A Local's Guide to Top Pinoy Food!

Hello po!
Oh my gosh, I have waited a looong time to finally post an entry all about - give it up for - FILIPINO FOOD!!! Because, well it is just about the greatest cuisine in the entire Multiverse (no bias, just the deep feeling of hashtag Pinoy Pride is strong on this one)!

Foodtrips are so much fun to write coz I have to buy and eat every time I will take a picture of the vendor's merchandise, hehe! And I am allowed to get fat because- hey- it's my birthday on March 15, y'know!

Now I will take you in on how a local eats. Because it is so much more authentic this way! So forget over-priced fancy Filipino restaurants and fastfoods for now and let's hit the kalye (street) and scour the bangketa (sidewalk) and eskinita (alley)!

As your expert Filipino (well technically I'm 1/4 Spanish and 1/4 Chinese but I identify as 100% Pinay) guide, having been born and raised in Manila (visiting various provinces from time to time) and living my entire life in the Philippines (except for my 1 week in Turkey), here are my top picks:

Rice- because!!! If I did not put rice here, I am a traitor to my country, hahaha! From the love affair with rice blossomed 'rice all you can' and 'unli-rice' in restos.

I remember, when I went abroad for a week, and we were literally fed no rice, I swear, even though my pics tell me my face is getting rounder because the climate was so cold and I can't sweat plus we were eating all the time, I feel like I am getting sick, like I was slowly dying. Real story, man!

As a child I was a very picky eater. When I did not like the viand, I just put liquid seasoning or butter on my rice, or just eat it with soup made from pork/ beef/ shrimp cube!

Pinoys are funny/ creative and diehard fans. Instead of writing the kinds of rice as Angelica, Dinorado, Maalsa, Sinandomeng, NFA, the store keeper labeled it as BTS, Super Junior, Infinite, EXO! XD

Various Filipino viands at the friendly neighborhood Turo-turo (literally point-point). Shown here are bopis, munggo, kaldereta, etc. The seller is taking out the bowl of the first one to be sold out, which is kare-kare (peanut sauce with oxtail and veggies).

Top: Chop suey (stir-fried vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, chicharo, liver, quail egg, etc), Left: Dinuguan (stew of pork blood and offal), Right: Sabaw ng sinigang (sour soup of veggies and pork/ shrimp). Now here is a trivia: we love our ulam (viand)  rich, savory and comforting, and served warm. We hate it when our viand is cold- makes it seem old (cooked days ago), or contaminated (like a fly or the saliva of another customer already landed there). Also common is eating a banana as dessert after a meal.

My most favorite Pinoy food is nilagang baka with lots of potatoes and corn. I will try to update this blog!

Kwek kwek (quail egg dipped in orange batter then fried, best eaten with vinegar and sweet/spicy sauce) and other tusok-tusok (pierce-pierce) like fishball, chickenball, squidball, siomai, hotdog, kikiam, tukneneng, sebo, etc.

BBQ and Inihaw- grilled pig or chicken parts and organs like isaw (intestines), betamax (blood cubes), helmet, hotdog, squid, bangus, etc.

Lugaw or congee (rice porridge) commonly referred as poor man's meal. Only Php 12 and your tummy is somehow satisfied, then ask for a free glass of water. Usually seasoned with pepper, patis (fish sauce), spring onions and kalamansi. Optional  add-on: egg, tokwa't baboy or lumpia.

Mixsilog (with variations: tapsilog, tosilog, embusilog, hotdogsilog, malingsilog, bangusilog, danggitsilog, etc.) The fried viand served with sunny side up fried egg and garlic fried rice, sometimes comes with atchara and soup.

Oil overload! Consume a pineapple to fight cholesterol- ambulant vendors sell a whole small piece for Php 15, while pineapple juice sold by sidewalk vendors is Php 5 a cup!

Fried errrthang!- galunggong, egg, maling, hotdog (I think I mentioned hotdog one too many times already).

Noodles- Pancit palabok, pancit canton, pancit Malabon, lo-mi, bihon etc.

This is a very basic version for us poor people. There can be shrimps, tinapa flakes or chicharon added in there. But this is only about Php 15. Ain't complaining!

Breads- like pandesal, bonete, sputnik, putok, kababayan (Filipino muffin), etc. Breads are breakfast or merienda staples. We may fill or top it with margarine, cheese spread, homemade peanut butter, coco jam, strawberry jam, etc. or if plain, dip it in hot coffee.

Bibingka, kakanin, suman, puto, sapin-sapin (sweet rice cakes).

Colorful native delicacies.

Taho- tofu, arnibal and sago. I like this very much.

Halo-halo- shaved ice, milk, sugar, leche flan, ube, sago, gulaman, banana, monggo, beans, langka, etc. There are variations depending on the seller.

Balut- the list ain't complete without it! For the daring, this is hard-boiled duck embryo. It's also said to be an aphrodisiac to strengthen a guy's knees for loving-loving later. Who cares about overpopulation!

Pag me pambara dapat me panulak. Lest you choke to death with all those food, here is coconut water to drink. Plentiful here in the country- very nutritious, refreshing and delicious. 1 whole coconut is Php 30, and a cup is only Php 5!

Pinoys are well-known for being hardworking and their hospitality, and will serve you these amazing food with a smile and po and opo (as a sign of respect). Ain't Pinoy food the best! Plus it is really cheap. Take for example taho- it is only Php 5 per serving; kwek kwek, Php 15 for a stick of 5 eggs. But if you are an adventurous foreigner wanting to take a chance on street foods, an advice is you must have a tough "immune to germs" tummy! Thanks for reading! :)