Managing meals in the Philippines

Good questions Cheryl, here's what DeepSeek thinks ..

@Cheryl writes,

Hello everyone,

Managing meals day-to-day can sometimes be a real mental challenge, even more so when you land in a new environment, with different schedules, habits or ingredients.

How do you manage your meal routine as an expat in the Philippines?

We invite you to share your experience in order to help fellow expats and soon-to-be expats.

What are the main changes you have made to your meal routine since settling in the Philippines?

Did you face any challenges to adapt to new meal habits?

Do you cook fresh meals everyday or do you meal prep? Why?

If you live with your family, do you prepare meals for everyone for school or work? Are canteens available?

Do you usually eat out for lunch or dinner or do you prefer eating at home?

What surprised you the most about meals in the Philippines, either in terms of habits, timing, portions, meal composition, food culture, etc.?

Share your insights, experience and meal routines!

Here's how Deepseek responds ..

https://chat.deepseek.com/a/chat/

Of course!

This is a wonderful request that taps into a very real aspect of expat life. Here is a sample answer written from the perspective of a thoughtful expat, designed to be helpful, insightful, and encouraging for others.

Hello everyone,

What a great topic. I completely agree that managing meals is one of the biggest, yet most rewarding, adjustments when moving to a new country. I've been living in Manila for about three years now, and here’s a look at my experience.

What are the main changes you have made to your meal routine since settling in the Philippines?

The most significant change has been the shift towards eating more rice and incorporating local flavors into my daily diet. Back home, I might have had rice once or twice a week, but here it's a staple for lunch and dinner.

I've also learned to love the combination of sweet, salty, and sour flavors that are so characteristic of Filipino food. My breakfasts have transformed from cereal or toast to often include tapsilog (beef tapa with garlic rice and egg) or a simple pan de sal with coffee.

Did you face any challenges to adapt to new meal habits?

Absolutely. The biggest challenge was the different meal timing. Dinner is often much later here than I was used to. An 8 PM or even 9 PM dinner was initially quite late for me, and I had to adjust my snacking habits to cope.

Another challenge was getting used to the sweetness of certain breads and sauces. It was surprising at first, but now I've come to appreciate it.

Finally, learning to navigate the wet markets and identify local ingredients took some time and a lot of asking questions!

Do you cook fresh meals everyday or do you meal prep? Why?

I've landed on a hybrid approach. I meal prep on Sundays for about 2-3 days' worth of lunches, usually a protein and a vegetable dish. This is a lifesaver during the busy workweek.

However, I find that Filipino food, with its emphasis on fresh fish and vegetables, often tastes best when cooked and eaten the same day. So, for dinners, I typically cook fresh. The availability of affordable, fresh produce and the ease of quick grocery runs make this possible.

If you live with your family, do you prepare meals for everyone for school or work? Are canteens available?

I live with my partner, and we both work from home, so our situation is a bit specific. We prepare our own lunches from our prepped food.

However, from friends with children in school, I understand that "baon" (packed lunch) is extremely common and almost a cultural institution. Parents often prepare elaborate lunchboxes for their kids. School canteens are available, but the quality and options can vary greatly, so many families prefer to pack food.

In offices, canteens or "carenderias" (small, local eateries) nearby are very common and a popular, affordable option for employees.

Do you usually eat out for lunch or dinner or do you prefer eating at home?

We probably eat out 2-3 times a week, and it's one of the great joys of living here!

The food is incredibly affordable, and the variety is astounding—from a quick PHP 100 meal at a carenderia to a nice restaurant. That said, we prefer eating at home for most meals. It's healthier, allows us to control our ingredients (especially salt and oil), and is a comforting routine.

The rise of food delivery apps like Foodpanda and GrabFood also gives us the best of both worlds.

What surprised you the most about meals in the Philippines...?

So many things!

    Portion Sizes with Rice: The mountain of rice that comes with every meal was a shock! I've learned to ask for "less rice" now.

    The Culture of Sharing: Meals are often family-style, with many dishes placed in the center for everyone to share. It creates a wonderful sense of community.

    "Pulutan": The concept of food specifically meant to be eaten with alcohol was new to me. I love how social drinking and eating are intertwined here.

    The Sweet Breakfast: Seeing items like champorado (chocolate rice porridge) or sweet spaghetti on breakfast menus was initially surprising, but it highlights the unique and unapologetic flavor profile of the cuisine.

    The Ubiquity of "Merienda": The afternoon snack isn't just a cookie; it's a legit mini-meal and a cherished part of the day. I've fully adopted this habit!

Share your insights, experience and meal routines!

My biggest insight is to embrace the flexibility. Don't try to perfectly replicate your home country's diet, but don't feel you have to abandon it either.

My weekly routine now includes a mix of:

    Filipino Favorites: I've learned to cook sinigang and adobo at home.

    Local Ingredients: I use local fish, mangoes, and calamansi constantly.

    Comforts from Home: I still make my favorite pasta dish once a week—I just buy the imported olive oil for it as a treat.

Be curious, ask questions at the market, and don't be afraid to try the carenderia. The food culture here is warm, generous, and deeply connected to community. It's a delicious journey of adaptation!

I hope this helps fellow expats navigate their own culinary adventures here.

--

happy trails

Part Two:

Moi: "Many thanks .. seems helpful .. seek deeper .. "

DeepSeek:  "Of course. Going deeper. Here is a more nuanced, "insider's look" at the meal routine, focusing on the unspoken challenges and subtle adaptations.

Understood. Let's delve deeper beyond the initial adjustments.

The Mental Load & The "Third Culture" Kitchen

The biggest hidden challenge isn't the food itself, but the constant, low-grade mental calculus it requires. You're not just deciding what to eat; you're subconsciously navigating:

    The Hydration Question: Is this tap water safe for rinsing that lettuce? Do I have enough filtered water for cooking and drinking? This adds a layer of stress to every fresh meal prep that simply doesn't exist back home.

    The Ingredient Swap Puzzle: Your favorite recipe calls for sour cream. It's available, but costs 4x what it does back home. What's the local alternative? Krema? Yogurt? This constant substitution means recipes are never made exactly the same way twice, creating a sense of culinary displacement.

    The Logistics of Acquisition: A "quick grocery run" can be a multi-stop mission. The wet market for the freshest fish and veggies, the supermarket for imported oats or cheese, and the roadside stall for the sweetest mangoes. You become a logistics manager for your own kitchen.

Meal Prep vs. Fresh: The Humidity Factor

Many expats arrive with grand plans for Sunday meal prep. Then they meet the Philippine humidity. What you learn:

    Cooked food doesn't last as long. That grilled chicken you'd confidently eat on Day 4 back home might be questionable here by Day 2. The hybrid model isn't just preference; it's often a necessity driven by climate. We prep base ingredients (marinated proteins, washed & chopped veg) rather than full meals.

    The Freezer is Your Best Friend: Bulk-buying meat and freezing it in meal-sized portions is a critical strategy. The power of the teslong (plastic ice bag) for the market fish is a lesson quickly learned.

The Social Contract of Eating

The surprise isn't just the later dinners; it's the fluid, extended nature of meal times.

    "Kain Tayo!" (Let's Eat!) is a Greeting: This isn't just an invitation; it's a cultural reflex. You learn to accept it graciously, even if you're not hungry, because it's about offering fellowship, not just food. Refusing outright can sometimes be seen as rejecting the person.

    The "Extra Plate" is Always There: In a Filipino home, a guest arriving unexpectedly at mealtime is not a crisis but an opportunity. The food "stretches." This profound generosity redefines your own relationship with hosting and food sharing.

    The Unspoken Rules of the Boodle Fight: This isn't just eating with your hands. It's a lesson in humility, community, and equality. There are no plates to hide behind, no special cuts of meat. You eat what's in front of you, together. It's a powerful culinary metaphor for Filipino society.

The "Baon" Culture: A Deeper Look

This goes far beyond a packed lunch. It's an expression of love and care (malasakit).

    The lunchbox is often insulated, with separate compartments to keep rice warm and viands from sogging. It's a piece of engineering.

    For the expat parent, preparing baon is a daily act of cultural negotiation: Do I pack a sandwich my child is familiar with, or encourage them to try the pancit their classmates are eating? It's a small but constant dialogue about identity and adaptation.

The Ultimate Insight: Finding Your "Food Voice"

The journey isn't about fully assimilating or clinging to the past. It's about creating a "Third Culture" kitchen. My kitchen now has:

    Datu Puti vinegar next to extra virgin olive oil.

    A rice cooker as a permanent countertop fixture.

    I use calamansi instead of lemon in almost everything.

    I've learned that a little sugar in my spaghetti sauce, a nod to Jollibee, actually creates a wonderful depth of flavor.

The goal is to stop seeing your old diet and the new one as in conflict. You begin to blend them, creating a unique, personal cuisine that is the true taste of being an expat in the Philippines. It's challenging, messy, and ultimately, incredibly rewarding.

Safe travels. Ingat!

I am Austrian and as most people know, our kitchen is very good. However, I was in the USA for some time and got used to fast food.

In the 9 years here in the Philippines I got used to rice but still refuse seafood and balut. I got used to eat rice every second day and I eat more chicken than before.

1. Once a week we go to a buffet restaurant
2. once a week we go to the McDonalds on the beach
3. every second week we order pizza
4. every Thursday we go shopping and there is a Jollibee food for us
5. my wife is cooking sometimes sweets but most of the time I get rice
6. A have a big stock of sausages, meet, corned beef, Pork and Beans in the kitchen

As we don't drink alcohol, the fridge is full with Tonic Water, fruit Juice and other soft drinks.

Enjoy your meal

Andy

I'm spoiled. My filapina gf is an excellent cook. We have a wet market at the fish dock close by. We buy alit if fish, vegetables and fruit. We buy our beef at the grocery store and vegetables and fruit as well. She eats a lot of rice. I do not. I eat mostly protein, vegetables and fruit. I also keep protein shakes in the freezer. That I can microwave slightly for a frozen shake. Those are great for times when I don't have time to eat. But need some calories. Also keeps my protein intake high.

I have never eaten more healthy. We do fry fish and potatoes in palm oil. But it's not heavily saturated. And I eat so we'll, work out, walk king distances and am healthy enough that fried potatoes do nit get out if hand. I do find that I digest those better than rice. I have tendency if getting constipated by grains and bread. I eat little to no bread.

In terms of eating out. Mang Inasal is the single greatest fast food place I have ever eaten. The very best barbecue grilled chicken I have ever had. 90% if chicken in the PH us overcooked and dry. Manf Inasal somehow managed to always cook every piece of the thousands they sell daily - to a perfectly cooked but juicy finish. The spicy vinagsr and packet sauce I forget the name is excellent. And it's super cheap. I think it's like 250 pesos for a large piece of leg and thigh, rice and an iced tea.

There is one or two better restaurant we eat at. But they are probably considered closer to find dining than anywhere else here (Tagbilaran) nit really fine dining. But maybe 2000 pesos for the two of us. And dishes that could easily compete with anything I would eat in Los Angeles.

Most everything else is questionable. Not bad. But I'd rather eat something healthy at home. Few international wuisines have actually been eaten by PH chefs. So what you end up getting is something a Filapino imagined it must taste like based on pictures and Filapino taste and cooking preferences. Pizza is routinely undercooked. More like bread than pizza and never enough sauce. And frequently ingredients you would not normally consider for pizza. But that's a problem in the US too.

Mexican is never Mexican. Has little to nothing to do with Mexican food. I'm sure there are exceptions to all of the various international quisines. These are generalization and account for the majority of places you'll find these served at.

It's usually just a bad knock off if an international dish.

But there are notable PH dishes that are very good. Choo Suey is a great vegetable dish. Smoked and grilled stuffed squid is excellent. As is smoked and stuffed and grilled fish. Very good and both are very healthy.

Mainly I prefer eating at home. Fish, chicken or beef, vegetables and fruit. Or chicken from Mang Inasal. But I'm highly concentrated in eating clean. Everything clean or fairly clean I eat here is excellent though. And tastes very very good. I don't feel like I am lacking for anything.