Have you ever been to the Philippines? We have a very beautiful country. Tear dropping sunsets, nice beaches and surf spots, good food, hospitable people, BIG malls and have i mentioned FOOD?! Haha! Here are some Filipino delicacies and their descriptions (thanks to Wikipedia and tabulas.com) you will encounter in the country.

Lechón (Tagalog: litson and Cebuano: inasal) is the Spanish word for suckling pig. In the Philippines, it connotes a whole roasted pig, litsong baboy. Chicken and beef are also popular. The process of lechón involves the whole pig/piglet, chicken, or cattle/calf being slowly roasted over charcoal.

Balut (Trứng vịt lộn or Hột vịt lộn in Vietnamese, Pong tea khon in Cambodian) is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell.

Isaw is basically grilled chicken intestines. It is usually cut into bite-sized proportions and is barbecued on a stick over an open grill. Mostly, Isaw is sold on streets with several other grilled animal insides like Isaw Baboy or grilled pig intestines, Balunbalunan or grilled chicken gall bladder, Betamax or grilled pig blood cubes, Adidas or grilled chicken feet, and Helmet or grilled chicken head. It is best enjoyed when dipped in spicy vinegar.

Kinilaw is raw fish or other seafood cooked only by steeping in local vinegar, sometimes with coconut milk, onions, spices and lemons. It is comparable to ceviche.

Halo-halo (from Tagalog word halo, “mix”) is a mixture of shaved ice and milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans and fruits, and served cold in a tall glass or bowl.

There is no specific recipe for this dessert, and a wide variety of ingredients are used. The order in which the ingredients are added varies widely. Primary ingredients generally include boiled red mung beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sport (macapuno), and plantains caramelized in sugar. Other components may include jackfruit (langka), star apple, tapioca or sago, nata de coco, purple yam (ube) or sweet potato (kamote), sweetened corn kernels or pounded crushed young rice (pinipig), leche flan or custard, ice cream and gelatin. Other fruits, such as papayas, avocados, kiwifruit, bananas or cherries, may also be added. Some preparations also include ice cream on top of the halo-halo.

Generally, condensed milk or evaporated milk is used instead of fresh milk, due to the tropical climate of the Philippines.

So what can you say about our food? Hungry? Dizzy from all the calories? Hehe! I got hungry that’s for sure! Please share your delicacies too so that we can try them. Can’t wait! Post, post, post!

Roaarrrr~