Food in the Philippines consists of lots of meat and little vegetables. The most popular types of meat are pork and chicken. It is sometimes hard to get beef. Filipino breakfast is always accompanied by a fried egg (it is often served with lunch and dinner too). We are wondering how many Filipinos suffer from cholesterol problems, thanks to all those eggs they consume.
Filipino meals are small but frequent. Apart from breakfast, lunch and dinner, locals would eat morning and afternoon snacks which they call meryenda.
Filipino dishes are influenced by Malay, Spanish and Chinese cuisine, seasoned according to Filipino taste. Some of the Filipino favourites include tocino (dried pork/chicken with honey), adobo (pork or chicken boiled in a sauce made of vinegar and garlic), sinigáng (meat, fish or prawns cooked in a sour soup) and kinilaw (fish or prawns marinated in vinegar or juice made of local citrus fruits and spices). Most Filipino dishes are prepared with generous amount of soya sauce, which gives a strong, sometimes a bit too salty aroma. Most Filipino dishes are not spicy.
Typical Filipino restaurants are called turo-turo, which literally means point-point. The food in these restaurants is pre-cooked and placed into glass cabinets for the guests to choose. The advantage of these restaurants is that you actually see the food before ordering. However, most of the food is not very fresh by noon and by the evening it is not acceptable for sensitive stomachs.
The quality of food in the Philippines depends a lot on location. We were often hungry in the Cordillera, where food selection is poor and its quality mediocre. Most of the dishes were either bland or too salty. On the other hand, we enjoyed really good Japanese and Korean food at Boracay Island. Boracay is popular among Japanese and Korean travellers hence restaurants make sure to please their sophisticated taste. Probably the best selection of high quality international food is to be found in Manila.
Those who do not like Asian food should not have problems finding other types of cuisine in the Philippines, as long as they stick to urban areas. Philippines are americanised in many respects, food included. All big cities are plagued with American fast-food restaurants, pizzerias and pasta places (McDonad's, Wendy's, California Pizza Kitchen, Pizza Hut etc.). Filipinos also love Jollibee – a local version of McDonald's serving local versions of hamburgers, pastas and fried chicken.
Typical Filipino food can be very tasty, but it has to be fresh and skilfully prepared, thus it is not easy to find a good Filipino restaurant. If you are into food, by all means pay a visit to some of the upmarket restaurants in Manila or ask local foodies for recommendations.
Drinking in the Philippines
Tap water in the Philippines is not drinkable. Buy water in supermarkets and make sure that the bottles are originally sealed.
Although the Philippines has its share of coffee and tea plantations, most places will probably serve you Nescafé or imported Lipton tea.
One popular soft drink in the Philippines is coconut juice called buco juice. It is sold in original coconut shells or packed in plastic glasses. Buco juice has a great positive effect on dehydrated body thus it is highly recommended to drink it in tropical climate.
Beer lovers will never be thirsty in the Philippines. Local San Miguel beer is cheap (35-50 pesos, i.e. less than an Euro), light and tasty.