PhilippinesWhat to eat in Philippines: top 10 dishes
Traveling to Philippines? These are the ten dishes it is best known for, from everyday staples to festive classics, with a short background and a tip on where and when to eat each one. Ranked by how widely they are known around the world.
01Adobo
Adobo is a popular Filipino dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine. In its base form, meat, seafood, or vegetables are first browned in oil, and then marinated and simmered in vinegar, salt and/or soy sauce, and garlic.
Travel tip A home-cooking staple found in almost every restaurant serving Filipino food. It is usually eaten with plenty of rice.
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02Banana ketchup
Banana ketchup, also known as banana sauce (in export markets), is a Philippine fruit ketchup condiment made from banana, sugar, vinegar, and spices. Its natural color is brownish-yellow but it is often dyed red to resemble tomato ketchup.
Travel tip Sold in bottles at supermarkets and used as a table condiment. It is commonly served with fried foods, eggs and spaghetti or hot dogs.
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03Halo-halo
Halo-halo is a cold dessert in the Philippines made with crushed ice, evaporated milk or sometimes coconut milk, and flavoring such as ube jam (ube halaya), sweetened kidney beans or garbanzo beans, coconut strips, sago, gulaman (agar), pinipig, boiled taro…
Travel tip A popular dessert in hot weather, sold at snack shops, dessert counters and restaurants. Mix everything together with your spoon before eating, as the name suggests.
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04Nata de coco
Nata de coco, also marketed as coconut gel, is a chewy, translucent, jelly-like food produced by the fermentation of coconut water, which gels through the production of microbial cellulose by Komagataeibacter xylinus.
Travel tip Eaten as a chewy topping in desserts, drinks and fruit salads, and sold in jars in markets. It is lightly sweet and usually served chilled.
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05Pandesal
Pandesal, also written as pan de sal or pandisal (Spanish: pan de sal, lit. "bread of salt" “hot bread”), is a staple bread roll in the Philippines commonly eaten for breakfast. It is made of flour, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt.
Travel tip Bought fresh from neighborhood bakeries in the morning, often still warm. It is eaten at breakfast with butter, cheese, or coffee.
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07Sisig
Sisig ( Tagalog pronunciation: ['sisig]) is a Filipino dish made from pork jowl and ears (maskara), which is usually seasoned with calamansi, onions, and chili peppers. It originates from the Pampanga region in Luzon. Sisig is a staple of Kapampangan cuisine.
Travel tip Often served sizzling on a hot plate in casual eateries and bars. It is a popular pairing with cold beer.
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08Puto
Puto is a Filipino steamed rice cake, traditionally made from slightly fermented rice dough (galapong). It is eaten as is or as an accompaniment to a number of savoury dishes (most notably, dinuguan).
Travel tip Sold at markets and street stalls and often served at celebrations. It is eaten as a snack, or alongside savory dishes.
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09Afritada
Afritada is a Philippine dish consisting of chicken, or pork braised in tomato sauce with carrots, potatoes, and red and green bell peppers. It is served on white rice and is a common Filipino meal. It can also be cooked with seafood.
Travel tip A common home-cooked dish, eaten with white rice for lunch or dinner. You will also see it in casual eateries that serve ready-made dishes.
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10Champorado
Champorado or tsampurado is a sweet chocolate rice porridge in Filipino cuisine.
Travel tip Typically eaten for breakfast or merienda, especially on rainy days. A well-known local pairing is salty dried fish on the side.
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