Hi Sundae Girl. Listen, Filipino food is not for the faint of heart and stomach. If you thought the food served on Fear Factor was bad, you have not dared to try eating the local Filipino delicacies like Dinuguan (pork blood with pork entrails like liver and spleen) which are usually served to guests at home in a formal meal setting. There is also Kilawin (spleen stir fried with white raddish).
If you get hungry for a snack in the street, there is always Adiddas ( grilled chicken feet), Bituka ng manok (Grilled chicken intestines), Grilled pork blood, Fried chicken bottoms/ tails, and the ever popular Balut (unsuccessfully hatched chicken eggs steamed to become soupy), Let's not forget the Penoy (duck egg fried in an orange batter and dipped in chili vinegar). that's just the tip of the "street food" iceberg. In fact, there are 2 streets in Manila, Quiapo and Blumentritt, that are lined with vendors and their pushcarts hawking the above wares. These 2 places would be the place to go to get the best pictures of local street food and more. both places are about an hour or 2 away from Makati. Provided your driver knows where to go.
If you are in the mood for local rice soup, you can always try the pushcarts in Blumentritt and try the Lugao (sticky rice) with pork or beef intestines. Another place to get good pictures of people enjoying a street meal is the local wet market. They have food stalls there that serve stuff even I don't recognize. But the people there eat with gusto anyway.
I could go on and on about the local street food but I warn anyone who wishes to try it, proceed with caution. These foods are not exactly cooked under the most hygenic circumstances. The food is cooked in the middle of the street and tends to soak up the pollution from the passing cars. The ones served at the local wet market are somewhat cleaner but then the air is not that good to breath as you have to figure out what that scent in the air is. Ameboiasis and Hepatitis are a real threat when ingesting these foods.
The places and food I mentioned above will never be found in the Makati area. Makati is an expat district and the government wants them to think that the country is all lollipops and roses. The places I told you about are the places the government wishes would get swallowed up by a typhoon one time. It is an embarassment to them and they would rather sweep it under the rug. I can get pictures of these places for anybody who wants to see it. The things I mentioned above usually make it to CNN as part of a special report on the hardships of Filipino living documentaries. You will have to see it with your own eyes to believe such foods are eaten by human beings. Usually, the street food is eaten by people who can't afford anything else.
To eat the best of the HEALTHY local food like various sinigang (sour soup) dishes, pinakbet (Mixed Filipino vegetables in coconut cream) and local ensiladas (salads), it would be best to ask your host family to prepare a meal for you or trek to the local Barrio Fiesta or Kamayan restaurant. These 2 restaurants serve the best of Home Filipino cooking in a Fiesta atmosphere. Those restaurants are frequently visited by the tourists and expats. That I would highly recommend.
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Originally Posted by Sundae Girl
Can you take some pictures of street food vendors? And markets...?
Partly because I like looking at other people's dinner, but also because I think the way people cook & sell food is a good introduction to their culture.
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