Manila's Food Scene Is Criminally Underrated: A Deep Dive Into Filipino Flavors
Filipino food has a PR problem. Ask someone to name three Filipino dishes and watch them struggle. Adobo? Maybe. Lechon? If they've been to a Filipino party. After that? Blank stares.
But here's the thing — is sitting on one of Asia's most complex, layered, fascinating food cultures, and the world is only now starting to pay attention. Toyo Eatery landed on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list. The Poblacion bar scene is rivaling for cocktail innovation. And the street food? The street food is some of the cheapest, most flavorful eating on the continent.
This is a food city. Full stop. Let me show you why.
The Street Food Foundation
Manila's food identity starts at the carinderia — small, family-run eateries where dishes sit in steel trays behind glass and you point at what you want. Adobo (chicken or pork braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and bay leaves), sinigang (tamarind sour soup), sisig (sizzling chopped pig face with egg and chili), lechon kawali (crispy deep-fried pork belly). A full meal at a carinderia costs PHP 60-120. That's $1-2.
And then there's Jollibee. I know, I know — fast food. But Jollibee is a cultural institution, not just a restaurant. It outsells McDonald's in the Philippines by a massive margin. The Chickenjoy (crispy fried chicken with gravy) is genuinely excellent. The Jolly Spaghetti — sweet, with banana ketchup and hot dog chunks — is polarizing and I love it. A full meal is under PHP 200.
But the real street action happens at night. Vendors set up along roadsides selling isaw (grilled chicken intestines on sticks), kwek-kwek (deep-fried battered quail eggs), fish balls in sweet or spicy sauce (PHP 20-30 per serving), and betamax (grilled cubed blood). The naming convention follows shapes — betamax looks like a VHS tape, Walkman is shaped like... you get it.
Binondo: The World's Oldest Chinatown, and Manila's Food Heart
Founded in 1594. Let that date sink in. Binondo has been feeding Manila for over 400 years, and walking through its narrow streets at lunch feels like stepping into a food documentary.
Start at Binondo Church on Ongpin Street. Walk south. Within two blocks, you'll hit more food options than you can process.
Dong Bei Dumplings serves xiao long bao and pan-fried dumplings that hold their own against Shanghai. The wrappers are thin, the broth inside is scalding — be careful. Under PHP 200 for a plate.
Masuki does lumpia — fresh and fried spring rolls — that locals have been eating since forever. Their mami (noodle soup) is comfort food on a bowl.
Eng Bee Tin on Ongpin Street is the hopia (flaky pastry) institution. Mung bean filling, ube filling, mongo filling. Buy a box for PHP 200 and try not to eat them all on the walk back.
Ying Ying Tea House has served dim sum since 1959. The hakaw, siomai, and machang are the moves. Full dim sum lunch for under PHP 300 per person. The restaurant looks like it hasn't changed since the 60s, and that's entirely the point.
A guided Binondo food tour costs PHP 1,500 ($27) and lasts three hours. It's the single best food experience in Manila. But you can absolutely do it yourself — just follow the crowds and the smells.
Modern Filipino: Where Tradition Meets Technique
Manila's modern Filipino dining scene has exploded in the last five years. These restaurants take traditional recipes and apply contemporary techniques — and the results are extraordinary.
Toyo Eatery in Makati. One of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. Chef Jordy Navarra's tasting menu uses hyperlocal ingredients — seaweed from Ilocos, heirloom rice from the Cordilleras, fermented fish from Pangasinan. The lunch set runs PHP 2,500-3,500. Book a week ahead. This is a restaurant that's changing how the world perceives Filipino food.
Manam does modern Filipino comfort food — watermelon sinigang (yes, it works), crispy kare-kare (oxtail stew), and their famous sizzling sinigang. No reservations, and there's almost always a queue. Worth it. PHP 300-500 per person.
Locavore in Poblacion is farm-to-table Filipino — their pork belly sisig is crispy on the outside and melting inside, their lechon kawali comes with a truffle dip. PHP 400-700 per person for dinner.
Abe Restaurant in Serendra serves Kapampangan cuisine — the regional cooking tradition from Pampanga province, widely considered the Philippines' best. The pampanga sisig (the original, from the province that invented it) and the kaldereta (goat stew) are outstanding. PHP 500-800 per person.
The Breakfast Culture
Filipino breakfast is an event. The classic combination is called a "-silog" — sinangag (garlic fried rice) plus itlog (fried egg) plus a protein. Tapsilog (beef tapa), longsilog (longganisa sausage), bangsilog (bangus milkfish). Every carinderia and hotel serves these for PHP 200-350.
The best tapsilog in Manila? Tapsi ni Vivian in Kapitolyo, Pasig — a no-frills spot where the beef tapa is sweet, salty, and slightly charred. Queue expected at weekends.
For something fancier, Pancake House (a local chain, not what Americans imagine) does elevated Filipino breakfast. And the weekend markets — Salcedo Saturday Market and Legazpi Sunday Market — have food stalls serving everything from Spanish paella to ube (purple yam) pastries. Open mornings only. Get there early.
The Drink Scene
Poblacion's bar scene deserves its own article. But the highlights:
Agimat uses Filipino ingredients — calamansi, ube, coconut vinegar, lemongrass — in cocktails that are creative without being gimmicky. PHP 350-500 per drink.
Z Hostel rooftop has the best skyline views in the neighborhood and decent house cocktails at backpacker prices.
The Curator Coffee and Cocktails switches from specialty coffee by day to a cocktail bar by night. It's tiny, the bartender is usually the owner, and the Old Fashioned is one of the best in Manila.
For beer, look for Craft beer brand Engkanto or order a San Miguel Pale Pilsen (the national beer) at any local spot for PHP 40-60.
The Market Experience
Beyond Binondo, Manila's markets are a food lover's playground.
Mercato Centrale at BGC (Thursday-Saturday nights) is an open-air night market with 50+ stalls. Budget PHP 300-500 for multiple dishes. Friday nights are the best — live music, more vendors, bigger crowds.
Divisoria Market is Manila's wholesale chaos — overwhelming, loud, not for everyone. But the food stalls at the edges serve some of the cheapest eats in the city.
Salcedo Weekend Market (Saturday) in Makati is the foodie market — organic produce, artisanal cheeses, Spanish paella pans, and ube everything. More upmarket, more curated.
How to Eat Manila on a Budget
Here's a sample food day that keeps you under PHP 1,500 ($27) while eating incredibly well:
Breakfast: Tapsilog at a carinderia — PHP 180
Mid-morning: Jollibee Chickenjoy and mango peach pie — PHP 170
Afternoon snack: Fish balls and kwek-kwek from a street vendor — PHP 50
Dinner: Manam modern Filipino — PHP 450
Drinks: Two San Miguels at a local bar — PHP 120
Total: PHP 1,320 ($24)
That's a full day of eating, from street to upscale, for less than a single restaurant meal in most American cities.
The Dish You Must Try
If I'm pinned down to one dish, one recommendation for someone with one meal in Manila — it's sisig. Chopped pig face (cheeks, ears, snout), sizzled on a hot plate with chili, calamansi, onions, and a raw egg that cooks on contact. It was invented in Angeles City, Pampanga, but every restaurant in Manila has its version.
The best I've had? Abe Restaurant's Kapampangan sisig. Close second: any hole-in-the-wall that spells it "sisig" on a handwritten sign.
Manila's food scene isn't just "criminally underrated." It's one of the most exciting, diverse, and affordable eating destinations in Asia. It just needs more people to realize it. For more details, see our Manila travel guide.
