Archive for the ‘Cuisine’ Category

Night Shift Stores and Food Chains in the Philippines

If you happen to visit the Philippines and a night life lover, then you should have this list of 24/7 and Night shift stores and food chains in the Philippines in order to enjoy your night life in the Philippines.

1. 7 Eleven store – anywhere in the Philippines, this mini mart is always dependable whenever you need something at any hours and at any day. It is a 24/7 store.

2. Mini Stop – it is quite similar to 7 Eleven but is just a small one. It is also 24/7 store.

3. Jollibee – a Pinoy food chain which is open 24/7 on selected places.

4. McDonald –an International food chain which is open 24/7 on selected areas.

5. Wendy’s – also an international food chain which is open 24/7 on selected areas.

6. Shakey’s Pizza – a 24/7 Pizza chain on selected location in the Philippines, like Katipunan and Makati Avenue.

7. Uncle Moe’s – a 24/7 restaurant on Metro Manila Philippines.

8. Whistestop – it is a 24/7 restaurant.

9.  Burger Machine – it is 24/7 burger chain on selected places in the Philippines.

10. Yellow Cab – it is also a 24/7 pizza chain like Shakey’s Pizza.

11. Bugsy’s Bar and Bistro – it is also a restaurant but only opens between 11 a.m. and 5 a.m.

12. Route 196 – a resto music bar for those who want to chill with soothing and rock musics. It opens from 6 p.m. until 3 a. m.

There are still stores, chains and other establishments in the Philippines which is open either 24/7 or night shift only which I no longer include in my handful list because of some change of schedules.

Is Pinoy Street Foods Safe?

Street foods are everywhere, not only in the Philippines but also on other parts of the world or in other countries to serve one’s instant hunger while on the road or street.

I know there are mobile fast food carts that sell street foods which are safe to eat because they have valid sanitary permits and don’t sell dirty and exotic street foods. However, in the Philippines, there are street vendors which sells seemingly dirty street foods like the deep-fried chicken intestines which they call IUD or “isaw manok”; the pig’s ears which they call “walkman”; the cubed and grilled blood of either chicken or pig which they call “betamax”; the grilled chicken head which they call “helmet”; and other exotic street foods which are seemingly dirty which most Filipino street vendors invented and experiment. Are these exotic street foods safe to eat and would not irritate one’s stomach?

However, there are Filipino street foods which are not quite exotic like the well loved:

1. Bola- bola or Fish balls

2. Squid balls

3. Quek quek or Toknanay – hard-boiled chicken or quail eggs dipped in an orange batter and then deep fried.

4. Banana and Kamote cue –banana or sweet potato (kamote) chops covered with brown sugar that are deep fried and hook with bamboo sticks.

5. Samalamig – a variety of mixture of coconut juice or a gulaman-gelatin mix.

6. Manggang Hilaw – green mango with shrimp paste (bagoong) toppings.

7. Turon – a pure slice of banana or sometimes with a slice of jackfruit sandwich together and wrap with spring roll wrapper and then deep fried.

8. Maruya or Biruya – papaya or banana fritters.

9. Balut – a hard-boiled duck egg with a duck fetus inside.

10. Penoy – a hard-boiled duck egg without duck fetus.

But whether exotic or not, street foods are not really quite clean foods as they may seem to be because these foods are exposed to a variety of dirt, smog, and chemicals lingering in the streets, match with multiple hungry dirty flies flying around and licking these foods with their bacteria-filled tongues.

National Food Chains in the Philippines

Jollibee Food Corporation is no doubt a very successful original Philippine fast food chain in equal competition with international fast food chain –McDonald. Like McDonald, Jollibee has branches its food business internationally to serve fellow Pilipinos working anywhere in the world; to give Pilipinos a taste of home.

No wonder how Jollibee have been successful whereas the foods it serves are just hamburgers, spaghetti, fried chicken, palabok, and French fries as its main dish, similar to McDonald. Any small time hamburger chain today will find it hard to arise on top of fast food chain market now that Jollibee and McDonald rule this kind of market.

So what’s with hamburger and French fries that it becomes a big hit around the world? Of course, as we all know it, they are delicious and addictive on tongue. Thus, this kind of taste makes hamburger a favorite snack or meal around the world.

However, hamburger, bread with toppings and sandwich bread are not Pilipino meals, rather it is said to be an American meal or foreign meal; rice is the main dish on every Pilipino plate instead. But ironically, Jollibee and McDonald become a hit fast food chain in the Philippines.

Jollibee is an original Philippine Fast food restaurant with international meals and this kind of setting is only in the Philippines.

What is cooking in the kitchen of Pampanga Philippines why it was dubbed as “The Culinary Center of the Philippines”? Pampanga foods is indeed one of the best well cooked food in the Philippines, thus Pampanga Philippines was crown with it. Moreover, not only it is the national chef of the Philippines but it is also called “the Christmas lantern capital of the Philippines” and “Christmas capital of the Philippines”. For beautiful large Christmas lanterns are being made on it and having a festival about it every Christmas season.

Pampanga Philippines is located at Northern part of the Philippines at the heart or center of Luzon region. Pampanga Philippines was once become the main capital of the Philippines during the British invasion of Manila Philippines for two years.

Aside from delicious dishes Pampanga Philippines is well known, it is also have tourist attractions that one should visit. For example, the famous Pampanga swam, the “Candaba Swam and Wild Duck Sanctuary” at Candaba Pampanga where you could witness a multitude of different species of birds. Which some birds migrated from the neighboring countries of the Philippines.

After a sight seeing at Pampanga’s famous swam lets take a scroll and have a dive in the freezing water of another famous tourist spot in Pampanga – the Ecological semi –resort Mt. Arayat Park located at Arayat, Pampanga. Within it there is the so- called 100 steps which leads into the upper side of the mountain wherein you could see the whole view of Pampanga, as well as if you like you could tread up on the very top of the mountain. Furthermore, though this resort park is on the foot of Arayat Mountain, its waters are really freezing cold. However some tourists who visit it still enjoy swimming in it. Another famous park in Pampanga is the Bayanihan Park or formerly known as the Astro Park where it is the entrance toward another famous historical location in Pampanga, the formerly united States Air Force Base – the Clarkfield Pampanga. Within the park, there are a lot of nightclubs and hotels where lot of foreign tourist flocks.

There are a lot of parks and historical landmarks we could go here in Pampanga Philippines but wait a minute let us dine in into the kitchen of this national chef. Lets taste the Pampanga’s famous meat foods such as the pork and chicken tocinos, the longaniza (which is said to be the Philippine-styled sausage), the beef tapa, the hot dogs, the relleno, the embutido, the lechon,the bulanglang, and the sisig baboy. Let’s also taste their sweet delicacies like turones de casoy, buro, pastillas and many others. For we heard that Pampanga’s foods not only the Filipinos enjoy, but also a growing number of foreign tourists enjoy the Pampanga’ cuisine. Philippines national chef really captures every one’s tastes.

Pampanga Philippines is one of the best places in the Philippines in terms of culinary side, if you are planning to have a food trip adventure in the Philippines. Do not forget to bookmark Pampanga Philippines in your food trip adventure plan when you are planning to pay a visit to the Philippines whenever you wanted to.