Is Filipino food the worst…many say food in the Philippines is bland

[ASEAN NOW News]

Back in 2008 when they found out that Anthony Bourdain was coming to Manila for the first time. There was a hum around the city, our culinary glitterati sent into a tailspin.

 

Where will he eat? Will he like the food? He definitely has to try lechon. Can you imagine Tony eating isaw? We can call him Tito Tony! Will he be too mean? Will he be mean enough?

 

It was something of an event, the arrival of the food world’s preeminent chef, the spotlight shone on what is arguably a forgotten food city, the prodigal child of Southeast Asia.

 

Historically speaking, we do not have to look too far down to understand exactly why the Western gaze and the Filipino consciousness are so deeply entwined.

 

However, one might conclude that all Philippine food is American: hamburgers, fried chicken, steak, sandwiches, ‘junk’ food, fast food.”

 

This explains the amount of online vitriol aimed by Filipino twitter users towards Cornell University political science instructor Tom Pepinsky when he “objectively” ranked Southeast Asia’s many cuisines in a tweet, placing Filipino food last.

 

Filipino food is the worst

 

This was followed up by Jakarta-based feminist activist Kate Walton’s bold refrain that “Filipino food is the worst.”

 

Both users are white foreigners who have travelled throughout the region. They are familiar with the food they speak of, but they are outsiders.

 

When asked to describe Filipino food, a local said, “For me, what defines Filipino food is the flavor: salty, sour, masarsa (saucy), strong in garlic and seasoning, unlike other Southeast Asian dishes that are more on herbs.”

 

“We name our food after the [cooking] process: ginataan (with coconut milk), inihaw (grilled)."

 

Many Filipinos consider adobo, the national dish of the Philippines. The perfect adobo lies in the delicate balance of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices (bay leaves and fresh ground peppercorns).

 

 

A lot of the dishes you can find in Filipino cuisine can be high in calories with a poor balance of macronutrients as lots of the calories come from fats and sugar.

 

Since a lot of Filipino food contains fatty meats and highly caloric sauces, it is difficult to find dishes that are ideal for losing weight.

 

 

When compared to other Southeast Asian cuisines, Filipino food — with its lack of spice, use of unorthodox ingredients such as offal, and focus on sourness and linamnam — may be deemed by these outsiders as not “exotic” enough to be worth their interest, as being both too alien and too “bland.”

 

But it is key to remember that while Western staples like fried chicken and spaghetti dominate here, they are, in their DNA — coated thick in banana ketchup and shreds of cheddar cheese — still very much our own and, more importantly, not anyone else’s.

 

Strangely enough, in a twist of fate, Bourdain — chosen one, the rarest of tourists unlike all others, a perpetual foreigner who was always aware of his white privilege, and a genuine lover of all things deeply delicious wherever they are from — might have put into words exactly what few outsiders could only dream of understanding about Filipino food.

 

During one of his final visits to Manila, eating at — of all places — Jollibee, he called the almost cloyingly sweet spaghetti “deranged, yet strangely alluring.”

 

And in that moment, he captured the spirit of what makes Filipino food so glorious.

 

OK so the Philippines is not going to be remembered like France as a culinary experience, but what do you think of the food served up at the restaurants there?

[saakura]

I agree, nothing really great about any Phillipino dish.

[pjmorton]

I have not dined in the Philippines often enough to rate the recipes and the ingredients, but I would definitely object to the lukewarm temperature at which the food is typically served. Cooked food always tastes better when served hot, and there are some sanitation issues to be considered too when you don't know how long it has been standing around.

[ozimoron]

The bar for food in SE Asian countries is high. It would be hard to vote Filipino food as not being at the bottom of the list. I think Thailand is #1, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Cambodia in that order. I spent 24 years living in The Philippines and don't mind some of their dishes but they are not as good as those other countries.

[phills2k1]

8 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

The bar for food in SE Asian countries is high. It would be hard to vote Filipino food as not being at the bottom of the list. I think Thailand is #1, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Cambodia in that order. I spent 24 years living in The Philippines and don't mind some of their dishes but they are not as good as those other countries.

I agree with every single part of this post (especially that the bar for food here is high).  But your order is spot on

[FolkGuitar]

There is a real good reason we don't find many Filipino restaurants outside the Philippines.

it is the only place we've vacationed (several times in different areas) where we just ate to sustain ourselves rather than to enjoy the meals. Presentations were often wonderful, as was the ambiance in many locations, but the food just tasted ordinary... Nothing to 'look forward to.'
I'll be quite happy if I never eat Adobo again.

[phills2k1]

All of this being said, there were multiple great Filipino restaurants within about 10 minutes from me in Manhattan that I dined in pretty often

[Nickelbeer]

I prefer Filipino food to Thai food. A nice mix of Western and Asian.

[teelac777]

Indigenous Filipino food is tasty - sinagang, adobo, bulalo, dinuguan, pinakbet, etc.

Problem is because jollibee and other junk food have taken over, it's hard to find authentic dishes.

[NotReallyHere]

Why the racial undertones in the article?

 

On 11/26/2021 at 9:22 AM, ASEAN NOW News said:

Both users are white foreigners...

On 11/26/2021 at 9:22 AM, ASEAN NOW News said:

Strangely enough, in a twist of fate, Bourdain — chosen one, the rarest of tourists unlike all others, a perpetual foreigner who was always aware of his white privilege...

What a bunch of nonsense...  Underlying message is "you white foreigners just don't understand the food because you are white... (except Anthony Bourdain, who is so cool he managed to rise above his whiteness)"

 

Obviously written by some WOKE "journalist" who is too blind to see their own racism.  Do black or brown foreigners enjoy Filipino food?  What does race have to do with enjoying or not enjoying Filipino food?  Absolutely nothing.  Consequently, it's inappropriate to bring race up in the article.

 

More low quality "news" articles provided for our "enjoyment'...  Thanks, ASEAN NOW...

[teelac777]

Food in the Phils is a microcosm of the culture.

Most is borrowed from US junk food, but authentic Filipino food is delicious.

Dinuguan, sinigang, kaldereta, kari2, adobo, kinilaw etc