Whenever people I know return from a trip, one of the first things they always talk about is the food. Famous restaurants, quality of the hotel breakfast, unique street vendors, and local specialties all contribute to the memories of time spent in a new place.
People around the world also get excited about sharing their regional specialties when they have guests visiting from out of town. As a globe trotter who always interacts with locals, I have had countless experiences where I have been forced to try new foods.
This can be awkward in some places since I am such a picky eater and I hate to offend anyone. In the Philippines, however, it is an amazing adventure.
The team really tested my comfort zone from the beginning, when they introduced me to balut. This local delicacy is so (in)famous that even CNN did an article about it. Balut is a fertilized duck egg that is hard-boiled and served in the evening. I was told that it is also an aphrodisiac, although that fact does nothing to help me since I am always alone at night!
I requested that someone else join me in this culinary pursuit and I ended up with a small audience to enjoy my reaction! Here's what happened...
Step #1: Crack the shell and suck out some of the embryonic fluid. (I'm already regretting this).
Step #2: Remove more of the shell and add some salt.
Step #3: Close your eyes and take a bite. Wait, close my eyes? I couldn't help but dissect the egg. Big mistake!
The Director of Finance saw the fear on my face, so she said: "Just close your eyes and don't think about it." ...and that's exactly what I did. What did it taste like? Hard boiled egg yolk.
The next day at lunch, the waiter suggested I try "halo-halo" as a local dessert. I thought to myself: "Hey, it's dessert...how bad can it be?" Two minutes later, he arrived with the most colorful cup of stuff I have ever seen. I didn't take a picture, but I found one on the Internet:
That night, I went to dinner at a restaurant called Mesa in the Makati area of the city. Mesa serves lots of local fare, so I left the decisions up to the locals (they even ordered in tagalog so I had no clue what was about to come out). Before I knew it, the table was filled with enough food to feed a family of six.
The fusion of foods was quite impressive. Glutinous rice with coconut milk wrapped in a banana leaf, giant squid stuffed with beef and deep-fried, tofu topped with century egg and baby prawns, and chicken adobo were just some of the items on the table. My personal favorite, however, was called "pritchon". It is a roasted pig that is sliced table-side and wrapped in crepes. It reminded me very much of peking duck but with pork instead. Of course I had to be a tourist and take a picture of the pre-sliced pig.
People around the world also get excited about sharing their regional specialties when they have guests visiting from out of town. As a globe trotter who always interacts with locals, I have had countless experiences where I have been forced to try new foods.
This can be awkward in some places since I am such a picky eater and I hate to offend anyone. In the Philippines, however, it is an amazing adventure.
The team really tested my comfort zone from the beginning, when they introduced me to balut. This local delicacy is so (in)famous that even CNN did an article about it. Balut is a fertilized duck egg that is hard-boiled and served in the evening. I was told that it is also an aphrodisiac, although that fact does nothing to help me since I am always alone at night!
I requested that someone else join me in this culinary pursuit and I ended up with a small audience to enjoy my reaction! Here's what happened...
Step #1: Crack the shell and suck out some of the embryonic fluid. (I'm already regretting this).
Step #2: Remove more of the shell and add some salt.
 |
| Afraid of what is under this shell! |
Step #3: Close your eyes and take a bite. Wait, close my eyes? I couldn't help but dissect the egg. Big mistake!
 |
| This is frightening! |
The Director of Finance saw the fear on my face, so she said: "Just close your eyes and don't think about it." ...and that's exactly what I did. What did it taste like? Hard boiled egg yolk.
The next day at lunch, the waiter suggested I try "halo-halo" as a local dessert. I thought to myself: "Hey, it's dessert...how bad can it be?" Two minutes later, he arrived with the most colorful cup of stuff I have ever seen. I didn't take a picture, but I found one on the Internet:
 |
| The rainbow of all desserts is right here in the Philippines... |
The best way to eat this hodge-podge of a dessert is to stir everything together. What's in it? Crushed ice, different colored jellies, evaporated milk, purple Ube (yam flavored) ice-cream, dried fruits, a variety of beans, and other things I couldn't even recognize. The occasional bite of chickpea was a bit strange but the overall mix of flavors and textures was really enjoyable.
That night, I went to dinner at a restaurant called Mesa in the Makati area of the city. Mesa serves lots of local fare, so I left the decisions up to the locals (they even ordered in tagalog so I had no clue what was about to come out). Before I knew it, the table was filled with enough food to feed a family of six.
The fusion of foods was quite impressive. Glutinous rice with coconut milk wrapped in a banana leaf, giant squid stuffed with beef and deep-fried, tofu topped with century egg and baby prawns, and chicken adobo were just some of the items on the table. My personal favorite, however, was called "pritchon". It is a roasted pig that is sliced table-side and wrapped in crepes. It reminded me very much of peking duck but with pork instead. Of course I had to be a tourist and take a picture of the pre-sliced pig.
 |
| Here's a picture of the poor little piggy. |
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| Here's what the table looked like (the pritchon was in the center) |
The final local dish that's worthy of mentioning in this blog post is a breakfast item called "taho", which my office-mate shared with me one morning. As per usual, the initial sight was a little off-putting because it is basically just a cup of dark brown liquid with floating tapioca balls and another unidentified white substance.
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| here's what taho looks like |
She described it as a "soy-based drink", which made me expect something really salty (thinking the dark liquid was soy sauce). Instead, it's actually quite sweet because the liquid is a brown sugar syrup and the white stuff is actually the soy she mentioned (silken tofu). I'm sure there are lots of calories hidden in this mysterious drink but I bet it is also a really good source of protein to start the day.
Overall, I think the food here is really exciting and it reflects the dynamic history of the country. Throughout my stay, I have experienced a nice fusion of food, from Chinese to Spanish. I may not always be the most eager person to try unusual foods when I travel but I am glad that I stretched outside my comfort zone and experienced so many interesting things. Now, just like so many of my "foodie" friends, I will always associate my trip to Manila with amazing culinary delights.
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