ALIAWAN ENTERPRISES

The Food

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	THE FOOD     Filipino cooks just seem to have a talent for borrowing the best from other cuisines and turning it into something uniquely fresh and delicious. Chicken and pork adobo, a rich, well-marinated stew flavored with vinegar and soy, is probably the Philippine national dish. Other popular Filipino fare includes pancit, a tasty mix of sautéed noodles, vegetables, sausage and shrimp, and lumpia, the Filipino version of egg roll.   Filipino food is much like the Filipino himself, a mixture of different cultures, Eastern & Western, that forms one unique culture that is yet unlike those that preceded it. Filipino food, often labeled as somewhat strange, but in its own way a unique cuisine, a fascinating blend of Malay, Spanish and Chinese cultures. To the Filipinos food is important as it is an integral part of local art and culture as wel as communal existence. The history and society that introduced and adapted them, the people who turned them to their tastes and accepted them into their homes and restaurants, and especially the harmonizing culture that combined them into comtemporary Filipino food....that makes it Filipino.   Rice is the staple food and eaten with most meals. Noodle dishes are also very popular. Filipino cuisine is unusual as meat (pork and poultry) and seafood may be combined in a single dish. Recipes often use ingredients such as coconut milk, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, tamarind and vinegar. Desserts include rice cakes, leche flan and sweets dishes made from fresh fruit (guavas, mangoes, papayas and pineapples). Ice cream is used in desserts or eaten on its own.   Fruit juices are available and green lemons are used to make drinks. Beer and rum are produced locally.   Agriculture is the base of Philippine economy and the primary indicator of development. This sector alone comprises one-third of the source of income of the country. Rice faming is the primary livelihood of more than 2.5 M farmers in the Philippines. Rice, being the staple food of Filipinos, plays a major role in the country's economy and politics. Ensuring enough rice for the general public and the stability of the rice industry are used as measurements of political economy of the Philippines.     Jollibee, TV Commercial    What do friends and fries have in common? One, it’s a lot more fun when there’s more of them around. Two, they give you reason to smile even on days that are particularly crappy.  There are those who can be found religiously poring over their books and readings, girls who burst out into giggles in between whispers and boys who boisterously launch into heated discussions about their basketball bets. There’s definitely more reason to enjoy life and to celebrate friendships when you hang out together, and realize just how much their friendship means to you.   Eating in Koronadal is an outstanding experience at all budget levels. A matrix of native dishes smatters around Koronadal with famous ilonggo cuisine such as inasal nga manok (chicken barbeque), balbacua (beef skin soup with Chinese herbs), nilagang baka (beef and bone soup) and la pza batchoy (noodle soup with herbs, spices and crispy toppings. Western and Chinese foods are available at Jollibee, Greenwich, Chowking, South Park Noodle House and Shakey’s.   A wide choice of food establishments awaits visitors, whether they will be dining in Koronadal City or in the various provinces in the country. When in the Philippines, it is worth seeking out kamayan (eating with your hands) restaurants for a true cultural experience. Because of its coastline, the Philippines boasts of seafood galore. In fact, most restaurants offer seafood cooked one way or another. The most popular form of cooking, though, is broiling.   Filipino’s like to enjoy a very lengthy meal. It is not uncommon for the host or hostess to give a timely, discreet hint that the evening is finished.  Filipino’s will sit and chat around the table when the meal is done or after dessert is served.  It is a chance for the family and guest to interact and share stories with one another.   Relaxing and soothing evening entertainment is what you get at the cool evening spots around the city. Take part in the fancy of the the city’s live band disco, one-man guitar or piano shows, hard beat disco and video karaoke bars.   Great food is essential in Filipino life, almost around every corner you can find the most  interesting restaurants and fastfoods to suite your taste. Many national and international cuisine restaurants set up shop in the busier areas of the city and there are also may eateries found inside the supermalls. In every city or village you can find smaller eateries and cantinas which specialize in local food at affordable prices. For the non-Filipino, an adventurous spirit, a desire to explore the unknown and the ability to be open-minded are essential to the enjoyment of balut. A combination of saltiness and tartness, softness and crunchiness, a sensation of sweetness, the degree of resistance to the bite, the viscosity and stickiness are the rewards. The ritual of eating balut is pleasant.  It is almost like an initiation rite for foreigners to be introduced to eating balut. When talking about Pinoy food to tourists, Filipinos somehow inevitably ask the question: Have you tasted balut?     The wayward nature of the itik (native Filipino duck) must be the reason for an unusual Filipino delicacy - balut - a fertilised egg with a partially developed duckling, which is eaten boiled.   Balut is a very nutritious snack food, which most Filipinos  appreciate. However, non-Filipinos generally take a bit of convincing before taking their first bite   Balut and penoy are traditionally considered aphrodisiacs. while it is true that they have high nutrient values, (containing proteins, vitamin E and minerals and provide a source of energy) there is no hard evidence to prove this. Aphrodisiacs or not, balut and penoy are enjoyed by millions of Filipinos. PASTILLAS DE LECHE Area of origin: San Miguel, Bulacan, Tuguegarao, Cagayan and Masbate provinces. Area of production: Tagalog and  Northern Luzon. Pastillas de leche originated from San Miguel and Bulacan. Its manufacture spread to Cagayan and Masbate provinces. In the beginning, it was home made by farmers rearing carabaos. Then, a small-scale industry developed in the area to produce this sweet delicacy with a sweet and fruity taste.   The Mabuhay Channel KARE-KARE Kare-Kare is a Philippine stew. Any filipino fiesta, particularly in the Tagalog region, is not complete without kare-kare, the stew with a rich nutty sauce and served with a variety of vegetables. It is made from peanut sauce, stew, bagoong and offal, tripe or cow stomach blanket.   KINILAW Kinilaw is one of the tastiest dishes the Philippines has to offer. Native vinegar, coconut milk and sili provide flavor for morsels of raw fish and vegetables such as tomatos. If a fish known as tangigue is used, dish is known as "kinilaw nga tangigue." Other fish commonly used for kinilaw are molmol and the tiny bulinaw. Vegetables can be used as alternatives to fish; cooked jack fruit makes kinilaw nga nangka Kinilaw is generally made with vinegar because its glory is the transformation from rawness through brief contact with sourness, from translucent to almost-opaque, to that stage when it is no longer uncooked, but the freshness is kept primal.   HALO-HALO Halo-halo (from "halo" = mix) is a favorite Filipino dessert or snack. It is basically a mixture of sweet preserved beans, coconut meat (macapuno), jackfruit (langka), pounded dried rice pinipig), sweet yam (ube), cream flan (leche flan), shreds of sweetened plantain (saba), filled with crushed ice, milk (or coconut milk) and topped with ice cream.The halo-halo basically is sweet,creamy,and a filling dessert.   SEAFOOD Unlike its surrounding Asian counterparts that uses hot chilies liberally in their dishes, the Philippine cuisine is often labeled as bland and mild. This made Filipino dishes more suitable for those with sedate and sensitive taste buds. As with other Asian countries, rice is their staple food and will be served with most meals. To the Filipinos, simple cooking means fish of different sizes from the sea. They prefer their fish and other seafood such as crabs, shrimps and shellfish to be as fresh as possible. The freshness of the seafood is often complemented by sauces and spices. In fact, seafood is appreciated at its best when left uncooked - in a vinaigrette (kilawin) matrix, grilled (ihaw or inihaw), and sometimes stuffed with onions wrapped in banana leaf.   For protein, most Filipinos rely on fish and other seafood. Being surrounded by water, the Philippines is well-positioned for such a maritime cuisine. Particularly popular are milkfish (bangus), grouper (lapu-lapu), shrimp (hipon) and mackerel scad (galunggong). Indeed, galunggong is so ubiquitous that Filipino politicians use the price of galunggong as an economic bellwether, much as the price of milk or gas is used by politicians in the United States.   Most often, fish is simply fried and eaten with rice and vegetables as a simple, but nutritious meal. Larger fish can be cut up and stewed (as in sinigang na isda, a sour fish soup) or roasted over fire (inihaw). Wealthier Filipinos may prefer to serve their fish escabeche (sweet and sour) or relleno (de-boned and stuffed with vegetables).   As Filipinos, like most peoples living where food or money is scarce, prefer not to waste a morsel of food, the eyes of fried fish are often eaten. This particular delicacy is usually reserved for the guest of honor at the table.    Do not put your elbows on the table when eating, it is a sign of disrespect to the food and the host  ·  Do not put your hands on your face (in a signing manner) as this will also connote lack of respect for the food.  ·  When you have finished your meal, make sure to put your utensils on the place, together, This symbolizes that you are through and in restaurants, it is a sign for the waiter to take away your plate and bring the next course or at times, the bill.  ·   If you are the host to Filipino guests or friends, do not clear or leave the table until everyone has finished.  ·  When invited by a Filipino family or friend to dine at their home, be sure NOT to sit at the head of the table (the “Cabizera”) as this seat is usually reserved for the host.   ·    When dining at a restaurant, the person sitting at the head of the table usually pays for everyone’s meal.   Beer in the country is probably the finest and the cheapest in the East. Locally brewed San Miguel Beer is very good; it is now being challenged by several new brews such as the lighter Carlsberg and less expensive Manila Beer. Five-year-old Tanduay and locally produced gins and vodkas are all first-class spirits.   People who live outside the larger towns often drink tuba, a very strong coconut wine, rather than the more expensive beers or liquors. The alcohol content is not very high, but the effect is very similar to that of tequila. Lambanog is boiled tuba distilled in the true Kentucky moonshine manner. Tapey is an alcoholic beverage made from rice or corn, popular with the hill tribes of northern Luzon. Basi, a homemade wine from Ilocos Norte, is made from sugarcane juice to which barks and berries have been added.    Coca-Cola  Ito ang beat sabay-sabay Ito ang beat bawal sablay Pabilis ng pabilis 'Wag mamimiss 'wag mamimiss Gets mo na? Gets ko na Ahhh... Coca-Cola   Nalilito nalilito Nahihilo nahihilo Coke ko 'to Coke ko 'to Coke ko 'to Coke ko 'to!!! Food and having a meal is an important affair to the Filipinos! The diet for the majority consists mainly of rise with fish and some vegetable. Rice being an easily digestible starch, it holds back the hunger feeling for a little time only. For this reason they consume five meals a day: breakfast, snack, lunch, merienda and dinner. Eating times are accurately observed by employees and one can observe that concentration and work performance suffer tremendously when the "meal chain" is being interrupted. A 1955 film on Coca-Cola and the Philippines    A part of history and a part of the Philippines. Take a look at Filipino people dancing in costumes, see them dancing between sticks on the ground, glance at  workers with straw hats in rice paddies, urban scenes with period vehicles, and musicians playing stringed instruments. Look at Coca-Cola passed out to rice farmers; smiling Filipinos standing around drinking bottles of Coke. Watch the sugar cane cutting with machetes, a sugar mill and people at various leisure activities (tennis, pool side lounging) sipping Coke. Coca-Cola factories in nine different locations are shown.

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