A travel can never be as
exciting and enjoyable trip without the tasting the culinary specialty of each
destination. The food is one major factor that affects the total satisfaction
on one's trip.
Here are some of the most popular
street foods you must try when you visit the Philippines!
Taho (Soy Bean Custard). This is one of the favorite and perhaps
the breakfast or snack buddy of children. This street food is popular and sold
every morning while it is hot, the traditional way (although some consume it
cold as a dessert). Taho is a Philippine snack made of fresh soft/silken
tofu, arnibal (caramelized sugar), and sago pearl.
Historically, taho is one of the legacies of the Chinese traders
before the Spanish colonization. Price range from Php5-Php20.
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| Taho (Soy Bean Custard) |
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| Taho (Soy Bean Custard) |
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| Taho with strawberry syrup (available in Baguio City) |
Did you know that Pateros, a highly
urbanized and one of the cities of Metro Manila is dubbed as the "Balut
Capital of the Philippines'? Yes, even the city name 'Pateros" was derived
from its literal meaning 'duck-raise'.
Halo-Halo (Mix-Mix). This street food is
a perfect match to cool the high temperature of summer. You can see
vendors mushroomed in the streets selling their own special version of 'halo
halo' during the warm season in the Philippines, normally from March to
April (though you can buy this refreshment anytime in the Filipino
restaurant inside the mall). Halo-halo, literally means 'mix-mix or mixed
together' is made up of crushed ice, evaporated milk, and lots of sinkers
like gulaman (jellies), corn, beans, candied fruits, and so on and
also floaters like leche flan (sweet custard), ice cream and halayang ube (yam
custard). Price range from Php15-Php30
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| Halo-halo (Mix-mix) |
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| Ingredients of Halo-halo |
Originally, halo-halo is derived from
Japan's dessert called kakigori - a combination of shaved ice and
preserved legumes like mongo and garbanzos beans in a thick syrup. With the
tastes and preferences of the Filipinos, the adapted version from the
Japanese evolved to completely unique, now called the halo-halo.
Did you know that Bicolono has
their own version of halo-halo, it is called guinumis?
Banana Cue. It is a popular and consider as one
of the all-time best selling street food. Normally served as a mid-afternoon
snack. It is made up of peeled whole banana fried in a heated cooking oil and
sprinkled with sugar. Vendors put it on a bamboo stick to be sold and
easily eaten. You can spot babaque not only in the provinces of the
Philippines but also around the streets of Metro Manila. Price range from Php10-Php20
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| Bananacue (deep-fried ripe banana coated with sugar) |
Did you know that Lanao in Mindanao
has its own version of bananaque, called 'ginanggang'? However, the
process of cooking is slightly different as it is grilled on a stick. The
same province celebrates its Ginanggang Festival to honor San Isidro Salvador every
2nd May of the year.
Barbeque. Perhaps the most favorite and most
popular street foods in the Philippines. But mind you, there are wide varieties
of barbecue in the Philippine and the famous of them all is the common pork and
chicken barbecue. But apart from these, the very usual to locals but are
unusual to non-Filipinos which they consider as exotic and disgusting
are isaw (chicken intestine), betamax (coagulated pork or
chicken blood), adidas (chicken feet), helmet (chicken
head), pwet ng manok (chicken ass), walkman (pig
ear) and so on. Each of its kind has its own history and reason why they
are called by its corresponding name. At mid/late afternoon up to
evening, you normally see vendors mushroom in the streets not only in the busy
roads of Metro Manila but also in the rural area of the country. Filipinos eat
barbecue as a snack, part of a meal or as a pulutan (finger food for
alcoholic-drinkers). Price range from Php5-Php20
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| Inihaw (Grilled/Barbecue) |
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| Pork Intestine Barbecue |
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| Walkman (Pork Ear Barbecue) |
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| Pork Meat Barbecue |
Can you guess how many types of
barbecue has the Philippines?
It's for you to find out, visit the
Philippines through Islastory.com.
Kwekkwek and Tokneneng. The very attractive because of its
color and famous street food that most Filipinos crave for. It is made up
of orange batter covered a hard boiled egg and deep-fried until the batter
becomes crispy. These popular street foods are sold in the streets along with
squid balls, fish balls, and kikiam. The only different between the two is
'tokneneng' is made up of quail egg, on the other hand 'kwek kwek' is
a bigger version since it is a chicken or a duck egg. These street foods often
partner with spiced-vinegar dip and cut cucumber. Due to its
similarity, many are being confused which one is tokneneng and kwekkwek. Price range from Php3-Php15
Did you know that word 'tokneneng'
originated from the 1978 Filipino comic series entitled Batute? The main
character, Batute called egg as tokneneng.
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| Kwek-kwek (Deep-fried hard boiled chicken egg coated with orange batter) |
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| Kwek-Kwek and Tokneneng (chicken and quail egg coated with orange batter) |
Dirty Ice Cream or Sorbetes. Like halo-halo, this street food is
a refreshment during the hot summer day, a popular home-made traditional
version of ice cream sold by peddlers in the Philippines. It is made up of
coconut milk which gives a unique blend and flavored with fruits like mango,
avocado, melon, jackfruit, coconut, mongo beans and strawberry. The
other version is the use of carabao's (water buffalo) milk that is why it is
sold cheaper compare to cow's milk (original American version of
ice cream). Usually served with sugar or wafer cone and recently with bread.
Dirty Ice Cream or Sorbetes has been favorite by the children and often
snack before or after waking up from the afternoon siesta.
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| Dirty Ice Cream in Sugar Cone |
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| Dirty ice cream vendor with their cart |
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| Dirty ice cream vendor with their cart |
There are many theories why it is
called dirty ice cream. Some said that it is because of the external appearance
of the street cart, some due to sanitation issue and so on and so forth, but
whatever it is, we cannot deny that fact that this a sweetest relief for a hot
day. Price range from Php10-Php25
Did you know that although the
word sorbetes is most likely a Spanish term, but ice cream
or sorbetes (called in the Philippines) is an American legacy to the
Filipinos?
These are just some of the popular
street foods in the Philippine you should not miss to try on your visit.
Watch out for the next write up about the ISLA STORY SIGNATURE: Eats more
fun in the Philippines! A culinary tour.
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