Live in the Philippines

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Food. Glorious food? Maybe not!

Food/Drink / by

Not long ago, John Grant had an article on this site entitled “Food glorious food.” Well, let’s talk about food today!

In his article, John spoke in anticipation of a number of British goodies that his friend Steve is sending him in a Balikbayan Box. John just can’t wait to bite into some of those British foods that he misses so dearly.

However, what about foods from the Philippines? Isn’t John happy with the choices that he has here? Do you follow the Video Blog? If so, you will be aware that I have been running a series of 6 Videos of Bizarre Foods of the Philippines.

How bizarre are they?

How about balut?

Chicken intestines?

Live worms?

Deep fried whole baby chickens?

Ice cream on a hamburger bun?

These and many other Philippine Culinary treats await you in the LiP Video Blog, so head over and watch the videos that are already posted.

I have one request, though, come back here and tell me what you think, which items you would eat, or which you have already eaten!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ha ha that's agood one, Bob. In Pampanga, a province noted for good living and good food I've been to a restaurant with deep freid crickets and deep freid whole frogs on the menu. I baulked at the crickets but tried the frogs … wasn't anyhting like well prepared frog's legs in the French style, the frogs were small with little meat on the bones and over-cooked so there was little taste.

    I'm well liked at family dining affairs becuase I prefer the white meat on chicken or turkey and I don't like the fatty parts of pork … sometimes the cultures compliment … I'll leave the worms to someone else, though.

  2. Hi Dave Starr – Yep, I'll leave the live worms for somebody else too! 😆 I have eaten frogs here, and like you say, they were way overcooked, dry, and tasteless. I used to really enjoy frog legs when I lived in Louisiana too! 😉 I've eaten other exotic foods here too. Anaconda snake being one. Hmm… what else. Well, some would consider durian pretty exotic too. 😯

  3. Hey Bob

    Interesting (or not) tidbit. I once got a T Shirt for eating 6 Balut when I was in a rather "Seedy" part of the RP. It is was a very nice shirt that said "I Suck Balut" and it had a picture of a baby duck sitting in a half egg shell. I tended to fancy the Chicken Heads on a stick better than Balut.

    For now its just another thing on the to do list when I return to the RP,
    earn another T Shirt. Perhaps Bob you will be able to point me in the right direction for my quest when I visit there.

  5. Bob,

    Now that would make some entertaining footage.

    "So let it be written So let it be Done"

  7. Wow Bob, now you have listed that fine menu above I can confirm…….I will be ordering MORE from UK. 😀

  10. Hi Paul – Ha ha.. I just thought of something:

    There are two distinct groups of people after watching the videos

    Group 1 is Homesick and Hungry.

    Group 2 is Sick and won't be able to eat for the rest of the day!

    😆

  11. Ice cream on a bun, bizarre? C'mon now Bob? What's next spaghetti w/ rice or pancit w/ rice. 😯

    There's cable show that's devoted to Bizarre Foods. For some reason, he went to all of Asia but skipped the Phil. Bakit kaya? Either we are redundant w/ the rest of indochinese cuisine or ours is too bizarre for the show, what do you guys think?

  12. The first time my hubby ate balut with matching lambanog..he gone crazy.dancing in the middle of the street .and forgot the rest of the world. 😆 .Ask him if he ever eaten balut..His reply..Who me..ahh NEvah….makes me wonder which one does a gastronomical effect the lambanog or the balut 😉

  13. Hi Bob,

    I really enjoyed the videos of bizarre foods in Philippines, and I guess I am one that is looking forward to trying them. Not sure I will enjoy them, but I have told Rose when I get to Maasin City, I am willing to try all of there local cuisine. I just told her.."not to get mad at me if I make funny faces after trying them "…she said thats ok…lol.
    Rose also told me the other day, her neighbor killed large snake, she called it a python, but not sure what kind it was, and she tried it and thought it was not too good. It was first time she had snake and told me it isn't too often they get big snake like that in her town.
    Here in FLorida, where my parents live in Sebastian, Florida the next town to them is Fellsmere, and they have a Froglegs Festival each year and is very tasty treats to be had, and lots of fun..like a small carnival, and of course we have alligator to be eaten here too…but like everyone says..it tastes just like chicken to me…lol
    Thanks again,
    Danny 😉

  14. Bob: Here's my top 10…my travel with work to other parts of Asia has included the following (number one was the worst…)
    1. Monkey Penis Soup (Shi Dao, China)… Didn't taste, just swallowed.
    2. Stir fried fruit bat (Sibu, Malaysia). Meat was black in color… I gagged and fed the rest to the cats under the table. The Malaysians found it amusing, at least.
    3. Braised stork kidneys (Guangzhou, China) Tasted like a very ripe duck.
    4. Barbequed Scorpions (Dalian, China)… Chinese colleagues dared me after a bottle of sake… Tasted crunchy. On sticks over a wood fire.
    5. Live octopus sashimi (Ulsan, Korea). The damn thing was still wiggling and stuck to my tongue. Didn't taste bad, but i prefer my food killed first. Sake made the suckers let go. Dipping it in lots of chile paste also helped.
    6. Dog stew (Seoul, Korea). Gamey tasting beef.did not have the aphrodesiac qualities the Koreans claimed, but rather the opposite effect.
    7. Horse fondue (Bruges, Belgium) tasted like beef… Really not bad.
    8. Angules (Eel fry marinated in Chiles… Matamoros, Mexico). Crunchy… The eyes popped when chewed. Tequila helped.
    9. Hakarl (Fermented shark, Reykjavik, Iceland). By fermented i mean buried in the beach sand for two months. Tasted like i just drank a bottle of ammonia. It's a macho thing, typically followed by a chaser of Brennevin (caraway flavoured grain alcohol, about 170 proof)
    10.Sauteed kangaroo, Perth, Australia. Tasted sort of like venison, but ripe venison. Not too bad.

    That list aside, Rebecca has been waiting for me to eat Balut with her brothers. After the list above, i think I'll be ok, but will just tell myself that it's only meat. I still can't stomach the Filipino style spaghetti… Not my taste, the chicken feet? No problem. As long as they don't put mayo on hot dogs like in South America.the videos were really "true to life"… One experience at a time, please.

  15. Hi Roy – That guy is going to have to make a return trip, because he missed out on doing some great TV!!!

  17. Hi Danny – You are in for a treat when you come! Ha ha…

    I have eaten several kinds of snake, and they were all pretty good, I'd say.

  18. Hi John Miele – Wow, you have eaten some gastronomic delights ( ❓ ) my friend! Whenever the day comes that I get to meet you, I will certainly bow down to you, because you have me beat by a mile! Number one alone is further than I'm willing to go! 😯

  19. Bob

    I don't mean to barge in on Jocelyn.
    I drank the stuff lambanog, it is kind of like Tuba its pretty strong but I dont remember what is is made from ❓

  20. Hi Neal in RI – Generally speaking, I don't drink much. I have tried tuba, though and didn't really care for it much. I'll be waiting for a further explanation from Jocelyn! Thanks for jumping in with that info.

  21. Hi Bob , before beinga chef in Holland i worked on a cruise ship from the Holland Americ Lina yhat makes a 8 moths during trip around the world.
    So you can say i saw it all.
    Horse meat [ beaf or sausage ] we have in Holland but myfamily does not like it.
    When in Spain a eat a kind of stew , tast good but funny so i asked
    and it was all the inner [ intestines ] of a bull.
    I Thailand a had a BBQ tast a little sweet [ it was dog ]
    In France i had snails in garlic ,
    and frog legs.
    I,m not realy fond of those things.
    But when we are in a big town we allways go to the market to tast
    " normal " food.
    We where on markets in
    London [ England ] Frankfurt [ Germany ] Bangkok [ Thailand ]
    Kuala Lumpur [ Malaisia ] Paris [ France ] New York [ America ]
    Barcelona [ Spain ] Brussel [ Belgium ] and of course several in the Philippines.
    And i must say , i like a lot of things ,
    but not realy the " funny things " but you not allways know .
    Gr.Anton

  22. Hi Anton – It sounds like you've tasted a few foreign dishes yourself! Hmm… maybe not so good, though! 😆

  23. #11 Roy
    Last year sometime I saw Bizarre Foods and he was in the Philippines. He ate a lot of different things, but the one thing he couldn't eat was . . . . . durian. He tried but couldn't do it.
    Danny Thompson

  24. hi sir bob! what about Dinuguan? have you ever try it? it was a black color food which is made of blood ( a pig blood) and also include their pork intestine or pork meat. it taste good too for the Filipinos. Maybe maam Feyma can explain you more about Dinuguan.

  25. To Danny,

    I saw the episode that he didn't eat Durian but it was not in the Philippines. He was in Thailand or the rest of Indochinese peninsula.

    I wished he were in the Phil so we could profit fr whatever publicity it may bring. But he was not.

    Roy

  26. Hi Bob,

    Some of you Westerner guys are just "gutless" compared to Asian guys –sorry! 🙄 When newly married, I thought I was showing off my cooking expertise to my husband. I marinated Bangos to barbecue when we get to the beach one Sunday afternoon. When my husband opened the pan to start the barbecue he said, “Oh no, I can’t do this, they are staring at me!” 😆

  27. Hi Dempz – I don't need to ask Feyma about that, because I know what dinuguan is, and I have already eaten it before. I didn't care for it, but I did try it.

  28. Hi MarcelinaWW – Hmm… well, personally I don't think that the "gutless" comment is really necessary. 👿 I know that whenever I eat western foods, there are plenty of Filipinos that look at it, make a funny face, and refuse to even try it. I wouldn't say it makes them gutless though! 🙄

  31. Hi Bob And Neal in RI. My major motivation for visiting the Philippines is that I wont be able to purchase a "T" shirt that says I did something in the RP that everyone else has done, ie bungy jumped ,jet skiied or eaten balut, but have the knowledge thaty I am still doing something that is fairly uniquie as a travel experience , and can dream that ultimately will be with you guys one day in PARADISE!

  34. A couple of drinks,; and I am thinking of banana cue or , halo halo, or even a little pig intestine soup..(yes I like) etc . You guys are making me envious !!!

  35. Hi anthony – Oh boy… I think you are really missing the Philippines! Did you get your banana cue or halo halo fix last night? 😆

  36. No banana cue or halo halo, but had tosino and rice for lunch today at work. My fellow employees are always envious of the lunches my wife prepares, which always reminds my of how lucky I am to be married to such a beautiful and fantastic lady.

    I guess I am not telling you guys anthing new as we have already discovered paradise, even if we are not living there!!

  37. I miss Balut and I have had the chicken intestines, they're not bad. As for the rest of it haven't tried it yet. Interesting thing… there's a guy on Discovery Channel back here in the States that makes a point of traveling the world and eating weird foods. The only food he ever spit out? Durian… hahahahahaha. I love Durian so I was laughing so hard. Hey Bob, don't forget Soup Number 5… Beef Penis soup.

  38. Hi Anthony – Yep, I agree with you, I'm also one of the lucky ones!

    Hi BrSpiritus – I am not a fan….. When it comes to Durian, though… I love it too! Haven't tried Soup #5 yet…

  39. G'day Bob..regards to the lambanog you asking..i guess they call lambanog in Bisaya as Banja or baha something like that..Anyway here some regards to it.

    Lambanog” is the Filipino term for wine that is locally produce from some 100% natural sources. Such examples of natural sources of lambanog are sugar cane, coconut, rice, and “sasa”, a member of the family of palm similar to coconut tree but commonly grow in areas near rivers and swamps.

    The lambanog from Infanta and Polilio Area came from the juice of “sasa” which is called “tuba”. “Tuba” contain small amount of alcohol such that a 30 gallons of it can produce 5 gallons of more or less 30% alcohol of wine or lambanog. The fist few liters of “Tuba” which came from “sasa” tastes sweet and can be cooked to produce a honey. “Tuba” can also be fermented such that it became a vinegar. But the main product of tuba is wine or lambanog.

    Now a days you'll find in the suprmarket some commercial lambanog and my husband said it's good. There are some wiith flavor but he likes
    the none flavor…no harm to give it a try.. 🙂

  40. Hi Jocelyn – Thanks for the additional info! It sounds like what they would call "Tuba" here. Maybe I'll try it sometime! 😯

  41. yeesh… before you know it somebody'll be putting hot dogs in spaghetti and serving it with a side of fried chicken.

    now, that would be weird.