Philippino food

One of the biggest faults foreigners find with the Philippines is the crap food.
For those expecting western style meals it is very difficult to find even in the tourist areas and big cities.

The local dishes are unappetizing to me as they often have bones and grizzle stirred in with everything.
Even the simple western basics like hamburgers, french fries, pizza and spaghetti are poor imitations of what I am used to.

One of the problems is that fresh beef is not readily available, they often substitute water buffalo. Another problems is what they call ketchup is not made from tomatoes but is actually made from bananas.
It gets put on many things, served with french fries, simply added to spaghetti noodles and used for pizza making.

Another complaint I have is that everything is just thrown together, with no attention or respect for the ingredients or the presentation.

That all being said, they have terrific affordable fresh fish available at the markets everywhere. You can buy a whole yellow tail tuna for a few bucks and take it to the beach for a delicious BBQ. There are hundreds of fish species to try. Lots of fresh vegetables for cheap also to complete a healthy meal.

Spit roasted whole chickens are always available everywhere. I'm cautious of the abundant shellfish because they thrive where rivers meet the ocean, probably surviving on the raw sewerage dumped into the rivers and streams.

They practice poor hygiene there, even the food preparers, so best to cook your own.

There is no Pepto-Bismol readily available so you need to be careful about stomach ailments.

One of my trips I brought a couple of big bottles of the stuff and when I needed it, it was all gone. Turns out the kids thought it was great on top of crushed ice.

Junk food is cheap and plentiful. And the local food can actually be extremely cheap and very tasty.

shnoukieBRO wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 10:37 pm Junk food is cheap and plentiful. And the local food can actually be extremely cheap and very tasty.

Junk food is everywhere yes. What's your favorite, McDonalds hamburgers made with water buffalo, or
fries smothered with super sweet banana sauce?


Or do you prefer the spaghetti at Jollibees made with banana sauce?

How about that yummy pizza sold everywhere made with banana sauce and cheap cheese substitute sold on some soggy dough that was barely cooked in a 300 degree residential oven?

I know some people get accustomed to the local food and come to actually like it but even their most famous dish chicken adobo is an acquired taste if you enjoy some chicken legs buried in garlic.

Living with a Filipina I see some unhealthy food preparation, like leaving cooked food that contains meat on the top of the stove for a few days and then re-heating it. They get used to all that bacteria but my stomach is not used to it and explodes from both ends.

Memories of two months on Boracay from way back (1980s):
Fresh fish and rice. We would go down to the beach at sundown when the fishermen came in to see what we wanted for dinner. Pretty standard island food, but when it's fresh, it's always delicious.

Banana ketchup and banana shakes. (Not together.) Fresh fruit.

I also remember being woken up when the pig was squealing as he was slaughtered outside our bedroom window. But he was delicious and did not die in vain.

Apart from that, we drank a lot of rum and coke and our teeth got a bit fked up.

Anyway, that's a trip down nostalgia lane and nothing to do with how things are today. I haven't been back since the 80s. Just wanted to say that the food wasn't always pseudo-US fastfood. No spaghetti or pizza. There wasn't much variety at the time, but it was good. And quite healthy, apart from all the rum.
Fond memories.

Covid 19 quarantine in the Philippines

First let me say that I am not not there but my wife's family is there and we Facebook with them everyday.

From what I understand, Islands are divided up into Provinces which has their own local government and make their own rules with guidance of course from Manila.

When you travel from one Province to another on Leyte first you need written permission to leave the Province you are in. To get that permission you have to have a valid reason to travel and negative results from a recent covid test.

Once you arrive at the new Province you are required to quarantine for 30 days if you had one type of covid test and only 14 days if you had the other kind of test.

You are allowed to quarantine at an approved supervised hotel if you can afford the exorbitant fees or stay at cheaper quarantine camps. Some Cities don't have approved hotels so if that is your destination you have to accept what they have. Some Cities have like vacant public housing projects they put you up in. The one I saw was empty and your relatives had to bring you whatever you need.

I saw another arrangement from a vlogger on youtube that live reported from his quarantine in a makeshift camp set up on the local outdoor basketball court. His had 10 "rooms" for 10 people which were just partitioned off with sheets on some strings.

No hot water of course, just a filthy toilet with no toilet seat for shared use.
No alcohol allowed.
24 hour supervision.
Testing when you arrive, testing before you leave after release.
Those nasty tests where they jamb an 8" long cotton swab up your nose to behind your eyes and then one down your throat until you gag.

The fire department comes before you let into the camp and spray all of your possessions with disinfectant while wearing hazmat suits.

You are not allowed to hug your wife or children and can only speak to them at distance through a chainlink fence.

Once you are released there are local protocols to follow.
The local towns are broken up into little neighborhoods called Barangays. If you want to leave your Barangay to go shopping you need written permission from Barangay Captain. Only one permit per day per household. There are manned checkpoints everywhere and you have stop and show your permits while social distancing.

Of course you have to wear a mask everywhere and they have just started requiring face shields on top of that for many markets.

All alcohol sales are not allowed, although the locals manage to get palm wine called tuba.

You are supposed to stay inside your house when you get home.

I could be mistaken about some of this but at least gives you an idea of how they are dealing with the pandemic.

Crime in the Philippines

I have heard from a number of foreigners who were/are worried about crime and they were afraid the whole time they were in the Philippines.

Yes there is crime everywhere you go but I have never had a problem in 13 years.

When you first arrive in one of the major cities it is a bit frightening, it sure looks dangerous.
Dirty homeless people everywhere that look desperate.
They have always left me alone, except for the occasional begger asking for pennies.

The Country does have a methamphetamine explosion like most countries but those users leave me alone also. I don't get involved with any of that.

It helps to be with a local, not only to show you around and have fun with but also to keep you away from trouble spots.

There are the usual attempts to overcharge the foreigner every time you turn around, but you let a trusted friend help you through that. I wouldn't call that a crime actually.

There is also the pilfering of your possessions when staying at hotels, either by hotel staff at cheaper hotels or by your in-laws who stop by to visit. I remember I was getting ready to go out at night and took a shower but couldn't find my comb or my belt when getting dressed.
It's of no value really, but how was I suppose to comb my hair or hold my pants up.
Anyway, it was my wife's brother who took them.
He seemed surprised that I was mad when I confronted him.

The Philippine Islands share some of the behaviors with Pacific Islanders who don't have a strong sense of ownership like westerners have. Everything is shared in a family, nothing belongs to anyone in particular. It's kinda nice actually in some ways.

Then there is the disappearance of anything you leave outside at night. You need to take everything in at night.

They do have a pretty good justice system, it was a left over from when America was in charge.
Our little brother got caught stealing a bike and a water pump.
They locked him up and we paid his bail and had to be with him in court as we were his guardians.

He was just a juvenile but they took it quite seriously and gave him the choice to either make restitution and do community service or go to adult jail. We made restitution with monthly payments to the court.
He learned his lesson and stayed out of trouble ever since.

But back to crime in the Philippines, it is no more unsafe than any place I have been and a lot safer than most places.

I walk around with no fear.

Alex wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 8:48 am From everything mentioned so far, it doesn't sound very appealing to visit. I'd want to try that strange banana ketchup though, I've never come across that anywhere.

Well the Filipinos in general are very warm and kind hearted.
They are very eager to join me in any merriment.

They are very tolerant of my bad habits.
I'm 67 and my 30 year old wife thinks I'm just great.
Her whole family treats me like a king when I come.

Filipinos are mostly Christians so share many of the same values as I do.
They speak English.
Everything is cheap.
The beaches are everywhere and very nice if someone picks up the plastic flotsam from the "civilized" world.

The first night I arrived there around 1am and my future wife's family took me to church and had some kind of candle lighting ceremony.
I asked my wife's friend the next day what that was all about and she said, "well of course, you are the first prayer that God ever answered for them".

amatuertrader wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 12:05 am

shnoukieBRO wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 10:37 pm Junk food is cheap and plentiful. And the local food can actually be extremely cheap and very tasty.

Junk food is everywhere yes. What's your favorite, McDonalds hamburgers made with water buffalo, or
fries smothered with super sweet banana sauce?


Or do you prefer the spaghetti at Jollibees made with banana sauce?

How about that yummy pizza sold everywhere made with banana sauce and cheap cheese substitute sold on some soggy dough that was barely cooked in a 300 degree residential oven?

I know some people get accustomed to the local food and come to actually like it but even their most famous dish chicken adobo is an acquired taste if you enjoy some chicken legs buried in garlic.

Living with a Filipina I see some unhealthy food preparation, like leaving cooked food that contains meat on the top of the stove for a few days and then re-heating it. They get used to all that bacteria but my stomach is not used to it and explodes from both ends.

Lol - thanks Trader, for a miracle
Cambodia now seems like France.