Eat
Plan the trip around the food.
Filipino food is regional, generous and built for sharing: lechon in Cebu, sisig where it was invented in Angeles, batchoy in Iloilo, and a fiesta table in every town on this calendar. The festivals feed you as part of the programme; this page is the short course on what to look for between events.
The formats worth knowing
Lechon. Whole roast pig with crackling skin, the centrepiece of every serious celebration. Cebu's version, seasoned inside and eaten without sauce, is the one Filipinos argue about most; order by the kilo at the lechon houses near the airport road and in Talisay, and go early, the best cuts sell out by lunch.
The carinderia and the turo-turo. The neighbourhood canteen: trays of adobo, sinigang, kare-kare and the day's fish, pointed at ("turo-turo" means point-point) and served with rice. This is where the country's everyday cooking is best, and cheapest, and where an event trip eats like a local.
Street food and the night market. Isaw (grilled intestines), fish balls, kwek-kwek (battered quail eggs), green mango with bagoong, and halo-halo for dessert: the stalls gather wherever the crowds do, outside arenas, along fiesta routes and at the weekend markets in Salcedo, Legazpi and Mercato Centrale.
Regional pilgrimages. Sisig in Angeles City, where it was invented. La Paz batchoy in Iloilo. Bagnet in Ilocos. Chicken inasal in Bacolod, which has a festival on this calendar. Bicol express wherever Bicolanos cook. A Philippines trip can be planned province by province, dish by dish.
The districts worth the trip
Binondo, Manila: the world's oldest Chinatown, Filipino-Chinese cooking since the 1600s, hopia, dumplings and panciterias on a walkable few streets. Poblacion, Makati: the metro's dining and drinking quarter, old houses turned into bars and small restaurants. Maginhawa, Quezon City: the student food street near UP Diliman, cheap and inventive. Cebu's Larsian: the open-air barbecue strip by Fuente Osmeña, decades old. Angeles City: sisig at its source, plus the Korean town restaurants along Friendship Highway.
Food on the calendar
Food rides inside the festival calendar here rather than standing alone: the fiestas are where the regional cooking comes out in force. The festivals category is the list to plan around, and the events calendar carries the dates.