Philippine StreetFoods

Pinakbet and Kare-kare; and also bulalo and inihaw na bangus.  Sarap!

Hi FC!

The one you mentioned is not streetfoods.. :-)

The street food vendors I go to had them.   Do you consider those turo-turo food vendors inside open public markets as street food?
I do.  I've been to all kinds of street food vendors...including those in small shacks along the roadway to elaborate ones (not regular restaurants, though) complete with benches to sit on serving all sorts of native delicacies.  There are also those that sell only one or two items...like banana Q, ukoy, boiled peanuts, maruya, barbecued squid, bibinka, etc.  I like them all.

you mentioned all my favorite turo turo foods FC! :-)

But have you tried the popular BALUT?

Many times.  But haven't had one for a long time.  We don't have balut where I'm at now.   But I was told I could get it at a Filipino market in Vancouver (Canada).    I'll try to look for it when I go to Vancouver one of these days.

Bastani.IC:   Can you access YouTube online?   I just saw a good visual showing on YouTube entitled-  "The best Filipino street food compilation".    Many food items are new to me...they didn't have them in my time.  Now I have an idea what to look for and taste...when I return to the Philippines.

I'm a Filipina and I love street foods here in the Philippines. I can eat them all day but I have to limit myself or else I'll be sick haha  . Balut is my favorite. There's also isaw (chicken's intestines), Kwek kwek (fried qualed egg covered with flour), tokwa (fried tofu), Kikiam, fishballs, chicken balls, squid balls, french fries, and many more!! 

Wow...sarap!  Nakakainggit. I wish I was there.   I'm not familiar with a few you mentioned.  There's one I saw that looks like potatoes cut in curls, fried, then liquid cheese poured over the top with mayonnaise then sprinkled with chopped green onions (?)..looks delicious.  What do you call it?  There's a dish like that here...usually found in Mexican restaurant.   When I go back there I'll probably never eat in a restaurant....just street food.  And what do you call that dish made from pork intestines?  Bituka ng.....?   I also like green mangoes sliced like a sandwich eaten with bagoong.   Mangoes are commonly found in groceries here...but ripe ones only.   I like the sour ones (hilaw) but you can't find them here.

Yeah, I do remember that. It's a deep fried spiral potato. I don't know what they call it either haha. I just saw and tasted it from a normal street food vendor. I didn't mind the name  . Bituka ng baboy, it's a bit gummy but it also tastes delicious. I have this experience, when I was a college at PUP, when you go out of the campus, there are lots of street food vendors and that made me gain a lot of weight. Hahaha! You really must not miss the green mangoes when you got here. Manggang kalabaw as we call it here. There's a calamares also. A fried squid with flour, you should try it if you haven't tried it yet. 

You're really tempting me!  I remember when I was a student in San Beda the vendors always wait at the gate exit selling green mangoes with bagoong, ice cream hamburger (that is, scooped into a hamburger bun) and other goodies to eat.
  I better get going to do my workouts....it's early in the morning.

Ey has anyone tried the adidas? AKA chicken feet? 

Oh no!! Sorry not sorry. Haha kidding. Just last Sunday here in the Philippines, I ate some kwek kwek and calamares. Yuum  You must be nag-lalaway na. Hehe

I have tried those. It's best with vinegar (with onions, cucumber, hot pepper). It's always present at birthdays pulutan 

Oh I miss eating street food. I love kikiam and kwekwek and siomai. Yummy! *heavy breathing*

even, the sago galaman, grilled intestine of chicken, hehehe, its verry delicious

Thank you for your like
 

I like the binatog... and sweetcorn    and also scramble... yummy!!! 

My American husband eats balut (hard boiled fertilized duck egg). I don't. My husband works at a call center, and he said balut gives him extra energy. But I caution him to limit the amount he eats because balut is high in cholesterol.

When I was a kid growing up in the Philippines, I would sometimes buy sorbetes (ice cream cone from a vendor) after school. And also fish balls (sounds funny because fish don't have balls), which are fish meal mixed with flour, rolled into around a 3/4" diameter balls, deep fried to make it puffy and then dipped in a sweet and sour sauce.

When I was in college, I would stop by a street vendor who sells unripe green mango with a side of bagoong or salted shrimp fry.

Here at my office, I used to buy turon (deep fried sliced cooking banana wrapped in spring roll wrapper coated with sugar), banana-cue (whole cooking banana coated with sugar then deep fried and put on a bamboo skewer, and pan de coco (sweet buns with coconut filling) from street vendors passing by.

But one day, I bit into a pan de coco. The bun was ok but the filling tasted off, i.e. a bit sour. I was able to spit out most of it. Later in the evening, I was rushed to the ER for severe vomiting and diarrhea. I felt dizzy and weak. I was diagnosed with gastroenteritis or food poisoning. I strongly suspect it was from the pan de coco as no one from my family or my workers had food poisoning or ate that street food. I was hooked up to an IV and was admitted at a hospital for at least 4 days.

That horrible experience was around 4 years ago. I have not eaten any food from a street vendor since then.

I would caution everyone against eating street food. At one time, I saw a street vendor put back in her basket some banana-cue that fell on a dusty pavement. I don't know if she sold them or tossed them. That literally is "street food."

I still eat turon and banana-cue though, but from reputable restaurants (who can also serve turon a la mode) or from SM Supermarket vendors or made at home.

I suppose since the filling tasted kind of sour that it was probably bad already...and that's what made you sick.  Fish balls?  Sound funny.
   As a kid growing up in Manila I pretty much ate every kind of street food that came along....and getting sick from eating street food was farthest from my mind....well, until one day I must have eaten something tainted and came down with bad case of diarrhea..or whatever it was.  I was in agony for several days!   From then on...I ate only freshly cooked (made sure it was piping hot)  street food.   Except green mangoes and bagoong.  And of course, ice cream on a cone or stuffed in bread (like a hamburger bun).  So just be careful what you buy on the street....be on the safe side; make sure it is cooked...and still hot when it's served.
    Of course in those days we didn't worry about ingesting a few unwanted germs....until we end up really sick.   But I'll probably continue eating street food when I return home next time.   I only hope I can still handle it.  Ay ang sarap!  I can almost taste it.

About Street Food

Hi folks!
I am not actually in the Philippines at this time, but I was before during 18 months, and I will return soon for good. All together, I spent some 8 years in South-East-Asia, where street food is all over the place, but definitely not on my menu or diet.
I just don't understand you folks why you go for that kind of scarp… I understand that most of you on this forum are semi-permanent residence, not just passing-by tourists. I cook my own food because I stay long enough at one place to do so.
In the Philippines, very, very especially, street food and fast food are responsible for overweight and obesity.  Most especially, it is typical of all the Philippine woman.
I went back a few weeks ago to find out that about 75% of the girls above 18, and woman are overweight and obese. This is definitely not the case in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, etc.
In the Philippines, most street food IS fast food: oily, greasy and fried stuff. Most of the street food stands, especially in shopping malls, are franchisees which equal bad stuff and harmful for health.
Leave the street food to locals. It is easy to cook the same things at home.

Hello Happy Traveler (Alegre Viajero):  That's what my parents always tells me and my siblings when we lived in the Philippines...in fact, forbids us from eating street food.   But did we ever listen to their advice?   Just long enough until the next street vendor comes around.   I agree with you of course....it's downright bad for anyone who consumes it.   Temptation is everywhere...the aroma, the colors, the taste...opportunity!   If one must, be discriminate in one's selection...and moderation.   After my episode experiencing the effect of tainted food...I started to be selective...no fried stuff...and must be freshly and thoroughly cooked; preferably boiled, steamed or roasted. Naturally it's not just how it's prepared you have to worry.....the container and utensils used to serve the food and the environment where the food is prepared and served must all meet acceptable sanitary standards..conditions street food establishments are not famous for.
     And you're right on all counts....home cooked meals are generally healthier and more delicious.   Sometimes situation doesn't allow one to eat home cooked meals all the time....so street food is the way to go.   
     By the way, I was stationed all over Southeast Asia....street food is abundant all over...not just in the Philippines.  And in Europe as well.
Still, those not accustomed to eating street food...beware.  Your body may not be accustomed to this type of food and the germs associated with street foods..that your body is not used to (yet).   Whenever possible, eat home cooked meals...or eat in a reputable restaurant.

Quote: I started to be selective...no fried stuff...and must be freshly and thoroughly cooked; preferably boiled, steamed or roasted. Naturally it's not just how it's prepared you have to worry.....the container and utensils used to serve the food and the environment where the food is prepared and served must all meet acceptable sanitary standards… conditions street food establishments are not famous for.

You forgot something FC… I read an article in a daily filipino newspaper: a survey revealed that 70% of the food handling people were test positive for coliform bacteria on there hands. That is not visible… Even in the water they use.

Here in Vietnam: last week I saw a guy washing the dishes in a tub on the sidewalk… he stopped for a moment to sneeze with all his heart three time over the tub of dishes…

It is not only in the Philippines of course. In my last 15 years of full time travelling I got sick more than once, and nearly died of salmonella in Guatemala 10 years ago. Wherever, however or whatever, food poisoning is always mystery and misery.

Here is a good site for travellers.

Yuck!  I've seen how most of them wash the dishes and utensils.  They just dip and swish them in the same dirty water the entire time they're on the street selling their food.   I still wonder how I survive eating street food for so long.

hahahaha! bacteria is part of that fellas! but ofcourse we still need to be careful.
i normally select the stalls that i will buy the fishballs etc. normally i buy it when i know who is cooking it.. :-) in local carinderia.

one tip: if they have a cup for sauce.. that they will give you seperate that is a good sign that the seller is taking care.