As both a former Spanish and American colony, The Philippine Islands have quite an eclectic hodgepodge of foods available on the menu – everything ranging from American classics to traditional Spanish dishes with a native Filipino twist on them. Even well-known chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King will offer items not seen in their native locations, so while the usual strategy of staying with local-only restaurants and street vendors does make a little sense overall...a try or two of familiar brands is warranted.
The best green tea variety available: plum green tea; also sold in Asian and international grocery stores in America…Strange flavor only available in The Philippines…Chicharon Bulaklak, fried pork intestine…this sounds gross but is somehow absolute fried crispy pork perfection…Pancit bihon…Soy sauce is served in a plastic bag for takeout orders…San Miguel Light…Horse meat, garlic rice, and egg…Halo halo; Philippine ice cream-type dish…Pancit bihon…Corned beef, tocino pork, garlic rice, and egg; corned beef is a staple in The Philippine Islands, just as it is in many Commonwealth nations…Lechon and rice…Jollibee fried chicken; the Jollibee brand is a national favorite in The Philippines, and even has some presence in US, in cities having sufficient Filipino populations with which to support it; as of December 2018, Jollibee also owns 100% of the US Smashburger chain…One surprising option on the Jollibee menu is the Steak Burger, which is similar to a Salisbury steak, topped with a mushroom gravy…you also will see tons and tons of brown gravy in PH as it comes with every serving of fried chicken…The Korean chain BonBchon is also present in The Philippine Islands, and unlike some locations, it actually has a good seafood selection on the menu – including fish, shrimp, and squid; beware of the spicy flavor as it is absolute FIRE…Pork feet, pork limpio, and pork lechon – all Philippines pork staples…Mountain Dew with seemingly the same ingredients as its US counterpart; some countries have slightly different recipes or sweetener substitutes which cause the flavor to be off (Korea); The Philippine Islands’ Mt Dew doesn’t disappoint, and it comes in a glowing neon bottle as well…Royal Crown Cola, one of American’s traditional brands that has – over time – fallen out of commercial favor in the US; this brand sells strongly in The Philippines however, as it is usually priced just under Coca Cola’s premium…Mogu Mogu has flavored juices with coconut jelly dispersed in each bottle; these juices are excellent and would do well in the US market; Anton vodka is a steal at 150 Philippine pesos, or basically $3 for each 700ml bottle (@ 80 proof); just about every BBQ street stand or even grocery store has marinated pork on skewers ready for cooking…American food is readily available; including BBQ baby back pork ribs, burgers, and even the – sometimes elusive in the US – fried Monte Cristo sandwich…If you can find these in the US’ Asian or international grocery stores you have to try them; the key is to separate the noodles from the water and THEN mix with the flavoring packets – don’t eat these as a soup…BBQ marinated pork, Filipino longganisa sausage, crispy pork pata…Pancit bihon…The room service menu in your hotel will vary but may include a specialty such as the Parmesan-stuffed fish and chips – an absolutely massive serving of cod or cod-like whitefish stuffed with Parmesan cheese and served with skinny french fries…Yes, Pizza Hut is a thing in The Philippines…Even what appears to be a meat lovers pizza tastes wildly different than the American counterpart, this must be a result of sourcing ingredients locally instead of shipping everything from the US…Just as in the America, Pizza Hut also offers many non-pizza options, but once again, they don’t taste like what you find on the menu in the US…Chicharon bulaklak…Fried grasshoppers…Pancit bihon, lechon, and kinilaw – a raw seafood dish similar to ceviche; probably one of the healthiest non-pork and non-fried dishes in PH, but beware because sometimes it’s spicy as hell…Crispy beef bulalo, fried tilapia, chili cheese sticks, and some sort of fried rice; the cheese sticks were the closest thing to Texas food yet seen in PH, but the bulalo is a Filipino staple that you have to try – both in its crispy form and as a soup; the soup has more of the marrow flavor imparted…Filipino style corned beef, bitter mellon and eggs, and American/western style corned beef and rice; the Filipino style corned beef is vastly different than its western counterpart and may be off-putting to Americans, however PH has plenty of American style corned beef available due to the high numbers of Phil-Ams…For the most part you won’t see too many actual stove-top/ovens in The Philippines; usually there is just a hot plate to cook on, a microwave to heat things up with, and no oven at all (there is sometimes a small toaster though); really, this is more efficient than the traditional stove/oven seen in nearly all residences in the US…Jollibee’s Jollidog…El Hombre – an 80 proof tequila tasting liquor that is usually about 200 (~$4 USD) pesos per 700ml bottle…Freshly cooked tuna at the top center; fresh caught and cooked tuna redefines the food entirely as it has a whole new level of tenderness as compared to any frozen or canned varieties available in the States…Even though it’s a Japanese sounding name, the Filipino brand of Oishi has amazing prawn-flavored cracker/chips…Lengua Estofado (ox tongue), calamari, and Caesar salad…Kentucky Fried Chicken also has some things not on the US menu such as the chicken chicharrones (just fried chicken skin) on the bottom right…Grilled squid…The storied Filipino rum Tanduay can trace its roots back to the early to mid 1800’s…Caesar salad and pancit, the only problem is the French dressing…Called balut in The Philippines and trứng vịt lộn in Việt Nam, the cooked fertilized bird egg is a popular street food in both countries…Sometimes prepared with chicken eggs and sometimes duck eggs, the taste is similar to a soup of sorts with a mild umami flavor…The embryo inside has noticeably developed features and everything from beak, to feet, to tiny hair-like feathers can be discerned…The white portion of the egg is nearly inedible and consumption of it is neither normal nor recommended…The bird and the yolk are the parts intended to be eaten with the yolk having a slightly different taste than that of a plain boiled egg; salt and vinegar are common pairings…Available at the native Jollibee and surprisingly at chains such as McDonald’s, spaghetti is ubiquitous in The Philippine Islands and is actually quite good to the point where it becomes a wonder why it’s not served in fast food locations in the US…Similar to some other Pacific Island nations such as Hawaii, SPAM has cemented its place in the Filipino diet and for good reason – the taste…
