It is summer, and everyone is out, whether it’s a dip in the sea, or a mountain hike, or a road trip. But at one point or two along the way, you will feel the hunger. When you can’t find any food along the street, you will feel not only hunger, but hanger, an angry state fueled by hunger.
So on your next trip, while looking for Instagram-worthy locations and sites, you might as well research for the local delicacies and restaurants to try, and where to find them, just in case when the hanger strikes again, or just so you won’t regret not trying these delicious goodies when in fact they’re only a few blocks from you. Also, you may want to use hashtags such as #foodporn and #eatlocal, aside from your daily #ootd and weekly #throwbackthursday hashtags. This goes to show that food trip is inevitable to any kind of trip.
Variety in Culture and in Food
In the Philippine archipelago where places are separated by seas and mountains, it is no wonder that there is variety in culture. These barriers grouped the Filipinos into different ethnicities, languages, religions, and thoughts. Even food, which is a universal constant, is affected by these barriers, which makes food trip much more exciting.
Cebu longganisa
Visiting a new place here in the Philippines is like being born into a new world or like having an amnesia in every region. Every food is beyond the norm. Every food is distinct. For example, the meaty longganisa you used to know turned salty in Tuguegarao City up north, fatty in Cabanatuan City in Central Luzon, restylized with tooth picks in Alaminos on the coast of Western Luzon, and become small and tubular in Lucban, Quezon an spherical in Cebu in the Visayas. You asked for a fried chicken meal, and they give you inasal in Bacolod City in Negros, inato in Cagayan de Oro City in Northern Mindanao, binakol in Antique in the Panay Island, and pinikpikan in Benguet in the Cordillera.
Inasal from Manokan Country in Bacolod City
During our college fieldtrip in the Ilocos Region, the itinerary indicated that there will be a trip to Bagac to try the empanada, or to Vigan City to try the Vigan longganisa. While on a trip to Iloilo City, I was introduced by a close friend and local to Pancit Molo in Molo District, and La Paz Batchoy in La Paz Market.
La Paz Batchoy
Unusual Treats
As there are 7,641 island in the Philippines, there are also 7,641 ways to create and recreate food in the archipelago. Guimaras leads my list which heavily utilizes on its main product—mango. In Guimaras, there is a mango pizza, mango adobo, mango bulalo, mango piaya, mango butterscotch, and mango jam.
Mango pizza
Mango adobo
Palawan, on the other hand, created a crocodile sisig, while Davao City have its crocodile ice cream. The Bicol Region is very well-known as Land of Pili and Siling Labuyo. Thus, all of the products are related to pili nut, from pili tart, pili yema, to roasted or caramelized pili nuts, and they have pili- and sili-flavored ice cream, as well. These ice cream flavors, together with tutong-, calamansi-, and malunggay-flavored ice creams can be bought at 1st Collonial Grill in Naga City and Legaspi City.
Crocodile sisig
Sili ice cream
The coldest region of the archipelago makes use of their main product—strawberry, while the islands with fishing as their main livelihood gets the help of the sunshine to produce dried products such as danggit.
Strawberry taho
Danggit
The peculiarity of the varied food product from island to island is based on the ingenuity of the Filipino people. Instead of the excess harvests and goods rot, they employ reservations of everything worth saving. Other Filipinos take advantage of all the parts, even the innards of animals; thus the birth of the grilled street food.
Skewered chicken innards
Dirty ice cream
Anytime, Anywhere
Food trip always come hand in hand on any trip, be it an out-of-town trip, an annual educational fieldtrip, or a usual road trip, whether you are with your loved ones, your special someone, your friends, or your colleagues. On another instance with my friends, while on our way towards the hotel, we chose not to take the train. Rather, we chose to walk, while trying all the street food we passed by.
After all, between opening your eyes in the morning, and closing them in the evening, you will definitely eat three times or more. You will definitely stop what you are doing, and eat. You will definitely put your phones and cameras down, and eat. You will definitely wear out and rest, and eat.
The Maxims of Jim 