Philippines: Food and Dining

Dining in the Philippines is a gourmet adventure and the variety of food evokes words such as succulent, exotic, tangy, spicy, sweet, sour, colourful and plentiful. You can always find excellent food whether it's from a cramped sidewalk stall (kainan), or a posh restaurant, for the diversity of Filipino cultures is echoed in the variety of ingredients and cooking styles.

Rice is the staple, although foreign recipes have become a regular practice in food preparation.

Coconut milk or gata is often used as an ingredient and popular dishes are lumpia (rolls) and pancit (noodles).

The most famous dish is lechon (roast pig) and because of its vast coastlines, the Philippines also has an abundance of excellent seafood. Most restaurants offer seafood cooked one way or another, the most popular being the broiled inihaw. Other dishes include shrimp, rock lobster, crab, oysters, squid and fish.

To cap a sumptuous meal there is a wide variety of desserts from fresh fruits to baked sweets.

Philippines: Entertainment

Entertainment often follows a good meal. In Metro Manila there are nightly showbands, a wide range of music from pop, jazz, rock, even Broadway and in some places bands of local singers play original Filipino music.

Travel Quotes:

One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more. Thomas Jefferson

Just got back from a pleasure trip: I took my mother-in-law to the airport. Henny Youngman

Philippine Cuisine Island Philippines

Dishes range from the very simple, like a meal of fried salted fish and rice, to the elaborate paellas and cocidos created for fiestas, of Spanish origin. Popular dishes include: lechón (whole roasted pig), longganisa (Philippine sausage), tapa (cured beef), torta (omelette), adobo (chicken and/or pork braised in garlic, vinegar, oil and soy sauce, or cooked until dry), kaldereta (meat in tomato sauce stew), mechado (larded beef in soy and tomato sauce). More details at Philippine Cuisine Island Philippines

About Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Repúblika ng Pilipinas), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea.