Puto-maya

Puto-maya is one of the most favorite morning snacks among Filipinos. It is made of sticky rice, coconut milk, strips of ginger (for a nice aroma), salt, and white sugar. This is usually eaten with ripe mangoes and hot chocolate.

Lumpia wrapper

Lumpia wrappers are made of flour, eggs, salt, water. Aside from using these to make lumpia, we also use the wrappers to make banana toron: saba (plantains) banana wrapped in lumpia wrappers and fried with melted brown sugar.

Crunchy lumpia

Lumpia is a famous dish in Filipino parties. It is usually stuffed with ground pork, veggies (carrots, potatoes, bean sprouts, etc.) and spices. It is served with sweet and sour sauce. It is best eaten when hot and crunchy.

Chorizo

Chorizo is made of ground pork with spices wrapped in pig's intestine. Sold by dozen.

Irresistible Tuyo (Dried Fish)

Wow, the most famous appetizer among Filipinos: dried fish! Called "tuyo" in tagalog and "bulad or buwad" in Visayan. Dried fish comes in a variety of fishes. These are the third class kind and the cheapest.

Famous lechon

Lechon is the most popular dish in Filipino parties/gatherings/feasts. It is a whole pig slowly roasted over a pile of charcoal. The hollow stomach is stuffed with different spices like lemon grass, chives, and such making every part of the meat tastier. The skin is crunchy which everyone are crazy about. Lechon are sold in whole or by kilo. It is available in mall's food courts or wet markets.

Dressed chickens

Fresh dressed chicken in wet markets. Body parts (wings, breasts, thighs, heads, etc.) are separated according to its kind. A whole chicken is also available, depending on the customer's preference. Per kilo is 130Php.

Bamboo shoots with pork

Bamboo shoot is one of Filipinos' typical ingredient on dishes. This dish is cooked with slices of pork with spices.

Broiled Corns

I saw these broiled corns near the market. This reminds me of home. Every corn harvest, my siblings and I would put fresh corns on hot charcoal and waited until it's cooked. We found our simple pleasure munching this burned sweet corns. I will miss this food pleasure.

Each corn costs 5Php. It was still hot when I took my bites. Yummy!

Soupy White Clams with Malunggay (Horse raddish/Moringa)

I got this fresh white clams in the public market for 40Php. It is sold by a plastic container and not by kilo. I think I got more than 20 pieces of these clams for 40 pesos. I have to brush it with a soft-bristle brush to take away the moss that stuck on the shell before putting it in the pot with boiling water. Spices and seasonings I put to taste were: ginger, onion, tomatoes, chili (the elongated one), chives, knorr fish cube, and salt. Malunggay is added for more nutrients. My kuya's wife liked it so much :-)

Tiny Shrimps with Eggs

I got 1/4 of a kilo of this tiny shrimps in the market for 10Php. I washed it thoroughly before putting in spices like tomatoes, onions, garlic (finely chopped) and put seasonings to taste. Mixed two eggs and a little bit of flour to make it stick together when frying. Dipped it with soy sauce and calamansi for sauce. I wished I took a picture of the raw shrimps. This kind of shrimp are the ones used in making "bagoong alamang" which is a famous Filipino dish appetizer.

Sumptuous Seaweed Appetizer

This is a kind of seaweed which is quite popular among Filipinos. In Visayan term, we call it "lato." I really don't know what is the tagalog term for this seaweed (sorry). I get rid of the wilted parts by patiently pruning it. I also wash this with tap water a few times to get rid of unwanted stuffs that stuck on the weeds. I ate this with vinegar made from pure coconut water and a bit of salt. It's slimy, yet yummy. Great appetizer!

Creamy Avocado

Very simple but yummy dessert. Just dice avocado, mixed with milk, cream and brown sugar. Refrigerate.

Grilled-Fried Talong (Eggplant) with Eggs

Another favorite of mine. It's grilled talong (eggplant), peeled and stuffed with tomatoes and onions. I put a pinch of black pepper and salt. Dipped it in egg and fried. I combined soy sauce and calamansi for the sauce. Tasty! I cooked this one along with tinolang manok for my kuya's wife, a few hours after she gave birth.

Yummy Sotanghon (Glass Noodles) with Canned Sardines

One of my favorite foods. This one is quite cheap. It's made of sotanghon, canned sardines, and spices (onion & garlic). You can also add veggies like string beans, carrots, chayote or cabbage.