The Longest Way Home Travel Blog » Great food from around the world

Food in The Philippines: Ube (strange, purple, popular!)

The Longest Way Home — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:10:59 +0000

Ube in The Philippines

Purple Ube Ice Cream! (click to enlarge)

There are many multicolored food stuff’s in The Philippines. In fact, the nation seems to have no regard for the dangers of artificial colorings and additives whatsoever.

However, there is one natural color that keeps popping up everywhere. Including in food. And, that’s the color purple. Most of this comes from Ube.

What is Ube?

Ube is actually a purple yam, or tuber which has streaks of violet / purple running through it.

This natural food is often cooked, smashed and made into many into many different products. Ice cream, cakes, breads, pies can all be Ube flavored. Which in turn, makes them all a bright purple!

The ube yam itself is large, and looks a lot like any yam. But on close inspection you will see some purple hinting on the outside. Cut it open and it’s got more streaks of purple.

What does Ube taste like?

When cooked, it’s no different to any other yam in taste.

When made into an ice cream, it comes out bright purple and tasting … well … like a yam too!

A strange taste that takes a while to comprehend. It’s not overly sweet, and it’s not often you’ll come across yam or potato flavored ice cream.

But, it’s good!

I’ve tasted various Ube flavored food stuffs. None, come close to Ube ice cream. It’s unique to say the least.

Check out this 5 photograph selection of Ube!

(after play, click lower right toolbar above for full screen version – Email/RSS subscribers please go to the live travel blog post to see the video)

Ice cream in the Philippines

And, it’s well needed. Ice cream in The Philippines is a terrible disappointment considering the hot climate. Most of the ice cream comes from generic brands like Nestle, and are packed with sugar and artificial everything.

I don’t know if Ube ice cream also has a lot of colorant in it. I hope not. I know the Nestle one does. But for local versions I am hoping it’s all Ube, but have my doubts and think they add purple to it.

On the streets you can often find local homemade ice cream. Usually frozen ice (not the same), with Durian and chocolate flavors being the most popular. Again, not so good as to be called real ice cream.

What is the best ice cream in the Philippines?

The one saving grace for ice cream in the Philippines is Ube. I’ve seen the locally made version and the generic Nestle version. The local one wins. It’s got a real natural taste to it, and is thick and creamy.

So if you ever find yourself in the Philippines, and see a purple container of ice cream, give it a go! It’ll be different, but strangely good!

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Food in the Philippines

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Food in The Philippines: Ube (strange, purple, popular!)

Food from the Philippines: the night workers street food (Special Edition)

The Longest Way Home — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:11:49 +0000

The day workers night time street food

Super fresh near glow in the dark marinated meat on the barbecue (click to enlarge)

Local street food stalls are certainly good to try out when traveling. There are usually two types:

1) The one locals regularly go to

2) The one setup for the tourist trade. This one often brings in locals looking for a night out too.

But, there is a hidden third option that few people know about. And, it’s one that I usually try to seek out in most big cities around the world.

The local workers street food stall:

Worker buying food at a night market in The Philippines

Find a dock area, a warehouse district, or a city street near store houses and you are sure to find a workers food market. Some only come out at night, some are 24 hours a day.

The workers night street food stalls I visited in The Philippines usually only appear at around 5.30pm. It’s dark at 6.20pm. A whole road is quite often closed off as makeshift tents and rooftop canopies made from plastic sheets are erected in record time.

Next come the charcoal BBQ street food stands. Long thin metal guttering is the norm here. Filled with charcoal they are placed a little away from the main food area.

Sights and smells of the workers street food barbecue:

As night falls the charcoals take on a red glow. Fresh chicken, pork and fish hiss as they are pre cooked over the hot grills. Wafts of flavorsome smoke rise up as the sounds of the working day conclude. Shutters rattle down. Plastic hits cardboard box. And, relaxing sounds of laughter start to emerge.

A days hard work is over. The local workers still have a long journey home, but first they must eat. For eating here is faster, and cheaper than waiting to go home. Though a few do opt for the take away option.

But this is also a good time to discuss the day. How much was made? Who sold what? And, of course, politics.

The street food:

It’s plain and simple, but knocks a local food stall into the gutter for value and sheer taste. Here it’s not so much about being fancy, nor about being artistic in culinary display. It’s about real food that tastes good and is value for money.

Ever been to a local food stall and thought the servings were a bit on the small side? Not here. The workers street food stall serves big, and at nearly half the price.

Small bundles of rice wrapped in coconut leaves

At a local street food stall I would pay 120 pesos for a pork steak that, to be honest, has a lot of fat. Here, I paid 45 pesos ($0.90) for pure meat.

A chicken fillet here, oozes with flavor compared to its drier local street food counterpart. It’s the best chicken I’ve had in the Philippines.

The real people eat here:

Now for the best part. In my experience the middle to upper class of Filipino will not eat here. In fact I’ve had many tell me these places have terrible food, and it’s not a good place to go. Many more will add that such places are not safe at all.

I’ve also only ever seen a total of two tourists venture in.

But the local workers here are mind boggling friendly. And, why not. It’s not everyday they get visitors. What’s more, it’s not every year they get people telling them they have great food. Or photographing them.

It’s smiles, or amazement all around. But there is something else. There is a pride there too.

“In a country I’ve seen become obsessed with fast food, corporate life, luxuries and, sadly, corruption; this is where the good people meet.”

These are the average day people working 7 days a week without a break. There are no pretenses here. You are who you are. A hungry person looking for good food.

Other great worker night food stalls around the world:

Rice, calamansi / chili, bbq squid and bbq pork steak all for $1.10 (click to enlarge)

Peshawar in Pakistan is a place filled with them. Night food stalls and workers from the huge day markets, and overland cargo workers. It’s a frenzy of activity.

Army barracks in West Africa are known for great night barbeque’s.

Spain, nip down a few side streets in Barcelona by the docks at dinner time and you’ll find some of the cheapest and tasty food out there.

The workers street food stalls are the “off the beaten path” destination to many a culinary delight:

Local street food is great. But if you ever want to stray into a realm of real life in just about any place in the world, try to find where the workers are.

For it’s here you will find the freshest, tastiest food that you’ll enjoy with some of the most down to earth friendly people on the planet.

A note on the color: Yes, the meat really does look that red! They cover it in a super rich red marinade! Exaggerated by yellow florescent lights. Here, it’s not about gourmet, it’s all about the eating!

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Great food from the Philippines

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(Due to the nature of travel, it usually takes a few days to get the ebook emailed out to you) Enjoy reading my Travel Blog and my Travel Photography

© copyright 2010 www.thelongestwayhome.com

Food from the Philippines: the night workers street food (Special Edition)

Food from The Philippines: Honey pollinated by banana bees

The Longest Way Home — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:33:23 +0000

Banana Honey

The nectar from banana flowers create a wildly sweet overtone to this fantastic honey (click to enlarge)

I like honey. It tastes good, and is packed with goodness. But as I travel it’s rare that I would actually buy a jar of honey. It’s not so easy to carry around, and it’s not the sort of thing you can eat a lot of, quickly.

The only time I’ve bought it is when I’ve has a sore throat. The last time was in Nepal. Mixed with lemon, it’s a good cure all.

However, during a recent trip back to the Bukidnon Highlands I came across a small bottle of dark honey. And, couldn’t resist. Much to my surprise the sweet thick honey had a distinctly different flavor to it. Something I couldn’t put my finger on until I saw the banana plantations nearby.

Honey from the Philippines tastes different:

As the saying goes. You are what you eat! In this case old Jack fruit trees have been replaces by banana plantations near to where the bee farms are. The bees pollinate both the Jack fruit and Banana trees. Resulting in their honey tasting of these fruits depending on the season.

A hot and humid climate makes photographing honey a unique challenge!

I know in the west people infuse honey with various subtle flavors like cinnamon, or lavender. But that’s basically soaking the honey with extract of whatever flavor you want.

Why this honey tastes better:

Now imagine a flavor becoming a part of honey right from it’s very origins. Bees do this better than man. The flavor is rich with a delicate overtone that lasts in your mouth for some time.

It’s also completely addictive. And, so for the first time I am now carrying around a small bottle of honey. A teaspoon, here, a spoonful there.

It’s not a permanent thing, but at only about $1 a plastic bottle, it’s well worth trying out should you come across it.

Filipinos are not so impressed by this honey, but then subtle tastes are not such a big thing here. Little do they know just how potent this sticky golden syrup really is to the taste buds!

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Great food from the Philippines

Sign up to my email updates to get your FREE ebook of 5 Top Places to Travel & Photograph

(Due to the nature of travel, it usually takes a few days to get the ebook emailed out to you) Enjoy reading my Travel Blog and my Travel Photography

© copyright 2010 www.thelongestwayhome.com

Food from The Philippines: Honey pollinated by banana bees

Food from The Philippines: Mangosteen

The Longest Way Home — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 23:16:20 +0000

Mangosteen

Wonderful tasting white Mangosteen pods (click to enlarge)

From the outside the Mangosteen fruit looks like a slightly mutated purple tomato. But, like many good fruits inside lies a very special treat.

Cut open the thick purple husk to reveal a cluster of the mangosteens milky white fleshy pods. Sweet with a slightly bitter tangy taste the flesh surrounds inedible seeds.

Whole Mangosteen from the outside (click to enlarge)

The inner purple husk is soft, and although some say it contains high quantities of vitamins and minerals, few try to eat it. This may be due to the white pods strong and near irresistible taste.

Mangosteens are native to Indonesia, but are widely found all over the Philippines. For some reason they seem to have obtained a bad rap for being exported overseas. It’s a shame as Mangosteens are one of the best fruits in Asia.

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Great food from the Philippines

Food from The Philippines: Rambutan (fruit)

The Longest Way Home — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 01:13:07 +0000

Rambutan Fruit

The white fruit of Rambutan (click to enlarge)

Rambutan is one of the most popular fruits in South East Asia, including The Philippines.

It’s not hard to see why either. Outside the Rambutan fruit looks like a golf ball sized red & green porcupine. The spiky bits are not at all hard nor prickly. They are soft and allow you to easily reach in with your two thumbs and crack the firm but easy to break skin open.

Inside a firm white gel like fruit awaits. Inside this there is a small soft wood like seed, it’s tasteless and should be spat out.

The firm soft white rambutan fruit itself is quite sweet and not so filling. Meaning, you can eat a lot!

Depending on the season or harvest, you can also get super juicy sweet rambutan which are really worth getting your hands on. The one’s photographed here are from Davao, where it’s argued the best rambutan comes from in The Philippines.

Rambutan fruit from Davao (click to enlarge)

It’s a really easy fruit to grow, and prices are very low. I bought two kilos for under $0.60. It’s even cheaper out in the countryside. Rambutan is also a great thing to bring back to your guesthouse to get everyone smiling and thinking you are the nicest person of the day!

Tip: If you do go to a market and buy Rambutan, make sure to keep it tied up in a plastic bag, and / or in the bathroom basin. Big ants love rambutan and are often found on the fruit!

These ants are harmless and don’t bite. But they will tell all their friends you have a stash of their favorite fruit hiding in your room!

Tip 2: If you have air-conditioning try leaving some rambutan out in a bowl for a a couple of days. The skin will start to dry. Just as it does, the fruit inside is at its juiciest and sweetest! Just be careful you don’t leave it out too long!

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Great food from the Philippines

Food from the Philippines: Lanzones

The Longest Way Home — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:02:22 +0000

Lanzones Fruit from The Philippines

Lanzones Fruit from The Philippines (click to enlarge)

The Lanzones fruit from The Philippines is seasonal, and usually only found in the southern islands. It grows and is sold in bunches that resemble grapes, but the Lanzones fruit is about twice the size.

The yellowish skin is easy to peel, revealing a near translucent, segmented flesh underneath. The Lanzones taste is almost akin to that of a grapefruit, thought slightly less bitter, and not overflowing with juice.

Inside some of the Lanzones segments are dark seeds. I’ve eaten a few with no ill effects as they are soft, but they are very bitter. The Lanzones fruit itself is very refreshing, and not heavy at all. The only ill effect is that they can leave your fingers quite sticky. But unlike other fruit, not to the extent to stain your clothes.

A bunch of Lanzones fruit (click to enlarge)

The Lanzones fruit is celebrated on the southern island of Camiguin. Where once a year, they celebrate it’s harvest with the Lanzones festival. Usually around October. Check out my travel story on Miss Camigiuin Island

The fruit also has a season in March / April where prices are as low as 20 peso a half kilo. Or, out in the country it’s nearly free!

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Great food from the Philippines

Food from The Philippines: Chicharrón

The Longest Way Home — Wed, 19 May 2010 23:27:44 +0000

Chicharrón from the Philippines

Chicharrón from the Philippines (click to enlarge)

It’s a universal snack food that drives some people crazy. It will probably be outlawed in some country soon for being too tempting and unhealthy. But then some of the best foods are just that.

Chicharrón is deep fried pig skin. There’s very little else involved here. It comes in various forms, but the most common comes in small bags found in nearly every store. Chicharrón is often lightly flavoured with salt and garlic.

There are numerous makers of Chicharrón in The Philippines. Some are local stalls, though these are losing out to the big manufacturers. Malls have countless Chicharrón stalls set up, each one drapped in bag after bag of crunchy Chicharrón.

I’ve tried it a few times. The best is the one flavored with chilli, it adds a nice kick.

But be warned, it’s heavy on the calories, and I haven’t come across a medical person who doesn’t cringe at the thought of what it’s doing to your arteries. That said, Chicharrón is super cheap, tasty and a great gift to bring along to a party!

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Great food from the Philippines

Food from The Philippines: Pomelo

The Longest Way Home — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:25:06 +0000

Pomelo fruit from The Philippines

Pomelo fruit from The Philippines (click to enlarge)

From the outside the Pomelo fruit looks like a Melon of some kind. The skin is surprisingly soft, and relatively easy to peel. Inside The Philippines version of the Pomelo looks like a giant pink grapefruit.

Only it’s not bitter at all. The taste is certainly a part of the citrus family, but the sweet kind. Pomelo fruit segments are large, and break easily. But unlike its cousins the Pomelo segments stay intact.

Within each segment are strong pulpy cells that contain the sweet citrus like flesh. It makes The Filipino Pomelo is a very easy fruit to eat. Although a little large for just one person.

Filipinos eat the Pomelo fruit with salt. But without salt it tastes just great. A really good fruit to take on hikes or treks due to it’s high level of water, and ability to travel well.

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Food from the Philippines

Food from The Philippines: Quail Eggs

The Longest Way Home — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:54:25 +0000

Quail Eggs from The Philippines

Quail Eggs from The Philippines (click to enlarge)

From Balut to duck & chicken The Philippines, it seems, is quite partial to eggs. Walk down any food stall, shopping center, or night market and you will see various types of egg being cooked.

Quail eggs are usually gently steamed in large containers. The speckled shells are much thinner than chicken eggs so greater care is needed in cooking them.

The taste of a quail egg is not that different at all from a chicken egg. Quail eggs are, slightly sweeter, but not to any great degree. That said, Filipinos adore them. And, much like in other parts of the world they are special treat.

They are also not that expensive, and well worth a try!

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Great food from the Philippines

Great food from the Philippines: The Local Night Market BBQ Stand

The Longest Way Home — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:28:05 +0000

Local night food bbq stand in the Philippines

The food is well lit up, and there are usually plenty of people tending to it. The surrounding area may also have music playing or a TV blaring away. This is a local bbq stand at night in The Philippines. And, it’s really good.

BBQ Squid!

Some locals would often tell me not to eat here. These are the same people that simply did not even comment when they heard about I ate at the “local local” food stand. But again, I never got sick from eating here.

For the record the only places I did get a bad stomach in the Philippines is in fast food pizza and chicken restaurants in malls.

The typical food here would be: Chicken, a variety of fresh fish, Guso (seaweed), sizzling pork, lechon, adobos and just about everything else you can think of from the Philippines. Depending on the size of the night stalls, and the occasion.

The prices here vary a lot. But an average piece of chicken would cost 35 pesos, squid 60 -120 depending on size, bbq stick of pork 14 pesos.

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Great food from the Philippines

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(Due to the nature of travel, it usually takes a few days to get the ebook emailed out to you) Enjoy reading my Travel Blog and my Travel Photography

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Great food from the Philippines: The Local Night Market BBQ Stand

Great food from the Philippines: Manok

The Longest Way Home — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:27:34 +0000

BBQ Manok - Chicken

By quite a long shot – Manok is my favorite food from the Philippines. I can smell the bbq chicken stalls from streets away. You can’t miss the stalls as they are usually jammed with rotating skewers of whole chickens. All coated in light seasoning, and stuffed with garlic and lemon grass. It’s truly mouth watering to the carnivore.

To make matter even more delicious many Manok stalls also serve Pork as well. Which if you are lucky may be bbqing above the chicken and dripping down onto the bird below.

While you can eat the manok in the diner if there is one, grabbing a take away back to your hotel is a great option. It’s wrapped in foil and often comes with a bag of soy sauce, calamansi, and some chili.

As a solo traveler it’s probably best not to eat a whole manok in front of everyone. In the Philippines a whole manok would often feed a full family, so eating a whole one in front of others would seem like gluttony. Do it in your room instead

Prices vary, 120 pesos to 200 pesos is about right. Though there are some really small manok’s for around 60 pesos.

This is an additional post and one of a series hightlighting Great food from the Philippines

Great food from the Philippines: Fruit Salad

The Longest Way Home — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:50:43 +0000

Fruit salad from Del Monte

It might seem a little strange to include a fruit salad and call it great food. But, in every country there is a selection of fruit, and each fruit salad is a little different. The Philippines has a fairly wide variety of fruits available, yet the fruit salad has a fairly set selection.

Watermelon, mango, pineapple and banana. That’s the basic. Then, just to make in Filippino, small chunks of hard jelly cubes are added. Red, green, or clear in color; these cubes add a little bite to the salad. There’s nearly always a dribble of condensed milk over the top too.

There is another type of fruit salad in the Philippines too. This one is just called Salad. It’s got pasta and cocount mixed into it. And again, lots of jelly cubes. Not my favorite – pasta in a fruit salad??!

I keep thinking that in a land of great fruit variety it would be nice to see more fruit in a typical bowl.

Fruit salad is usually found in restaruants and homes. And can get expensive – 60 pesos.

This is an additional post and one of a series hightlighting Great food from the Philippines

Great food from the Philippines: Carabao & regular Mangoes!

The Longest Way Home — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:31:20 +0000

A Carabao and regular mango from the Philippines

There are many different kinds of Mangoes available in the Philippines and all over the world. On the streets they are usually found chopped into little slices and sold in clear plastic bags. They may not be what you expect though.

Filipino’s really like a contrast of bitter, salty and sweet flavors. The slices for sale on the streets are often quite bitter and hard. They come with a dipping sauce, or just plan salt. Yes, salt and mangoes are a big favorite in the Philippines.

Pictured above in the read is the large Carabao Mango. Relative inexpensive it’s crunchy and not so sweet. While to the forefront is a regular small yellow mango that’s a very sweet and juicy.

Mangoes can by found for as little as 5 peso to 15 pesos. Always ask if it’s sweet, ripe and and or ready to eat. Vendors are quite happy to tell you. And, if there’s nothing too ripe you’ll often find a discount box with yesterdays fruit in it. Here the mangoes are on the verge of becoming over ripe. But for immediate mango eating satisfaction, it’s where I head to first!

This additional post is one of a series featuring Great Food from The Philippines.

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Great food from the Philippines: Carabao & regular Mangoes!

Great Food from The Philippines: Santol

The Longest Way Home — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:31:25 +0000

A Santol fruit from the Philippines, halved

The Santol fruit is about the size of a grapefruit, but looks like a round pear. Once inside there are 4 -6 stones (hard seeds) that are covered by a soft white flesh.

The fruit needs to be peeled. The harder flesh outside of the inner flesh is quite bitter. And, Filipinos like to eat it with salt. While the inner soft flesh around the stones is quite sweet.

The inner flesh has quite a unique taste. Almost like rose hip or something very flowery. I enjoyed this fruit, though found it frustrating as the flesh is hard to remove from the stone, so I treated it like a boiled sweet. It did leave a bit of an after taste though. But worth trying!

This post is one of a series featuring Great Food from The Philippines.

Great food from the Philippines: Sizzling Pork Steak

The Longest Way Home — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:37:23 +0000

Sizzling Pork Steak from the Philippines

Sizzling pork steak from the Philippines

One of the things many travelers will notice about meat in the Philippines is that it usually come’s chopped up. One of the reasons for that is Filipino’s generally prefer small portions, little pieces and tender meat. Hence in local eateries it’s not so easy to get a knife.

Sizzling pork Steak is usually only found at special fiestas or night time food markets. You’ll see long strips of half inch thik pork steaks with a back of fat lined up on plates. They BBQ the pork steak and then chop it up into small bite sized pieces.

The downside here is that you don’t get the satisfaction of carving up your own meat. It’s also quite fatty. The plus side is that sizzling pork steak makes great finger food and goes very well with San Miguel beer. So you won’t feel the guilt of eating the calorie high consumption until the next day!

This is an additional post and one of a series hightlighting Great food from the Philippines

Sign up to my email updates to get your FREE ebook of 5 Top Places to Travel & Photograph

(Due to the nature of travel, it usually takes a few days to get the ebook emailed out to you) Enjoy reading my Travel Blog and my Travel Photography

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Great food from the Philippines: Sizzling Pork Steak

Great food from the Philippines: Sizzling Prawns

The Longest Way Home — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:33:13 +0000

Sizzling Prawns from the Philippines

Sizzling Prawns in the Philippines

Famous for it’s seafood there’s no escaping the delights of fresh prawns in the Philippines. They come in different sizes. Large, largest and mini lobster sized. In fact the largest Prawns I’ve ever seen have been from the Philippines. And, they are good.

Though sometimes made into adobo, they are usually cooked on a bbq or fried. Some night market stalls will serve them on a sizzling hot plate for extra pizazz.

The smaller the the prawn the cheaper it costs. Personally I go for the jumbo sized bbg prawns, there’s a lot of meat on them so only a few are needed.

This is an additional post and one of a series hightlighting Great food from the Philippines