I would add that the ice cream from the guys on the bicycle carts is fucking good!!!

The ones with the big generic stainless steel bucket, NOT the Nestle branded ones selling regular commercial ice cream bars.

Of note; I typically buy street food/Filipino food at a couple places as it's well gut tested and pretty good foot traffic. I only order cooked to order where I watch prep. Much street food in cooked in advance and sitting in pots streetside. This is a recipe for disaster.

For reference: the USDA says not to leave prepared foods out longer than one hour on a 90F day for example (vs all day here) due to bacteria.

Very few people learn much about the local cuisine and stick to their comfort zone while here (burgers and fried food). They are missing out. One of my first experiences in AC in terms of food was being cooked BBQ at my gf's home back in '04. We were sitting on the floor and chowing down some great rice and meat fresh off the grill with our hands and licking our fingers as a prelude to some awesome sex.

I'll go so far to say that this little bit of cultural immersion has gotten me a fair share of pussy showing up at my door and #s over the years. Girls like to hang with people they're at ease with and can let their hair down so-to-speak. Trust me, girls going to foreigner centric restaurants and menus is not their idea of good food (and often not my idea of it either) regardless of what they tell you.

Some popular dishes that are very good and nothing overly exotic are as follows:

-Chicken or pork adobo: meat and potato
-Pancit bihon: rice noodles with veggies and can be made to include meat or vegetarian
-Chop Suey: chicken with assorted veggies stir fry and can also me make vegetarian
- Beef Caldereta: beef, carrots, calereta sauce
-Chicken Tinola: Filipino version of chicken soup - delicious
- street bbq (hotdogs, pork, chicken, chicken feet for the adventurous)
-Chicken inasal: grilled chicken with special marinate
- BBQ chicken (street)

I've eaten all of these at various times and all are delicious and great if with a date.

You can usually order many of these at a restaurant that you would normally go to and pay 250-350p for dish (tourist tax) + likely get a subpar version (in some cases). Or you can eat where Filipinos eat, at time gets better food, and not not pay the foreigner tax.

Pork/chicken abodo - best pork/chicken adobo near/on fields can be found at Gotham Cafe (Grand Central). Second place is the small street side eater outside Centauros (formerly carousel). Average priced in terms of tourists 250-300p for the dish.

Pancit bihon. My favorite place was Marcos Restaurant was on the small road behind Fields (parallel), but development has all those shops closed down now, I'll update with their new location once the dust clears. Second place is the street side food stand outside of Butterfly Bar) same street as barhopping. The left at the corner of Angelwitch. Cost 60-70p for a portion that will please and fill your gut. Meanwhile if you are stuck in Margarita Sta and starving, the Pancit bihon there is one of the better menu choices. But you pay the tourist tax - forget the exact amount but it's 360-300p or so for an oilier version than the one of the street for 70p.

Chop Suey: 60p for a decent size portion at the same street stall outside Butterfly and Barhopping. Cooked to order as always, so let them know if you want meat or not. Second place near Fields that is pretty good is the Pacific Breeze restaurant, but tourist pricing.


Beef Caldereta - two solid options here; best on on Fields is at Gotham Cafe. Best one in Perimeter is at Charlies on the Bend (just past BPI band in Perimeter before you get to Friendship Highway.


Chicken Tinola. Amazingly, one one the better places to find this dish is a Tequila Reef. As with breakfast, they aren't very consistent in terms of end product, so sometimes they overdo the salt, sometimes they underdo it, sometimes just right. Anyway, it's a pretty decent value at 250p or so and one of the better version I've see/tried here.

Street BBQ. A couple of decent vendors, one is by the trike station at the entrance of walking street (bear to the left just past it). The other is immediately opposite Barhopping.

My recommendation is for the pork bbq or the hot dogs. Chicken isn't very good and while the girls love chicken feet, I certainly haven't tried it or would recommend them. They will cost on average 10p a stick (little bit less at some place), take about 5 minutes, and they will scoop on some bbq sauce on top once done (tasty) and great bar food.

Chicken inasal. inasal is a pretty popular in Filiono cuisine and I fine is dam tasty. Popular in cebu especially. Meat is marinated in lime, pepper, vinegar and annato then grilled. If your hungry and at the SM mall, there's Mang Inasal just by Hypermart. It's usually packed with locals and for good reason - it's delicious, you get unlimited rice, delicious chicken, and costs 125p, which includes your soft drink.

In the little dish pour some soy, squeeze the Calamansi in the soy, and break up the small red chili or two in it. That's your dipping sauce. Wash and make like a local, eat with your hands. Bon appetit. they will walk around with rice and feel free to ask for as many cups as you want free. Hot and fresh.

BBQ Chicken: before around 12, there's a small chicken bba stand 1/2 down Fields on the right (if your walking towards Paradise beer Garden). Pretty simple - fresh broiler chicken right off the bbq and costs 160p. Enough to feed two with 2 orders of rice.

Of note; I typically buy street food/Filipino food at a couple places as it's well gut tested and pretty good foot traffic. I only order cooked to order where I watch prep. Much street food in cooked in advance and sitting in pots streetside. This is a recipe for disaster.

For reference: the USDA says not to leave prepared foods out longer than one hour on a 90F day for example (vs all day here) due to bacteria.

(Message edited by donmarco on January 31, 2015)

I gotta throw the bullshit flag about anything you have to say about meat, since you apparently don't actually eat it.

"My girlfriend enjoyed it" doesn't feed the bulldog, and calls into question everything you post?

Porker, I've ate my fair share here and often try her dishes as well. Go fish somewhere else.

While I'm sure your GF grew up feasting on Ruth's Chris, It's a valid concern. Who serves the best meat in AC for a foreign palate?

go get a hearing and eye checkup. You can read my reviews for my comments regarding specific recommendations based on actual dishes.

DM, I am not gonna stop trying to convert you to eating meat, nor will I ever respect a filipinas take on reviewing the quality of her meat!

I sample meat when there's a new place/dish I want to try, just that it's the exception and not rule. No need to convert

In terms of my gf's taste. She went being only local street food to a foodie pretty quick. Her meal of choice now is rib eye and a merlot.

When it comes to street food in the philippines in general, i better be safe rather than sorry and not even recall a single time i've try this.
You just have to look that ALL is done in the open with all the dust, smog, and whatever around it, plus i would be very careful about sanitary conditions. don't mind paying a little more and have my snacks and whatever in a proper place. same with ice cream from street vendors, no idea how it was prepared or how long been there and the cleanliness of it!!!
so said this, to each its own and if anything wrong happens, well, that's the reason we got hospitals.

MarcoPolo