Philippines cooking is influenced by Chinese, Malay and Spanish. It is customary to use the head and guts of pigs and calves in various preparations of garlic and vinegar. In the Philippines, pecks at any time of day in the taverns where meals are served on a banana leaf or in self-services called turo-turo (“show, show”).

Rice is the staple food, it is served with toppings such as chicken, fish, shrimp or pork. The fish sauce is called bagoong here and the coconut milk to own Malay cuisine is very present, like lumpia (spring rolls) and pansit (noodles) from China. The suckling pig (lechon) roast is the most famous dish of the country, despite its Spanish name, it was introduced by the Chinese. The Spanish contribution comes from the adobo, menudo and the mechado (spicy meat stew), and the pochero or stew.

The fish is present in almost every meal. The lapu-lapu, the state fish, named after the local chief who killed Magellan in Cebu, is red and boneless. Among the ways to prepare meats are those that most flatter your palate, especially for seafood and shellfish, preferably eaten cooked. Tuna is a specialty of Mindanao (you eat from head to tail).

We eat fried sago starch in pellets or as sticky to accompany the meal as well as rice or noodles. The sago flour rich in starch, is made with marrow of the sago palm. Mixed with water, sago flour is consumed in the form of fried patties. Boiled, it forms a thick soup.

Tables of the Philippines are often equipped with a turntable allowing guests easy access to food. You eat with plates, spoons, forks and knives.