Exploring Southeast Asia's Most Unappreciated Cuisine

The Philippines is the world’s 12th-largest country; an island paradise surrounded by the world’s great culinary cultures and the native home to plants like the coconut. So why is Filipino cuisine so unknown- and more than that, hated?

This week, we’re exploring Bangkok’s Pinoy subculture, visiting the best restaurants and navigating the migrant enclave to find the story of what Filipino food really is, why it’s so misunderstood, and how it became perceived as the black sheep of Southeast Asia.

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0:00 - Introduction
1:23 - The History of Filipino Food
3:43 - First Feast
6:44 - Dish by Dish Through 5000 Years
9:47 - The Hidden Gem
13:48 - Why Does the World Hate Filipino Food?
16:37 - The Core of the Problem
18:39 - Pridi Banomyong
20:10 - Second Feast
23:16 - Challenges
27:14 - Palengke
28:39 - Flavors
33:25 - Halo Halo

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Video Credits:

[OTRontheroad]

Locations pinned below. Thanks for your patience with this one- I know it's been a couple of weeks since we've posted a new video; first time we've ever taken a full two weeks off between videos and that wasn't the plan, but some health issues came up that had to be dealt with. Thankfully, I'm more-or-less back to normal and cleared to resume a full schedule so we're back on track to hit the ground running again. Appreciate all of your support!

This week's pins:

Cheers and have a great week.

[nolsp]

I don't know if it's just me, but as a Filipino who is not in the restaurant business, I'm not really affected by the lack of "fame" of our cuisine. If a foreigner says our food is not that good I'll just shrug and say - "That's ok. I brought tupperware." 😅😅

[misteralien]

As a Filipino, I actually don't mind the Filipino cuisine's "rogue" status. It just makes it unique and cooler in my eyes. Like an identity that could never be stolen.

[sarutobisensei]

As a Mexican the more I see this video the more I feel a unity with our long distance brothers also conquered by Spain the Filipinos, our countries look very similar in several aspects, even in culture and I know even in names and customs, that family unity, that delicious food, crime and that poverty that keeps us humble, we have so many good and bad aspects so similar that show our similarity, I wish the relations between our countries could be closer again, a greeting to all our dear Filipino brothers ❤.

[gldflcn]

Young black American here from CA and let me tell you, FILIPINO food warms the soul!! Honestly my favorite cuisine! Ain’t nothing like some homemade chicken adobo or caldareta baby

[lizgoeshardt]

I had no idea Filipino food was looked down on.
I grew up on and near US Navy bases on the East Coast. Our churches were like 50% Filipino and there were Filipino restaurants. When we had church picnics and grills, the hotdogs and hamburgers would be piled up and uneaten - everyone, EVERYONE, went for the food brought by the Filipino church ladies. THE BEST.
It's been 30 years and I still miss it.

[TheOriginalRick]

I was introduced to Filipino food when I married a lovely, young Filipina 50 years ago. Growing up in the Midwest USA in the 50s and 60s did not prepare me well for the switch to a new, completely foreign cuisine. I've grown to love most of it, and our kids consider it their comfort food they grew up with. With Mrs. Rick having officially achieving the coveted Filipina Lola title 15 years ago, I can proudly and loudly say that I have my own expert Filipina Lola cooking our food for us. 😍😍

[worldspassports]

Loving this! As a Bornean, I used to have a somewhat dismissive impression of Filipino food until I made more Filipino friends and tried foods properly home cooked by the diaspora here. Today it’s probably among my favourites cuisines of Southeast Asia.

Give me a thick dinuguan any day!

[ubstnks]

Filipino food and culture is widely misunderstood. It's even misunderstood by Filipino people. You can see this when the couple starts arguing about the origin of kinilaw. It's precolonial native dish, but the husband believes it's an adaptation of Japanese sushi. People think Filipino adobo is related to Spanish adobo. However, it's a precolonial dish. The Spanish started calling it 'adobo' do to it's resemblance to their dish, and the name stuck. I think the most salient point you make is that in much of Asia, there is a big emphasis on restaurant culture that doesn't exist at that level in the Philippines. I think your work of putting out well researched history like this is important. It helps bring a lot of context to a place that is so widely misunderstood and overlooked.

[ohdeerheavens]

As a Filipina I don't actually mind if it's "underappreciated" or even disliked or hated lol I'll eat it because it's good, I'll cook it because I like it. If anyone doesn't like it, it's a reflection of their taste, not my culture

[kongdenis]

My high respect goes to the youtuber who miraculously managed to be savvy in history, passionate in food, and fair and unbised towards the Filippine culture. My girlfriend is a Filipino, and I have such a pleasant time dining with her in local Filipino streetstands, malls, food courts, ordinary restaurants and markets every time we are together. I think that the Philippines deserve more eyes and understanding.

[mikelieberman]

I am an US expat who lives in the Philippines and have lived here for over a decade. The meal you had at New Mabuhay, is one where every dish you were served is cooked here in our house and cooked well. There are many other dishes he have of course, but this is what life is like and the food is great. Sometimes the presentation is lacking but the flavors... 🙂 Yeah, the flavors are great. And there are regional differences. My wife makes a pinakbet with coconut milk rather than bagoong which is out of this world. But yes, it's the home cooking and not the street stalls. Sure you can get BBQ port, or lechon manok from the stalls. And they will be good. But it really is the home cooking. Where I live, GenSan, tuna is the king. There are dozens of kinilaw recipes with each family having its own take on it. Last night, at a dinner on the evening of Undas (All Saints Day), a neighbor brought his tuna kinilaw. It is very different from my wife's and just as delicious in its own way. You mentioned sisig. Sisig can be a challenge for the foreigner. The concept that there isn't anything from the pig, other than the squeal, that isn't eaten, makes for some more than chewy bites. And there is a fish sisig that depending on who is making it is even more of a challenge as it can include fish tail.

When you come to Philippines, add GenSan and we will feed you! And if you do you will find out that there are wonderful gulay (vegetable) dishes, such as my wife's lumpia, talong smashed with garlic, kangkong braised/sauteed with garlic. Of course there are dishes with meat and fish. And then there is my brother-in-law's Ilonggo style valenciana, my wife's Ilonggo style pork pochero, afritada, tuna belly cooked over coals, and finally biko for dessert.

[jcreynolds]

The Filipino Cuisine is having a hard time going mainstream internationally because you cannot pin down a basic recipe, due to the fact that you have several islands to contend with and they all have their own take or version of any certain dish. Take, for example, Adobo. You can find Adobo anywhere all over the Philippines across the islands. however, depending where you are, it might be cooked with coconut or no soy sauce or with something else the cook could find in their kitchen. So if you ask, how to cook adobo, there will be several versions. not like perhaps Italian, where pizza is pizza, spaghetti is spaghetti. (please don't take offense, just example) it's easily identifiable as Italian. You can't mistake those two things as coming from another country. but with Filipino, due to the fact that we were a melting pot of so many cultures, it's not uniquely ours but still somehow uniquely ours. in a way, I would like to keep our food the best kept open secret. it would be your honor and privilege if you were invited to our table. 😉 if you never came across our food in your lifetime, then you never really lived . 🤣🤣🤣

[BiggysLetsPlays]

I'm half Filipino/Thai, and your video just provided so much context to my experience with Filipino food, why my late father was obsessed with home cooked meals and why the best meals I have in Cebu are the home cooked ones.

[shep]

My best friend growing up was Filipino. Her mom made the absolute most amazing food ever. We need more Filipino restaurants 🤤

[Tortuguinful]

As a Peruvian I had no idea our flag dish (ceviche) was inspired by Filipino culture. I ought to thank the filipinos for this! Also, in Arequipa, a region in Peru, one of the most famous dishes is called "Adobo"

[iselfidentifyaheapache]

OTR: "Filipino food has its own completely unique... it's not mild, but it's not overpowering in any one direction. That's the interesting thing about Filipino food, it's its own flavor profile."

YES. 100% YES.

It's not like our neighbours which have a tendency to go spicy hot. Filipino food is a reflection of its mixed cultural heritage, brought by its history of being melting pot of other cultures through migration, colonization, and trade.

I would characterize my country's main dishes as more umami based, with the snacks and desserts tending to the sweet side of things. Even the common daing varieties or the sour sinigangs or the spicy Bicolano foods end up being savory at the end. And these main dishes are always best eaten with rice, which balances out the rich flavours of these dishes.

The perception that Filipino foods are sweet is due to the popularity of local fastfood chains. But when the foreign tourist goes beyond that, our food pretty much hits those umami notes.

Lastly, the best Filipino foods aren't found in restaurants. It's always *always* found cooked in homes, and served during special feasting occasions like birthdays to town fiestas. And unless foreigners participate in these feasts, they only barely scratch the surface of authentic Filipino cuisine. In a way, we keep the best to ourselves, which isn't being selfish at all but rather a way of reserving our best for feasting with others - for sharing. And when a foreigner partakes in our home cooked meals or fiestas, it means they are truly welcomed by us Filipinos. "Tara na" or better yet "Kain!" as we invite others to join us in our meals.

Great episode!

[laratitan]

One of the best documentaries I have watched about Filipino cuisine (if not the best). As a Filipino myself, I do agree that the best Filipino foods can't be found in restaurants but in Pinoy gatherings and home cooked-meals. Even in the Philippines, I think I can only count with my fingers those who can serve real and authentic food :) What's interesting on this video is that it took the trouble to explain the implication of our complicated history to what is the Filipino cuisine today. I really liked this part. Kudos to the whole team!

[shogungroup]

Can someone please tell Amazon Prime or some TV network to throw money at these guys to take their show global? It's great content, diligently researched with heart and soul. Thanks for doing this!

[AldO-HPB]

This is one of the most insightful takes on Filipino cuisine that I have heard. This is an excellent perspective of why our local cuisine doesn’t get a good foothold in other countries. It is food meant for the home rather than restaurants. That IS truly very Filipino.