9 Interesting Facts You Need To Know About Food in The Philippines
1 – Sweet and Sour Flavor Profile in Filipino Cuisine The two distinct taste profiles that we immediately noticed in the food in the Philippines, are sugary sweet and vinegary sour. 2 – Pork Dominates The Philippines Cuisine The Philippines is a meat loving country and pork seems to dominate. At any party, event or fiesta, “lechon” will be the star. 3 – No Knives, Just a Spoon and Fork to Enjoy Food in The Philippines When it is time to eat, you will find just a spoon and fork next to your plate. Filipino’s don’t use knives to eat. Instead, they push the food using the fork onto the spoon and “shovel” it into their mouths. 4 – Everything At Once, No Course Menus Be it at a restaurant or a local eatery, dishes are presented a la carte or in pots in front of you to choose from. Rarely will you see the food separated by appetizers or starters and main meals. 5 – Dinning Takes Place In The Malls Malls in the Philippines do not only provide retail therapy, they are also centers for socializing, entertainment and dining. 6 – Filipino Cuisine Would Not Be Complete Without Merienda Filipinos love Merienda or “snacks in between meals”. The perfect excuse to eat several times during the day. In the Philippines, there are typically two meriendas. One in the late morning, and the other one in the afternoon. 7- No Culture Of Lingering Over Meals So far, as we have observed, Filipinos don’t have a culture of sitting and lingering over meals for a long time. 8 – Food In The Philippines Is Not Very Vegetarian Friendly 9 – Food in the Philippines Influenced By Multiple Cultures As we made our way through the country discovering the food in the Philippines, one thing that struck us was the complexity of the Filipino cuisine. The food has been shaped by Chinese, Malaysian, Spanish, Indian and Western influences. In addition, each region and island has adopted their own unique cooking style.
