Food In Philippines

[Bezpoleznyak]

I know that food in Philippines in not a good as in Thailand. But I also heard that some people said that it was totally bunk, low quality, not safe and so forth... Besides, it's more expensive.

In Thailand I pay usually $1-1.5 for a dish and eat it on streets. Will I be able to find something similar (cheap and safe at least) in Philippines? What about food in markets: bananas, apples, etc...?

[typhoon]

Phillippine food is awfull, no doubt about it, having just spent 2 months ther, i confirm it,lol, but alot of street food is ok,and about the same price as thailand, super markets sell just about everything u need, including fresh fruit,etc, all the main fast food places, and lots of seafood, but all in all, no match for great thai food

[Ace of Pop]

Phillippine food is awfull, no doubt about it, having just spent 2 months ther, i confirm it,lol, but alot of street food is ok,and about the same price as thailand, super markets sell just about everything u need, including fresh fruit,etc, all the main fast food places, and lots of seafood, but all in all, no match for great thai food

Great Thai Food.?.

[educateyourself]

50 countries visit, Thai top them all for eat. Philippines poor next to thai but is some nice dish though, adobo is good...... somtimes. Like finland stew, but with vinegar in sauce. If you like brown dessert, philippine sweeter than thai and not try to cheat much so

[Loptr]

Can't beat a nice lechon on the spit.

[bangkokburning]

Atrociously foul. No wonder the people are walking heart attacks. Women age so rapidly after childbirth its shocking.

An expat refugee here once told me...

The world cookbook is 1000 pages long. The Philippine contribution is a page and a half.

[rnw]

more food 're in GM in philippines, less tasty.

mango 're more sore.

pinoy're less health-minded, even the toxic food from red cina they don't care about the risks, such as Luncheon Meat(spam) made in shanghai

[charlieboz]

The food is terrible. I could not believe how bad it was. They just fry whatever they want and then melt some cheese on it and consider that as being delicious. TGI Friday's is considered as having really good food by the locals.

I did like chicken Adobo and pork sinigog (not sure of the spelling) but if I walked into a thai restaurant there are about 100 other dishes I would order before either of them.

The Shawarma is pretty good in the Philippines though; that is the only dish that I can think of that tastes better there than in Thailand (I realise it is not local food before I get flamed on here, but the reason I like living in BKK is because I can get great food from all over the world here).

Street food is not as easy to find as in Thailand either; by that I mean the variety of food that you can eat. You can eat it but I am not sure I would; the lack of hygiene even compared to Thailand is pretty bad.

All in all it would probably be the worst food I have eaten on my travels (have been to more than 50 countries). Loved the country itself (the natural beauty, the ppl themselves are very friendly) but the food is abysmal.

[Jingthing]

I found the food in Costa Rica (totally bland and rice cooked with LARD) worse than the Philippines.

[charlieboz]

I found the food in Costa Rica (totally bland and rice cooked with LARD) worse than the Philippines.

Wow; that must be some bad food. My friend who worked in Africa (not sure, somewhere on the east coast) said the food was worse there too. I always thought South American/Central American food would be quite tasty; then again I thought the Philippines would be a great mix of asian and Spanish food and I was completely wrong there

[Jingthing]

I found the food in Costa Rica (totally bland and rice cooked with LARD) worse than the Philippines.

Wow; that must be some bad food. My friend who worked in Africa (not sure, somewhere on the east coast) said the food was worse there too. I always thought South American/Central American food would be quite tasty; then again I thought the Philippines would be a great mix of asian and Spanish food and I was completely wrong there

Mexican food and South American food, yes, generally great. Especially Peruvian and Argie food if you love steaks and pasta. But Costa Rica is in Central America and they have their own food culture. The lard rice is something the government pushed long ago for nutrition when they were poorer and now it's in their culture and linked to high heart disease rates. They are also spice phobic. I like Salvadoran food though. I was shocked at how bad the local food was in CR.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

The food in the Philippines is best described as dull, mostly due to the lack of spice. It certainly isnt the worst in the world (go to Africa if you dont believe me).

There are a few exceptions to the dullness: lechon, escabeche, spit-roasted chicken, and any seafood done on a grill. All these are fine even if they often lack a spicy dipping sauce.

Desserts tend to be wildly over-sweetened.

Mangoes and avocados are very good, very plentiful (in season) and very cheap. Cant imagine why they cost so much here. After all, they actually do grow on trees.

[NeverSure]

The Philippines is worse than Cambodia? (Not counting good and expat owned restaurants.)

I'd like to see a vote on that one. Maybe it would be a tie, but not a Thai.

[gerryBScot]

Yeah the food experience in The Philippines can be challenging. First of all there isn't the same sort of street food culture as in Thailand where as we know all manner of eateries appear in the evenings most of them serving up cheap,delicious meals and it is a joy to sit out in the cool evening breeze and watch the world go by with a fresh fruit "pun". Not here in the Philippines where it would be considered dangerous to eat on the street at night unless in some sort of enclosed area. Over the years I have got to grips with the food but with difficulty: chicharron and lechon, cuts of pig, can be delicious but can also be expensive; it's worth exploring the soups which are usually big servings - bulalo, a soup with beef served on the bone with loads of vegetables, dinuguan, blood soup served with rice cakes (not everyone's taste), fried aubergines, lentil soup; fried/ barbecued fresh fish and prawns are good; we spend most of our time in Negros in the Bacolod area and we eat lots of Guimares mangos which are delicious and cheap -Guimares is a small island next to Panay (Iloilo) famed for its mangos. Good bananas too with lots of variety.There is an abundance of fast food eateries: Jollibee, MacDonalds etc churning out the usual fare. I think the cakes are the best in the world. In Bacolod there is a shop callled Calea and I reckon it serves some of the best cakes I have ever eaten - cheesecakes, triple chocolate cakes, mango ice cream cakes and good coffee too. It seems to me Filipinos themselves really like to bulk out on rice - my wife eats rice three times a day and doesn't feel as if she has eaten properly unless she has had rice and of course the local rice feels much rougher than its Thai jasmin equivalent. And of course noodles - they eat a dish here called "pancit", fried noodles with meat and vegetables which they often flavour with lime juice and soya sauce - I'd rather eat "pad thai" or indeed any kind of Thai noodles including Mama - I really don't get on with pancit!

[Supertuktuk]

TGI Friday's is considered as having really good food by the locals.

.

TGI Friday' s ?? Could you find TGI there??

[Travel2003]

Have been numerous of times to the Philippines, and never seen TGIF.

Have seen basically all the other international (and American) food chains.

Including regional ones.

The Pinoys/Pinays are getting fat fat fat fast.

The fast food there is like injecting drugs into a country.

It is nothing less than amazing to see the outlets filled by office staff during lunch hours, and the families fill them up every evening.

Each and every outlet also has a delivery service of course.

Anyhow, back to their own food.

Not too many tasteful dishes.

I work with many of them, and notice their variety is very slim.

Seem to eat the same again and again.

[SeaVisionBurma]

I didn't mind the food in the Philippines - but could never stomach Balut.

I remember there being a TGI Fridays in Makati (Greenbelt? Gloriettas?) Not my cup of tea, but the Filipino staff at the office used to love it.

+1 to a good Lechon. I worked on a small remote island at the southern end of Palawan, and every event or festival was celebrated with a good pig on the spit.

[lapd]

Only country that matches Thailand for food is perhaps Ecuador. Mostly because of year round fresh fruits and vegetables. Thailand still beats them for what they do with all that fresh fruit and vegetables.

[wellred]

Have been numerous of times to the Philippines, and never seen TGIF.

Have seen basically all the other international (and American) food chains.

Including regional ones.

The Pinoys/Pinays are getting fat fat fat fast.

The fast food there is like injecting drugs into a country.

It is nothing less than amazing to see the outlets filled by office staff during lunch hours, and the families fill them up every evening.

Each and every outlet also has a delivery service of course.

Anyhow, back to their own food.

Not too many tasteful dishes.

I work with many of them, and notice their variety is very slim.

Seem to eat the same again and again.

there was a Filipino lad on 'the voice' tonight. Can't have been older than 16 but pumpui like a mini nutty professor.

[Loptr]

I found the food in Costa Rica (totally bland and rice cooked with LARD) worse than the Philippines.

Wow; that must be some bad food. My friend who worked in Africa (not sure, somewhere on the east coast) said the food was worse there too. I always thought South American/Central American food would be quite tasty; then again I thought the Philippines would be a great mix of asian and Spanish food and I was completely wrong there

Nonsense. The food in Costa Rica is no better nor worse than anywhere else. It all depends on where you eat and who prepares it. In fact, the best Tuna steak I have ever had in my life was in a little hole in the wall restaurant in Jaco, CR. Downtown San Jose has lots of quality restaurants at decent prices. Everything from Italian to Japanese, Brazilian Churrasco to pan-fried Chilean sea Bass. The city market in downtown San Jose has lots of stall and small places to eat at very cheap prices. The walking street in San Jose, Central Blvd is dotted with restaurants, shops, tourist joints and historical landmarks. The local food is much like the dishes from neighboring countries. Rice is not a staple of a Ticos diet BTW.

Be careful what you believe on an internet forum. Both pro or con. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

[Loptr]

I didn't mind the food in the Philippines - but could never stomach Balut.

I remember there being a TGI Fridays in Makati (Greenbelt? Gloriettas?) Not my cup of tea, but the Filipino staff at the office used to love it.

+1 to a good Lechon. I worked on a small remote island at the southern end of Palawan, and every event or festival was celebrated with a good pig on the spit.

I sometimes wonder if half the people that complain about the food in the PI have ever been there for more than 5 minutes.

[Jingthing]

...

Rice is not a staple of a Ticos diet BTW.

Be careful what you believe on an internet forum.

...

Yeah.

Right.

http://www.vivacostarica.com/costa-rica-information/costa-rica-food.html

As mentioned above, beans and rice is the basic variable in almost all Costa Rican cuisine.

[Razzler1973]

Jolibee is the national food!

They are firmly near the bottom of the Asian food table

As said though, adobo is ok, pancit canton (basically fried noodles of sorts) and anything remotely Chinese influenced is not as evil. Bicol Express has a bit of spice, like a coconut milk type curry Thai food fans should be familiar with

They like chucking stuff in a pot and mullering it for hours over there. Don't even get me started on kare-kare. Evil ****

[SeaVisionBurma]

Jolibee is the national food!

Ha! Forgot about Jolibee

[Travel2003]

I believe the best Filipino food one can get is in restaurants where they serve western food, but also has a selection of local food.

The local food is normally based upon the same ingredients as the main menu is, and need to meet the same standard.

[moe666]

I stayed at my relatives house 4 years ago and we ate a lot of losers from the cock ring. They also killed a pig weekly for a big barbque. No were as good as Thai home cooking especially mote and eggs

[Eesat]

Have been numerous of times to the Philippines, and never seen TGIF.

Have seen basically all the other international (and American) food chains.

Including regional ones.

The Pinoys/Pinays are getting fat fat fat fast.

The fast food there is like injecting drugs into a country.

It is nothing less than amazing to see the outlets filled by office staff during lunch hours, and the families fill them up every evening.

Each and every outlet also has a delivery service of course.

Anyhow, back to their own food.

Not too many tasteful dishes.

I work with many of them, and notice their variety is very slim.

Seem to eat the same again and again.

There's a TGIF smack bang in the middle of Ayala Mall,Cebu.I used to go there every Saturday for a beer or two and watch the world go by.Pretty sure there's at least one in Makati,I think it's near to the Shangri-La although I may be thinking of the Hard Rock Café there?

Someone mentioned the spicy dipping sauces being absent with the seafood but every time I've eaten there's always been one,maybe Visayas is different to Luzon in that respect?

[bri1guy]

Pancit is # 1 its healthy delicious & Cheap.. Plus it can have many options added to your liking , such as other vegies or meats, plus even noodle options..

[Jingthing]

I stayed at my relatives house 4 years ago and we ate a lot of losers from the cock ring.

...

For a moment there I thought this was the gay forum and someone was waxing poetic about their years on Folsom Street ...

[bangkokburning]

When you guys describe a "good" Philippine it's either bbq meat or meat grilled over a spit.

There really is no street food culture. You have shops and stalls.

Cambodian food is much better than Philippine food.

Laotian food is quite dull, but unlike the RP, its homegrown and healthy.

If Filipinos could eat at Jollibee every day a happy nation they would be.

I think they are allergic to vegetables.