Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Campsites, hostels and
homestays
Campsites are almost unknown in the Philippines.
A small number of resorts allow you to pitch tents
in their grounds for a negligible charge, but
otherwise the only camping you're likely to do is if
you go trekking or climbing and need to camp
overnight in the wilderness or on a mountain top.
Note that rental outlets for equipment are few and
far between, so you might need to bring your own
gear from home.
There are very few youth hostels in the country,
most of them in university cities where they may
be booked up by students throughout term time.
A Hostelling International (HI) card can in theory
give you a tiny saving of around P25 a night at
the handful of YMCAs and YWCAs in the big cities.
The problem is that few staff have any idea what
an HI card is.
There's no o cial homestay programme in the
Philippines, but in rural areas where there may be
no formal accommodation, you'll often find people
willing to put you up in their home for a small
charge, usually no more than P200 a night,
including some food. If you enjoy the stay, it's best
to offer some sort of tip when you leave, or a gift of
soft drinks and sweets for the children. You can ask
around at town halls if you're interested.
for a doggy bag - everyone does. The final bill you
get in a restaurant usually includes VAT of twelve
percent and a service charge of ten percent, adding
22 percent to the price shown on the menu.
Don't be confused by the absence of a knife
from most table settings. It's normal to use just a
fork and spoon, cutting any meat with the fork
and using the spoon to put the food in your
mouth. This isn't as eccentric as it first seems.
Most meat is served in small chunks, not steak-like
slabs, so you usually don't have to cut it at all.
Fish can be skewered with your fork and cut with
the side of your spoon. And a spoon is so much
easier for the local staple, steamed rice, than a
knife and fork. That said, in some “native-style”
restaurants food is served on banana leaves
and you're expected to eat with your hands,
combining the rice and food into mouthful-sized
balls with your fingers - if you don't feel up to this
it's fine to ask for cutlery.
Filipino cuisine
Filipino food is a delicious and exotic blend of Malay,
Spanish, Chinese and American traditions. Dishes
range from the very simple, like grilled fish and
rice, to more complex stews, paellas and artfully
barbecued meats, many using local fruits such as
calamansi, coconuts and mangoes. Seafood is
especially rich - expect anything from meaty crabs
and milkfish to grouper and stingray on the menu.
Most meals are served with San Miguel, the local
beer, and are followed by sumptuous tropical fruits
and decadent desserts.
Food and drink
The high esteem in which Filipinos hold
their food is encapsulated by the common
greeting “Let's eat!” Though Filipino food
has a reputation for being one of Asia's
less adventurous cuisines, there is a lot
more to it than adobo (see box opposite),
and young, entrepreneurial restaurateurs
and chefs have started to give native
dishes an increasingly sophisticated
touch.
In the Philippines snacks - merienda - are eaten
in between the three main meals, and not to
partake when offered can be considered rude. It's
not unusual for breakfast to be eaten early,
followed by merienda at 10am, lunch as early as
11am (especially in the provinces where many
people are up at sunrise), more merienda at 2pm
and 4pm, and dinner at 7pm. Meals are substantial,
and even busy o ce workers prefer to sit down at a
table and make the meal last. Never be afraid to ask
The staples
Rice is the key Filipino staple, often accompanied
by little more than freshly caught fish with a vinegar
sauce. Lapu-lapu (grouper) and bangus (milkfish)
are commonly served, while squid, crab and prawns
are especially good and cheap in the Philippines.
Chicken is another key staple - competition for the
best fried or barbecued chicken ( lechon manok ) is
fierce. Popular dishes on virtually every menu
include sinigang , a refreshing tamarind-based sour
soup; kare-kare , a stew made from delicious
peanut sauce with vegetables and usually beef; and
sizzling sisig , fried pig's head and liver, seasoned
with calamansi and chilli peppers. Filipino Chinese
dishes such as pancit (noodles) and lumpia (spring
rolls) are common. Probably the most popular
meat is pork , transformed into dishes such as crispy
pata, adobo (see box opposite) and lechon ,
 
 
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