I. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES
- - The Philippines consist of 7,107 islands.
- - Luzon is the largest island of the Philippines, and is the 17th largest Island in the world.
- - The Philippines has 41,960 Barangays.
- - There are 200 volcanoes in the Philippines, 22 of them are active.
- - There are 500 different dialects in the Philippine language, Tagalog being the most popular.
- - Filipinos used to describe a Spaniard born in the Philippines. The Filipinos we know today used to be called Indios.
- - The world’s largest pearl was found under the Palawan Sea in 1934.
- - The Philippine flag is the only flag displayed upside down during war.
II. MUST TRY FILIPINO DISHES
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Lechon
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Manily Bay
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Davao
The Philippines cuisine has been heavily influenced by the Spanish over its 300 years of ruling. Trading with other Asian countries for centuries contributed to the evolution of Philippine food. Like many other Asian countries, rice is the Philippines’ main food. Rice is served with any meal, during anytime of the day. Compared to other Asian countries, Philippine food is not popular for being spicy. Nevertheless, the Filipinos are well known for using their own sauces during meals such as patis (fish sauce), soy sauce and calamansi (a Philippine citrus), and native vinegar. The following are a few must try Filipino dishes.
- 1. Sinigang – The must try soup Sinigang is known for being sour and salty. It is made of lightly boiled sour stock made out of tamarind, guava, and calamansi. Any type of meat such as pork, fish, shrimp, or chicken can be used. The most common vegetables used in the soup are gabi (taro corms), kangkong (water spinach), labanos (radish), sitaw (string beans), tomatoes, and eggplant.
- 2. Adobo – This dish uses pork or chicken cooked in oil, vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaf, and pepper.
- 3. Menudo – This dish is a Filipino meat stew. It is made of sliced pork, calves’ liver, carrots, potatoes, and other vegetables that are cooked in tomato sauce.
- 4. Lechon – This charcoal-roasted suckling pig has pale and tender meat. It is cooked whole until its skin forms a hard brown crust. The skin is crispy and can be used to make pork rinds. YUM!
- 5. Bistek – Mean “beef steak”, uses strips of sirloin beef, soy sauce, onions, and calamansi to create a Philippine-style beef steak.
- 6. Lumpia – Similar to the spring roll, each piece is filled with succulent garlic-slathered pork chicken, beef, shrimp, or combinations. It is also filled with cut vegetables. It is either steamed or fried, and dipped in a citrus or sweet and sour sauce.
III. MUST TRY FILIPINO DESSERTS
The Philippines is best known for its numerous mouth watering desserts. A majority of the desserts are very sweet, but one bite of these desserts is like a taste of heaven. The following are the names of popular Filipino desserts. I will let you find out on your own what they are made of. Don’t hesitate to stop by a near Philippine bakery and devour into these delicacies!
- 1. Halo Halo
- 2. Leche Flan
- 3. Suman
- 4. Turon
- 5. Haleya Ube
- 6. Bibingka
- 7. Guinataan
- 8. Pastillas de Leche
- 9. Buko Pandan
- 10. Sans Rival
- 11. Ice Cream (Ube, Mango, Macapuno, Queso, etc.)
- 12. Puto
- 13. Banana-que
- 14. Sapin Sapin
- 15. Cuchinta
- 16. Pitchi Pitchi
- 17. Maja Blanca
- 18. Minatamis na Saging
- 19. Brazo de Mercedes
- 20. Yema
IV. TO DO LIST WHEN YOU ARE IN THE PHILIPPINES
Excited to visit the Philippines? Good, you should be! There are a lot of fun things to do in the Philippines. The following is a to do list while you are in the Philippines. It will ensure your Philippine vacation to be a vacation to always remember.
- 1. Visit the wonderful beaches of Boracay. While you are there, feel free to go snorkeling to explore the Philippines underwater.
- 2. Visit Palawan, and go island hopping.
- 3. Visit Zamboanga City
- 4. Shop the countless stores in SM Mega Mall.
- 5. Ride a Jeepney and a Tricycle.
- 6. Visit and explore Cebu.
- 7. Eat at: Jollibee, Max’s Chicken, Red Ribbon, Goldilocks, Tapa King, Chowking, Cabalen, and at your local corner food stand!
- 8. Play and learn a street game with the local kids.
- 9. Shower in the rain!
- 10. Watch the sunrise/sunset across the Manila Bay.
- 11. Bargain shop through the busy market of Divisoria.
- 12. Cool out and relax in Baguio, which is the Summer Capital of the Philippines.
- 13. Visit the man made structure known as the Banaue Rice Terraces.
- 14. Enjoy the wildlife scenario at Bohol.
- 15. Learn how the Philippines looked like during the Spanish regime at Vigan.
V. TYPICAL HABITS OF FILIPINOS
The Filipino culture is known for having typical habits. These typical habits can classify a Filipino. The following are some typical habits of the Filipinos.
- 1. Filipinos are known to always run late. If a party starts at 6PM, you better tell your Filipino friends it starts at 5PM! They call this Filipino time.
- 2. Many Filipinos are Roman Catholic. You will most likely always find the Last Supper hung in their kitchen.
- 3. Filipino parties are known to dance a lot of line dancing.
- 4. Filipinos are very family oriented.
- 5. At the table, Filipinos tend to put up their knee and eat with their bare hands.
- 6. Instead of saying restroom, the Filipinos call it the comfort room.
- 7. Lips aren’t just used for kissing, but for pointing as well.
- 8. Open/Close are used instead of Turning On/Turning Off.
- 9. The Filipino way to greet someone to say smile and nod upwards.
- 10. Filipinos find Balut (under- developed duck eggs delicious!
- 11. The younger generation is taught to “mano po” to their elders as a sign of respect.
- 12. We are known for being “Chismosa”, which means Gossiper. Filipinos love to talk, especially parents during a family gathering.
- 13. When travelling to the Philippines, Filipinos tend to bring a lot of Balikbayan Boxes, with their full address listed on all sides of the box.
- 14. Filipinos love to save money and bring “Baon” wherever they go.
- 15. During Christmas, Filipinos hang a parol outside their houses, which is a lantern symbolizing faith and hop.
- 16. When visitors are over, Filipinos tend to go all out with their food service. One visitor is served at least a three person worth platter.
- 17. It is rude to not take off your shoes when visiting a Filipino’s house.
- 18. Filipinos love to sing! Every Filipino owns a Magic Mic.
- 19. We do not use pots to make rice. We have our very own rice cookers.
- 20. We roll deep with our friends. We walk and hang out in packs!