If you are planning for a trip to the Philippines, put in mind that trying its street foods is fun and, at the same time, saves you money! For you to know, prices of these types of grub will not go beyond approximately half a dollar. On your holiday, you will find the following street foods outside schools, inside transportation terminals, and around parks and churches.
Balut – This one tops the list, as the country is known for this exotic food. As you may already know, these are hard-boiled, weeks-old duck eggs. This means that you will be eating nearly formed embryo of this fowl. However, this street food is very high in protein, and is even regarded as an aphrodisiac.
Tempura and Fish, Squid and Chicken Balls – You can easily find these street foods on a push cart and around nearly most schools. For fish balls, they are made from finely pulverized meat of cuttlefish and are formed in a flat shape. Squid and chicken balls are the variations of how fish balls are made. To prepare them, they are deep fried, and you will be offered a variety of sauce to go with them.
Barbecue – Having a variety of styles, Filipino barbecue can be marinated chicken or pork, which is grilled on hot charcoal. You will find them exotic, as they can come in the form of isaw (chicken intestines), adidas (chicken feet), betamax (dried pork or chicken blood), ulo ng manok (chicken head), pwet (chicken ass), balun-balunan (chicken gizzards) and butse (crop of chicken).
Camote Cue (Deep-Fried Sweet Potato) and Banana Cue (Deep-Fried Saba [a type of banana common in the Philippines]) – Skewered in a bamboo stick, these are coated with caramelized brown sugar and are mostly prepared for late-afternoon snacks. Other variations of banana street foods are the maruya (banana fritters), which are dipped into a mix of flour and egg and then deep-fired, and the ginanggang, which is a banana on stick grilled in charcoal, brushed with sugar and margarine.
Mani (Peanuts) – When it comes to this street food, you will have a variety of styles to choose from. It can be raw, boiled, fried-spicy, fried-skinless and many more.
Corn (Mais) – This is boiled sweet corn that is seasoned with margarine (can be butter) and salt. Speaking of corn, you can have it in dessert style called Mais con Yelo, which is a mixture of sweet corn, shaved ice, milk and sugar.
Kwek Kwek and Tokneneng – Kwek kwek is a hard-boiled quail egg dipped on a particular type of sauce, while tokneneng is a hard-boiled duck or chicken egg. Both of these grubs are deep-fried until crispy.
Halo–Halo – On shaved of ice, this is a mix of condensed or evaporated milk, jelly (gulaman), beans, chunks of fruits, nata de coco, corn flakes and other things sweet. This is one of the favorite desserts of Filipinos, especially during the hot summer days.
Sorbetes (Dirty Ice Cream) – Do not worry about the English translation—this is just the name locals call it, as it is made at home by certain suppliers. This ice cream comes with different flavors and is sold by street vendors with colorful carts.
There you have it! During your trip to the Philippines, make sure you try all of these top street foods in the country. After all, what would be a holiday without tasting the eccentric in a destination?