplings I have ever tried was in Chinatown in Manila. I went there on this tour called “Binondo Food Wok” and had the chance to sample different Chinese dishes. I will definitely be back to Chinatown for the dumplings :D