| Page Views: 1,425 Last Visit to Philippines: - | My Home Country by Dyesebel - last update: May 5, 2007 |
An Observation
I have now been in this country for over six years, and consider myself in most respects well assimilated.
However, there is one key step on the road to full assimilation, which I have yet to take, and that's to eat BALUT.
The day any of you sees me eating balut, please call immigration and ask them to issue me a Filipino passport.
Because at that point there will be no turning back.
BALUT, for those still blissfully ignorant non-Pinoys out there, is a fertilized duck egg.
It is commonly sold with salt in a piece of newspaper, much like
English fish and chips, by street vendors usually after dark, presumably so you can't see how gross it is.
It's meant to be an aphrodisiac, although I can't imagine anything more likely to dispel sexual desire than crunching on a partially formed baby duck swimming in noxious fluid. The embryo in the egg comes in varying stages of development, but basically it is not considered macho to eat one without fully discernable feathers, beak, and claws.
Some say these crunchy bits are the best. Others prefer just to drink the so-called 'soup', the vile, pungent liquid that surrounds the aforementioned feathery fetus...excuse me; |
Food dominates the life of the Filipino. People here just love to eat.
They eat at least eight times a day. These eight official meals are called, in order: breakfast, snacks, lunch, merienda, merienda ceyna, dinner, bedtime snacK and no-one-saw-me- take-that- cookie-from- the-fridge- so-it-doesn' t-count.
The short gaps in between these mealtimes are spent eating Sky Flakes
>from the open packet that sits on every desktop. You're never far from food in the Philippines . If you doubt this, next time you're driving home from work, try this game. See how long you can drive without seeing food and I don't mean a distant restaurant, or a picture of food. I mean a man on the sidewalk frying fish balls, or a man walking through the traffic selling nuts or candy. I bet it's less than one minute.
Here are some other things I've noticed about food in the Philippines :
Firstly, a meal is not a meal without rice - even breakfast. In the UK, I could go a whole year without eating rice.
Second, it's impossible to drink without eating. A bottle of San Miguel just isn't the same without gambas or beef tapa. Third, no one ventures more than two paces from their house without baon (food in small container) and a container of something cold to drink. You might as well ask a Filipino to leave home without his pants on. |
One really nice thing about Filipino food culture is that people always ask you to SHARE their food.
In my office, if you catch anyone attacking their baon, they will always go, "Sir! KAIN TAYO!" ("Let's eat!").
This confused me, until I realized that they didn't actually expect me to sit down and start munching on their boneless bangus. In fact, the polite response is something like, "No thanks, I just ate."
But the principle is sound - if you have food on your plate, you are expected to share it, however hungry you are, with those who may be even hungrier. I think that's great!
In fact, this is frequently even taken one step further.
Many Filipinos use "Have you eaten yet?" ("KUMAIN KA NA?") as a general greeting, irrespective of time of day or location.
..pls check my travelogue for the continuation.... |
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 Comments for Dyesebel about Philippines | | | | |
OH_DK Wed May 6, 2009 22:42 UTC
Looking forward to tell you about my trip Ida Marie - it was great - and you know what? I tried BALUT on a bus rest on the way to Baguio! | LrSorr Tue May 8, 2007 22:22 UTC
Natawa ako! I can certainly relate... I still love the food eventhough I try my best to stay away from it. It's all about foodies! | barbskie Sat Mar 24, 2007 15:22 UTC
hi Ida, wow nagpapasarap yata kayo dyan ;) yep schnee again! kararating lang namin. sige enjoy! hear u. muahz | i-s-a Tue Mar 13, 2007 07:33 UTC
pareho tayo ng article sa philippine page :0) |
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