AllTheNamesWhereTaken

You should come down here to Southeast! For some reason we have a HUGE Filipino community here in KTN and with that some of the best lumpia around.

SFflyer123

I will be heading to Manilla later, and I want to get really "classic" Filipino food. I know that lechon--the roasted pig--is supposed to be very famous. I will definitely being eating that there. But what other Filipino food should I make sure I eat? I live in San Francisco, so I am close to Daly City, which is "little Manila". But I want to get food that is really classic Filipino dishes. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Mr. Roboto

Where will you be staying? Manila traffic is horrendous, so dining recommendations would really depend on your location. Also, will you be dining alone? I find Filipino food needs to be experienced in a more communal ambiance.

Sweet Willie

a start: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/7916031-post3.html
not a lot of love for Filipino food in this thread re: best food in Manila

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...od-manila.html

most are recommending non-Filipino food choices.

--

work2fly

Since you live in SF, a little research prior to your trip would be an easy way to discover some dishes you might like:

1) Fil Am BBQ - off 82 and School in Daly City - sticks of chicken and pork BBQ are king here

2) Sinugba - on Gellert just north of Westborough - silogs are the way to go. eggs, garlic fried rice and your choice of meat - chicken tocino is really good and if you're into squid, a side order of grilled pusit would round off your meal quite nicely

3) Mana - on 25th Street in San Mateo - their beef dishes are the stand out - bistek tagolog (beef cooked in soy and lemon), caldereta and mechado (meats with a tomato based gravy), hearty soups (sinigang is good, there's another with chorizo and banana that's really good) and if you need gulay (vegetables), the laing (taro leaves stewed in coconut milk) is the best I've had.

4) Tastebuds - on San Burno ave between 101 and 82 - for weekend lechon

About the only common Philippine food the Bay Area seems to lack is good lechon manok - chicken grilled over an open fire. Otherwise, a few trips to the restaurants above will give you a really good taste of what to expect in the Philippines.

afterglow

Assuming you're gonna be hotel-based, chances are you will be in one of three areas: Makati, Ortigas Center or Manila Bay.

In Makati, head to Abé in Serendra, Café Juanita or Bistro Filipino in Fort Bonifacio, Fely J's, Mesa, or Sentro 1771 in Greenbelt.

In the Manila Bay area, head to the Malate area and look for Bistro Remedios and Cafe Adriatico.

In Ortigas Center, there's Cafe Juanita in the Kapitolyo area...and...actually not much.

There are a bunch of Kamayan and Barrio Fiesta restaurants around and those work in a pinch as well....

SFflyer123

Thank you for these suggestions. However, I was thinking more of dishes than restaurants. For instance I know that chichken adobo is classic and lechon is classic. What else is Filipino classic food? Like in Maine you get lobster, Philly you get cheesesteaks, Baltimore you get crab. What are "classic" Filipino dishes to get?

afterglow

Gotcha.

A Filipino meal is truly a multi-course affair best enjoyed with family and friends. I'll try to give a few suggestions for each course:

Hors d'oeuvres
Chicharon - deep fried pork rinds served with a vinegar dipping sauce
Talangka - deep fried baby crab (eaten whole) with a vinegar dipping sauce
Sisig - pork face that is both crunchy and chewy

Sour & Salad
Sinigang - soup soured by tamarind, kamias or some other fruit, with pork, shrimp or fish. Not unlike Thai Tom Yum.
Bulalo - beef marrow soup
Pako Salad - fiddlehead fern salad with a vinaigrette dressing

Meats
Lechon - roast suckling pig. Try to get the Cebu version (flavored with lemongrass) or if in Metro Manila, look for Elar's. Served with a liver sauce (tastes better than it sounds).
Kare-kare - ox tail in a peanut sauce; served with bagoong (shrimp paste)
Crispy Pata - deep fried pork hocks (my personal favorite) served with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce
Adobo - pork or chicken stewed in soy and vinegar. For an extra treat, get it twice-cooked (fried then stewed)

Seafood
Inihaw na Isda - simply means charcoal-roasted fish. Get whatever is fresh be it tuna, jack, marlin, parrotfish, catfish, etc.
Sugpo sa aligue - prawns stewed in crab fat/tomalley

Vegetables
Laing - taro leaves stewed with coconut milk and chilis
Bicol Express - various vegetables stewed with coconut milk and chili
Adobong Kangkong - a kind of spinach cooked adobo style

Dessert
Halo-halo - literally "mix-mix"; a tall glass of various sweet beans and coconut, topped with ice-cream and purple yam
Leche Flan - milk and caramel custard

You should eat all of the above with garlic fried rice and San Miguel Beer.....

SFflyer123

This is good to know. Thanks. I'll print this list out and bring it with me to the Philipines.

skchin

I highly recommend pansit made with rice noodles.

SFflyer123

Isn't that supposed to be famous? Lumpia?

skchin

Lumpia, tiny egg rolls are good too.

RogueViator

If I might add my 2 cents into this thread:
HORS'D'OEUVRES:
Inihaw na Pusit -- Grilled Squid. Sometimes with a vinegar dipping sauce, sometimes with a sweet soy glaze.

Adobong Mani -- Garlic-roasted peanuts.


SOUP(S):
Mami (either Beef of Chicken) -- It's like Pho but with egg noodles and green onions and chicharron for a topping.

Munggo (Beans) -- Either Kidney Beans or a smaller variety. Cooking is different too with the Kidney Bean version having pork and Chorizo sausages in a tomato-based thick broth.
The other version has pork along with shrimp and spinach. This is sometimes eaten with a dollop of Bagoong (the fermented fish paste).

Pinapaiitan -- Basically Goat bile soup. You might want to check out Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations episode when he went to the Philippines.

Arroz Caldo -- Chicken with rice and ginger. This is more a porridge-like consistency but I'll label it as soup for now.

MEAT:
Lechon Kawali -- Deep Fried pork. Usually with a vinegar or liver dipping sauce. One of my favorites!!!

Kaldereta -- Usually Beef and Goat. Spicy stewed meat with potatoes, bell peppers, peas, and chilis. Also used during "Pulutan" when drinking beer.

Pata Asado -- Braised Ham Hocks in a sweet and savory sauce.

Pork Binagoongan -- Pork stewed with bagoong.

Tocino/Tapa -- Cured Pork or Beef. Best eaten as part of a breakfast (i.e Tosilog = Tocino, Sinangag [fried rice], itlog [egg], Tapsilog = Tapa [fried sliced beef], Sinangag, itlog).

Longganisa -- Native Pork garlic sausage. Good for breakfast and warding off Vampires.


SEAFOOD:
Danggit -- Fried dried salty fish. Usually eaten for breakfast along with fried rice and egg.

Kinilaw -- Local version of Ceviche but with a bit more kick because of the local chilis. Can be made from fish or meat.

Ukoy -- Small fried papaya patties with shrimp. Good for afternoon snacks (aka Merienda).


VEGETABLES:
Pinakbet -- Stewed vegetables (Okra, Pumpkin, Long Beans, Eggplan, Bitter Melon) with pork and bagoong. Sometimes they even put Coconut milk making it Ginataan.

Adobong Sitaw -- Long Beans cooked adobo style.

Lumpia Ubod -- Non-fried Lumpia filled with mostly vegetables. This is served with a peanut dipping sauce.


DESSERTS:
Brazo de Mercedes -- Literal translation "Mercedes' Forearm". A log of egg whites with a creamy custard center. This one is excellent.

Sans Rival -- Nuts and Butter basically but it's oh-so-good.

Sapin-Sapin -- I've been eating this all my life and I still don't know how to describe it except to say it's the consistency of yam and eaten with toasted coconuts.

Ube -- Purple Yam. Usually eaten in Halo-Halo.

Any Goldilocks or Red Ribbon bakery should be able to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Happy Eating!!! ^

work2fly

2 kinds of lumpia:

1) shanghai - little fried egg rolls stuffed with pork, cabbage and carrots

2) fresh - larger, filled with more vegetables and wrapped in a crepe like skin

Sweet Willie

had a delicious breakfast this morning at Uncle Mike's Place (1700 W Grand Ave, Chicago) www.unclemikesplace.com

Besides typical American type breakfasts, Uncle Mike's Place also serves what they call Filipino breakfasts, Mrs Sweet Willie & I both had the Tocino breakfast, which is 2 eggs (poached or fried) over garlic fried rice, served with grilled pieces of marinated pork shoulder. Uncle Mike's Place also serves longaniza and skirt steak breakfasts. Included with Filipino breakfasts is a cup of lugao soup (rice porridge with scallion, chicken, ginger).

So if you are looking for a different type of breakfast but your other diners want typical breakfast fare, Uncle Mike's Place is a great choice.

(I have no idea how "Filipino" the above breakfast is)