Filipino food

Quick answer

• The national favourite: adobo, meat stewed in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and bay leaf.
• For a feast: lechon, a whole roast pig with crackling skin.
• The flavour: sour notes from vinegar, calamansi and tamarind, balanced with salty and sweet.
• Eat like a local: at a carinderia (a small eatery with dishes on display) or a boodle fight, a shared meal on banana leaves eaten by hand.
• Dessert: halo-halo, shaved ice with sweet beans, fruit, jelly and leche flan.

Filipino food is a mix of Malay, Chinese, Spanish and American influences, cooked with local ingredients. It loves sour flavours (vinegar, calamansi, tamarind) set against salty and sweet, and it is meant to be shared. Rice comes with almost everything, including breakfast.

15 dishes to try

1. Adobo. Chicken or pork stewed in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and bay leaf. Every family has its own version.
2. Sinigang. A sour tamarind soup with pork, shrimp or fish and vegetables.
3. Lechon. Whole roast pig with glassy, crackling skin. Cebu’s version is famous.
4. Sisig. Chopped pork, onion and chilli on a sizzling plate, often topped with an egg. From Pampanga.
5. Kare-kare. Oxtail and vegetables in a peanut sauce, eaten with salty shrimp paste (bagoong).
6. Bulalo. Beef shank and marrow soup, a favourite in cool Tagaytay.
7. Kinilaw. Raw fish cured in vinegar or calamansi with ginger and onion.
8. Pancit. Noodles in many regional styles, served at birthdays for long life.
9. Lumpia. Spring rolls, fried (lumpiang shanghai) or fresh.
10. Chicken inasal. Grilled chicken marinated in calamansi, vinegar and annatto, from Bacolod.
11. Bagnet and empanada. Crisp pork belly and filled pastries from Ilocos. See our Ilocos guide.
12. Bicol express. Pork in coconut milk with plenty of chilli, from Bicol.
13. Tapsilog. Cured beef, garlic fried rice and a fried egg, the classic breakfast.
14. Halo-halo. Shaved ice with sweet beans, fruit, jelly, ube and leche flan.
15. Bibingka and puto bumbong. Rice cakes cooked over coals, best at Christmas.

Where to eat

• Carinderias, small local eateries with dishes on display. Point at what you want.
• Food markets and night markets for grilled skewers and snacks.
• Binondo, Manila’s old Chinatown, for dumplings and noodles. See our Binondo guide.
• A boodle fight, a shared feast on banana leaves eaten by hand.

Tips

• Use the condiments. Tables often have vinegar, soy sauce, calamansi and chillies for a sawsawan (dipping sauce) you mix yourself.
• Try the fruit. Mangoes, especially from Guimaras, are famously sweet.
• Eat with a spoon and fork. The fork pushes food onto the spoon. In some places, eating with your hands is normal.

Restaurants and stalls change. Ask locals for their favourites wherever you are.

Photo gallery

Frequently asked questions

What is the national dish of the Philippines?

There is no official one, but adobo is the dish most Filipinos would name.

Is Filipino food spicy?

Mostly not. It leans sour, salty and sweet. Bicol is the exception, with chilli-rich dishes like Bicol express.

What is a boodle fight?

A shared meal where rice and dishes are laid out on banana leaves along a table and everyone eats with their hands. It comes from military tradition.

Is street food safe?

Busy stalls that cook food fresh and hot are usually a good bet. Drink bottled or filtered water and be careful with ice in remote areas.

What should vegetarians know?

Many dishes contain meat, fish sauce or shrimp paste. Ask for gulay (vegetables) dishes and check what is in the sauce.