“What really stood out was the balance. There were familiar comfort dishes, surprising flavors we’d never tried before, and a pace that left us happily full without feeling rushed. ”
— Judie, 2025
01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Manila.
02 Meet the tastemakers
The local food experts who help us research, refine and lead every A Chef's Tour.
Adobo simmered in vinegar and soy, sinigang souring with tamarind, sisig sizzling on the plate, halo halo layered with sweet beans. Manila's kitchen is Spanish, Chinese, Malay and American all at once.
04 The pantry
- Coconut vinegar, palm vinegar central to adobo
- Patis, Filipino fish sauce for balut and adobo
- Bagoong, fermented shrimp paste eaten with green mango
- Calamansi, tart citrus for dipping and drinks
- Ube, purple yam for halo halo and ice cream
05 In the kitchen
- Braising adobo in soy, vinegar and garlic until the sauce turns dark
- Souring sinigang with tamarind, calamansi or unripe guava
- Chopping and re-sizzling sisig pork face on cast iron
- Layering halo halo desserts with shaved ice and sweet beans
- Roasting lechon over charcoal for the family celebration
06 Eat this first
- Adobo, chicken or pork slow-braised in vinegar, soy and garlic
- Sinigang, tamarind-sour broth with pork and vegetables
- Sisig, sizzling minced pork face with calamansi and chilli
- Kare kare, oxtail stew in a thick peanut and annatto sauce
- Halo halo, shaved ice piled with sweet beans, ube and evaporated milk
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
09 Recipes
A collection of authentic recipes we couldn't leave behind.
Open-top dumplings filled with pork, prawn and water chestnut, steamed in bamboo baskets and served with a fierce chili-garlic-calamansi soy sauce.
Wide flat rice noodles wok-fried hard with beef strips, bean sprouts and Chinese greens in a dark soy glaze. Manila's Chinoy fried noodle classic.
Marinated pork loin glazed in a five-spice honey-soy sauce and slow-roasted until deep red at the edges. Manila's Chinese-Filipino roast pork.
Chicken marinated in soy, calamansi and garlic, dredged in seasoned flour and deep-fried until deep gold. Filipino Sunday-lunch fried chicken.
Thin, crisp pork-and-vegetable rolls fried to a shatter, dipped in banana ketchup or a sweet chili vinegar. The Philippines' party finger food.
Chopped pork face and ears sautéed with onion, chili and calamansi, served sizzling on a cast-iron plate with a raw egg cracked on top. Kapampangan bar food royalty.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Manila.
Weather
Tropical. Hot and humid year-round (26–34°C). Dry season December to May, wet season June to November with typhoons and occasional flooding.
Currency
The Philippine peso (PHP). Cash for jeepneys, markets, and small purchases; cards in restaurants and malls. GCash dominates.
Language
Filipino (Tagalog) and English are both official. English is widely spoken in business.
Etiquette
Warm and friendly. Modest dress in churches. Cover shoulders and knees. Metro Manila is famously chaotic. Be patient with traffic and crowds.
Getting around
The LRT and MRT are cheap but limited and crowded; Grab is the go-to for most trips. Jeepneys are cheap and authentic but confusing for visitors. Traffic is legendary, build a huge buffer.
Prayer
Deeply Catholic. Over 80% of the population. Sundays fill the churches. Holy Week and the Feast of the Black Nazarene bring vast processions. Small Muslim and Chinese-Filipino communities too.