Adventures in Food: The Philippines

 

{tofu adobo}

The Philippines was the last stop on our round the world trip! We started and finished in South East Asia and The Philippines was a beautiful, friendly and delicious spot to visit. As with all of the countries we have visited, we balanced trying traditional dishes, with any cravings (usually something fresh), restaurants that were highly recommended (whatever the cuisine) and what we could conveniently find (often tourist food: pizza, pasta and burgers). Here's what I tried in The Philippines.

Adobo is a classic dish, but what protein the adobo marinade covers varies greatly. I was able to try the vinegar/soy sauce/garlic marinade over fried tofu. I always love to try a vegetarian version of a local dish.

{calamansi juice}

I took this photo for my mum and brother, who love lemon and lime flavoured drinks! Calamansi are small local limes used in drinks and for delicious curd to be spread on toast.

{lumpia}

Spring rolls, or lumpia, are popular in The Philippines and make a great snack! And no I didn't eat those chillies!

{champorado}

Chocolate rice pudding for breakfast. Yes, you read correctly! While not all champorados are as flashy as this one (with caramel ice cream, sliced mango and toasted marshmallow), it is a traditional breakfast, believe it or not.

{halo-halo}

It's lurid, it's quirky, it's... interesting. In that special way that only Asian desserts can be! Halo-halo is has a base of shaved ice covered in layers of various toppings, including evaporated milk, cereal, fruit, raisins, jelly and ice cream. I was lucky to have purple yam ice cream to top mine! The textures are great and the dessert has a syrupy sweet vibe going on. Worth a try, but I do prefer creamy/chocolate desserts.