Manila Street Food

The Philippines has a busy street life. There, the street is a happening scene.

Many activities take place on the streets including the basic activities associated with simple living. But the economic and cultural ones are what attract foreigners --- the hawkers who sell everything from food to pirated CD’s, the performers who beg (or should it be the beggars who perform?), the hookers, and the fashionistas.

In the bohemian neighbourhoods, artists and craftspeople create and sell their works on the sidewalks. Riskier transactions also take place stealthily on the same sidewalk. Trendy cafes have patios from where clients can view these activities. I remember my friends and I driving to the Remedios Circle after midnight on New Year’s Eve to see the costumes and gowns of the socialites flocking to Adriatico for coffee after a party at one of the posh hotels. The city would be full of smog from the firecrackers and fireworks, making driving hazardous, but we would navigate the highways and the residential streets fast to catch the procession. In those days, coffee offerings were not as diverse as they are today so we settled on “chocolate eh”. At our favourite café, we could get churros to go with it. Viva la dulce vida!

At the university belt, vendors line the street just outside the gates of academe. Tight security prevents them from sneaking in. Students buy their lunches or snacks from these sidewalk vendors. They are not limited to hotdogs and French fries like their counterparts in Toronto. They can have the exotic for lunch, like adidas or IUDs ( these are chicken feet and intestines on skewers), grilled while you wait, and manggang hilaw, peeled and likewise skewered for easy handling, with bagoong on the side. The students can also have a proper and more traditional lunch of rice and viand on the street because some smart vendors can convert their trucks into diners with stools that clients can sit on.

At the University of the Philippines, vendors can actually roam on campus because many of them live on university property that has been squatted on. But the choices of UP students when it comes to street food are more limited to peanuts, turon and balut. UP students, however, can go to food outlets that are roofed under the Dilimall and the cafeterias run by the University Food Service. There are also pricier and better-looking eateries where they can celebrate a special occasion or take their dates.

For snacks, the streets are the foodie’s paradise. The variety is as vast as the landscape. And the experience is cultural --- very Filipino I should say.

Foreigners can get to know the Filipinos and their culture by participating in the street life of the city. But they should exercise caution for they may develop some stomach problems or fall prey to pickpockets. A Filipino guide is recommended.