Useful Links

Links for Visitors and Filipinos

Flying to and from the Philippines.

Jet Lag

Taxis in the Philippines.

Hotels in the Philippines.

Flying in the Philippines.

Airports in the Philippines.

Ladies of the Philippines.

Food to avoid in the Philippines.

Drinking water in the Philippines.

Passports and Visas

Currency Converter or Money Changer

American food in the Philippines.

Etiquette or manners in the Philippines.

Cheapest transportation in the Philippines.

Cheap tricycle transportation in the Philippines.

Bus travel in the Philippines.

Hospitals, Clinics and Doctors in the Philippines.

Adventure in the Philippines.

Immigration offices in the Philippines.

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This post will be expanded. Check back for more information and links for travel and living in the Philippines. Last updated June 3 2022.

Bad Food in Philippines and USA.

Don't eat bad food.

Bad food, commonly thought of as "good food." 

Watch the movie above to discover what is wrong with eating meats. It may change your mind about which foods you will eat from now on.

"If anyone wants to save the planet all they have to do is just stop eating meat…vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty."
~ Paul McCartney

Check out this article: Want to Help Save the Planet? Stop Eating Meat. It addresses many reasons for not eating meat, not the least of which is filth in factory farms.

To avoid the bad stuff try eating as a vegetarian or try eating as a Vegan.

Avoid Genetically Modified foods.

If you still want to eat meat after watching the above short video, try a local restaurant. After dining, please consider sharing some of your wealth with

street children and orphanages in the Philippines.

Want some familiar Western or other ethnic foods? You will find many American fast food franchises in the Philippines.  This is an extensive list with links to help you find local branches near you as you travel the Philippines.

"Even today, the problem of food safety in the Philippines is largely blamed on a lack of enforcement. Tap water is often undrinkable, and food sold by street vendors is still classified as unsafe by the US Center for Disease Control." From an article dated July 11, 2015 at csmonitor.com about the incident where 1,300 school children were sickened eating a Filipino candy.

Be careful, don't get sick, check out other Foods To Avoid in the Philippines.

Be careful about drinking water and Slurpees in the Philippines.

Two months after arriving in the US from the Philippines my daughter and I ate chicken nuggets at KFC. We both got sick. I had to rush my daughter to the emergency room. The doctor said it could be a virus or it could be the chicken!

Find grocery stores in the Philippines. In these stores you will be able to find some American foods, drinks and snacks.

Try some Filipino foods Americans like.

Learn about genetically modified foods

(GMO) in the Philippines.

Expose about famous fast-food restaurants (2025)!

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This article will be expanded upon. Please check back for more expose about the bad foods in the Philippines and in the USA. This page last updated April 23, 2025.

Foods To Avoid Philippines

Foods not to eat in the Philippines

Foods to avoid in the Philippines.

Food not to eat.

You can get typhoid by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water in the Philippines. My sister in law got typhoid. She had a very high fever for a day or two. I insisted she be taken to a doctor. She recovered and the family installed a countertop water filter system.

See this article about don't eat these foods from china. 

There are many sidewalk vendors selling many types of Filipino food.  Have been cautioned to never eat street vendor foods. The only sidewalk vendor foods I have eaten are roasted peanuts and boiled corn cob on a stick. No problems with either. Filipino corn is very large, bright yellow and totally delicious. Reminds me of upstate New York corn. And, I do not drink any tap water. 

It was suggested that I take "Imodium" to settle my stomach if I ever got a touch of food poisoning. I used it on several occasions and it always worked in a matter of an hour or two. 

Mercury Drug

Watson's

Generics

I just asked my wife if she could add to this article and she said, "Warn foreigners not to eat foods prepared at street side "canteens" because they do not keep their foods heated and there are usually flies all over the utensils in the kitchens. Don't buy breads and other items at local bakeries because they very possibly do not keep the kitchen counters and pans and utensils clean." It is not unusual to see flies inside the display counters at local bakeries, donut shops and other street side vendors.

 

  "Even today, the problem of food safety in the Philippines is largely blamed on a lack of enforcement. Tap water is not safe to drink, and food sold by street vendors is still classified as unsafe by the US Center for Disease Control." From an article dated July 11, 2015 at csmonitor.com about the incident where 1,300 school children were sickened eating a Filipino candy.

Canteens do sell packaged products like Filipino and U.S. brand name potato chips, cookies, sodas and much more. I have never gotten sick eating these items. Prices are much lower in the canteens than in convenience stores like 7-11 and Mini Stop.

If you are eating at a Filipino home, I advise precaution. Many dwellings do not have refrigerators. Often foods (are left out of the fridge, sitting on the table for hours, un-refrigerated (like fried chicken.) Apparently, Filipinos are immune to some germs. It will be best if the food is prepared fresh for you. Tell them you have a touchy stomach and need to be very careful about what you eat. I think they will understand. Most likely they have already thought about that.

I even took the precaution of not eating raw vegetables. I ate only cleaned and cooked vegetables.

In restaurants I have been able to eat some lettuce raw. However, once in a "Tokyo Tokyo" (at SM City Clark in Angeles City) and once in a Burger King (at Marquee Mall in Angeles City) I got a stomachache after eating sandwiches with lettuce in them.

There are many American restaurants in Angeles City, Cebu, Manila and in most larger cities in the Philippines.

If you will be staying for an extended length of time, or if you just want to take some food or snacks back to your hotel you may want to visit
grocery stores which sell American and European foods.

Lechon Kawal fried pork (looks like roast pork)

In the Philippines it seems that almost everybody eats pork. Many dishes include pork as an ingredient. I once bought hotdogs at a supermarket which were labeled "chicken hot dogs." Upon reading the ingredients list I found that they also contained "pork."

If you do not want to eat pork be sure to ask restaurants if this or that has pork in it.

See this page about the dangers of eating pork; including video and information about deadly trichinosis and other parasites. See worms being removed from a 3 year old's stomach (Click on the link, YouTube would not allow this video to be shown here due to age restrictions.)

Years ago, I read a long article in the Saturday Evening Post. It explained how there is no guarantee that cooking pork will kill the trichinosis spores. And it also stated that trichinosis also masquerades as 50 different ailments. I just found this via Google Books, it tells about the masquerade. See what a brain surgeon found in a woman's brain (Click on the link, YouTube would not allow this video to be shown here due to age restrictions.)

If you have a weak stomach, you may not want to watch these.

Warning for readers in the USA: The "Cracker Barrel" Restaurants corn bread muffins are obviously made with pork fat! When eating we tasted pork. Obviously, they do not care that there are many people who eschew pork. Pork avoiding Christians, Muslims, Jews and vegetarians beware.

Food poisoning downs over 300 people who ate Pancit Palabok at a mall in the Philippines. Pork is an ingredient in Pancit Palabok.

Another food to avoid in the Philippines is Cassava.

Food poisoning kills 27 at Philippine school. 
Excerpt from this link:
"it (cassava) is poisonous without proper preparation. Eaten raw, the human digestive system will convert part of it into cyanide."

Due to the ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster it is a good idea to avoid foods imported from Japan. In fact I won't eat any fish from the Pacific ocean.

We try to avoid foods and baby formula from China.

"Spiked food and drink

Some criminals have drugged and robbed tourists travelling alone after an invitation to visit a tourist attraction.

Never leave your food or drinks unattended or in the care of strangers. Be wary of accepting snacks, beverages, gum or cigarettes from new acquaintances. These items may contain drugs that could put you at risk of sexual assault and robbery." excerpt from travel.gc.ca

I just found out that we should tell people do not eat wheat crackers!

Check out my article about Is it safe to drink tap water in the Philippines?

CDC article and advice about Travelers Diarrhea.

Check this link: How to prevent food poisoning at home.

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This article will be expanded upon. Please check back for more information about foods to avoid or food not to eat in the Philippines. This page last updated March 8, 2024.

American Groceries Philippines

International Foods in the Philippines

Buying American Groceries in the Philippines

If you want to buy American groceries or European foods in the Philippines, there are grocery stores which sell imported items including American products. "Metro Supermarkets" like the one at Marquee Mall in Angeles City has an international food section.
There you may find many of your favorite products. Metro Supermarkets are a feature of some Robinson's Malls. Marquee Mall, an Ayala mall, has a Robinson's Department store and the Metro Market attached to it.

Robinsons Supermarkets

Puregold Price Club grocery stores,
found outside malls.

SM Supermarkets in malls.

Another place to find imported foods is in SM Supermarkets and SM Hypermarkets located in most SM Malls in the Philippines. SM Hypermarkets are like Wal-Mart Supercenters in USA.

You may buy American groceries in Makati in Manila, near to the Ayala train station. There is a large, imported foods section in the SM Hypermarket. At Christmas holiday time they carry frozen turkeys.

When you buy your imported goods, I advise you to stock up on them. Some items are stocked regularly, but the delivery of some is sporadic. Some you may never find again. For example, I found a great Italian pizza sauce in a plastic bottle, and we made a lot of pizzas using those bottles, then, all of a sudden, they were apparently discontinued. We asked management to stock them regularly, but we never saw them again. That was at Metro Supermarket in Marquee Mall at Angeles City.

If you would like to visit a 7-11 Store, use this store locator. They offer many American snack foods.

Puregold store locator.

Robinsons Supermarkets store locator.

Mini Stop convenience stores also sell American snack foods, find store locations on the island of Luzon.

Many small "mom and pop" "canteens" or "carinderias," operating in store fronts along sidewalks, also sell American snacks in addition to Filipino cuisine and Filipino style hamburgers, French fries and hotdogs. A canteen is a fancier carinderia.

"Sari Sari" stores, located in front of private houses and operated by the homeowners, sell some American snacks and sodas along with a lot of Filipino snacks and staples. I often stop and buy packaged snacks at sari sari stores. Many of the snacks are local made.

A typical Sari Sari store
in the Philippines

Sari Sari stores sell for the lowest prices and are found all over the Philippines; at city sidewalks and even attached to the front of many houses. Try some Filipino snacks like "Chippy" (similar to Fritos but many different flavors) and "Chicharron" (fried corn kernels). My favorite is garlic chicharron. Another favorite is "Otop" (crispy pastries.) They are baked and sealed in plastic wrap (several in a package.)

If you want to eat American fast food in the Philippines visit these American restaurants.

See Filipino foods Americans and Europeans like.


If you are considering buying real estate in the Philippines.

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Please check back to read more about buying American, European foods, and Filipino snack foods and groceries at grocery stores, canteens and carinderias in the Philippines. This article was updated June 18, 2022.

Foods Americans Like In Philippines

Foods Americans like in the Philippines

Filipino Foods Americans Like

Update January 18, 2025, Order Marienda now! 

As of now I no longer endorse any of my former food blogs.

I went Vegan in 2013.

I have lived in the Philippines for over 5 years. Have seen a lot of Filipino food. Have tried some and liked some. But the ones I like the most are Chicken Adobo, Chicken Inasal, Lugaw, Lumpiang Shanghai, Fried Bananas, and Halo Halo. I think I am typical of most Americans. We are not accustomed to and therefor don't like strong fish taste, like Bagoong. If you are going to entertain an American it will probably be a good idea to serve some of the following foods.

Chicken Adobo

Chicken Adobo is one of my favorite main courses. Marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, black pepper and optional jalapeno pepper.

Chicken Inasal as served at Mang Inasal restaurants (found in most malls in the Philippines) and at stand alone locations. It is chicken that has been marinated to perfection with salt, pepper, garlic, lemon grass, and a mixture of half lime and lemon juice.
Another favorite. Wow, what flavor! And served with unlimited rice at Mang Inasal. About $2 US for large bar-b-q chicken breast served hot with unlimited rice on a banana leaf. Additional free rice servings come wrapped in banana leaves also. On the table are vinegar, calamansi (small lemons) and more so that you may mix your own additional sauce to dip your chicken and rice in.

Lugaw

I really enjoy a bowl of Lugaw. It is a type of Congee or Rice Porridge that I find very tasty and filling.
It may have small strips of white meat chicken or pork and spices on top. Can be found in restaurants, canteens and in food kiosks inside larger grocery stores (for example: in SM Hypermarkets).

Lumpiang Shanghai - pictured with beef filling.

Lumpiang Shanghai This is another food I really like. It consists of spring rolls stuffed with and meat and some veggies. They may be stuffed with pork, beef or chicken. And they are served with a red sweet and sour sauce to dip them in. I prefer then stuffed with chicken. You can find the chicken variety at Tropical Hut in food courts in malls or at stand-alone Tropical Hut grocery stores (they have small restaurants attached.)

Mung Bean Hopia are like Hopia Dice
but are larger and round.

Hopia Dice - Mong Bean
or "Mongo" is available 

Mung Bean Hopia and Hopia Dice These are available in grocery stores and in convenience stores like 7-11 and MiniStop.
Try them and you will probably buy more. Good between meal snacks. Convenient to carry when traveling and very filling. But, the pastry dough will stick to your teeth.

Green Mango Salad

Green Mango Salad Made of slices of green mango, with lime juice and more.

"Corn on the Cob" vendor

Corn on the Cob Sold by street vendors. The corn is kept cooking in a giant pot with a top on it. In 2012 it cost 15 Pesos. The vendor sticks a bamboo skewer into the end so you can carry and eat it. I have eaten it and never got sick. The pot is kept boiling all day, as far as I can see. The vendor will brush margarine on it and shake salt on it if you choose. Yummy. Usually the corn is boiling and the top is on the pot. I think the corn is being displayed just for this picture. I would not want to eat it if it were exposed to passing people and traffic fumes and dust.

Since I last ate it I have learned about GMO. Have not discovered yet if the corn being served is GMO or not. 

Filipino Desserts Americans Like and Desserts Europeans Like

Fried Bananas

My favorite deserts are Fried Bananas and Halo Halo (pronounced "Hollow, Hollow").

Halo Halo as served at Chowking
restaurants in the Philippines.

Halo Halo (pronounced 'hollow hollow') is made with shaved ice, candied fruits and beans (red mung beans and kidney beans), milk, purple yam, coconut, banana slices, a piece of leche flan, a scoop of ube ice cream and optional scoop of another flavor ice cream. Fantastic on a really hot day!

Read about American restaurants in the Philippines. 

You will find all the foods above in most of the leading malls in the Philippines.

Go shopping at grocery stores in the Philippines.

You will be well advised to check out my article about
foods to avoid in the Philippines.

Dining at a friend's house.

When visiting General Santos City on the Island of Mindanao we were visiting a chat mate. She took us to her parents farm and there we ate outdoors with them. Dinner was served on a wooden picnic table. I was offered a small fish that had been grilled. It was an eight inch Swordfish and was very good.

Update: Since writing this page I have switched to a vegetarian diet.

Read more about why at my vegetarian article.

If you are considering buying real estate in the Philippines.

If you are an US citizen American or a European, please comment below and share your favorite Filipino dishes with other readers.

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Please check back to read more about Filipino foods Americans and European foods. This article last updated June 4, 2022.

American Buffet Angeles City

Westerner buffet in Angeles City

Best Buffet Restaurants in Angeles City, Philippines

As of now I no longer endorse any of my former food blogs.

I went Vegan in 2013.

Visit our online Vegan Tribe Cafe and order now.

Build your own buffet at "Oh! Live Green"

plant-based cafe.

"Oh! Live Green" Menu (click to enlarge)

             Breakfast and Dinner Buffet

Having lived in Angeles City for about 2 years we have tried quite a few restaurants there. We were on a budget, so we often ate at fast food restaurants in the area. However, once in a while we would dine at popular full-service restaurants.

Dining room
at Clarkton Hotel, Don Juico Ave.,
Angeles City, Philippines

In my opinion, the best restaurant we have dined at is at the Clarkton Hotel on Don Juico Ave. in the Balibago section (follow Fields Ave. going West, away from MacArthur Highway).

Buffet service has apparently been suspended. Contact Clarkton to inquire about food service.

Now there is a large new menu and dining service at Clarkton.

The German chef used to serve up an all you can eat Breakfast Buffet (7 a.m. - 1 p.m. daily) and a great all you could eat Dinner Buffet (5 p.m. - 10 p.m. daily. Don't miss it!). These buffet hours were accurate as of August 25, 2012. We have never tried the breakfast buffet but have dined at the dinner buffet. This buffet has a grand menu of American and European foods. At Thanksgiving the chef prepares a buffet that is nothing short of wonderful. All the roast turkey and fixings you can eat and they do not run out of it. Unlimited sides, other meats and fish, soups, breads, salad and desserts. Visit the Dinner Buffet link above to see pictures of the everyday buffet. I suggest you call them for reservations on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter and on other National Holidays. Find their phone number by clicking on the Clarkton Hotel site link above. At their site you may also contact them via Live Chat (they have always answered me promptly).

The Clarkton is not far from Clark International Airport in the Clark Freeport Zone.

A couple of other buffet restaurants not far from the Clarkton Hotel are the Megueni Restaurant at the Holiday Inn in the Clark Freeport Zone and the Cabalen Buffet in the SM Clark Mall. Megueni features Western and Eastern food. Cabalen features Filipino and some other Asian foods and has restaurant buffets in other cities of the Philippines also.

There are many dining places in SM Clark Mall.

If you want a Vegan meal, try "Lo Han Chai" at 

Classic Savory in the mall.

If you are staying in Angeles City, you may ride a jeepney or ride a tricycle to and from these restaurants. Or, you may pay considerably more to ride in a taxi. There are always taxis waiting at the jeepney terminal at SM Clark Mall. Regardless of where you eat be sure to take a bottle of distilled or purified water with you. It is usually very hot, and you will want some as you walk and ride about. I advise you not to drink any tap water. And always ask "is the water purified and ask if the ice is made with purified water?" If both are not purified do not drink it, drink soda or beer from unopened cans or water from sealed bottles instead. I often ask for a dry glass to pour soda from a can. Even a few drops on a not quite dry glass may make you sick.

If you have a favorite all you can eat buffet restaurant in Angeles City, or buffet or any other kind of restaurants anywhere in the Philippines please share it with other readers by entering comments below.

Check out my article about foods and drinks to avoid in the Philippines.

If you will be staying for an extended period of time you may want to visit
grocery stores which sell American and European foods.

There are many American restaurants in Angeles City and in most larger cities in the Philippines.

Try some food at SM Clark food court.

Eat at one of the Vegan restaurants in Angeles City.

Try some of my favorite Filipino foods before I went Vegan.

Ask a Filipino friend if these street foods will be safe for you to eat and drink. Ask the vendor if the drink is made with purified water. I have eaten the Salted Peanuts and Banana Q before.

If you are considering buying real estate in the Philippines.

Meet Filipinas

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Please check back to read more about eating in the best "all you can eat" buffets and Vegan restaurants in Angeles City, Philippines. This article last updated February 11, 2024.

American Fast Food In Philippines

American fast food in the Philippines

American Fast Food Restaurants in the Philippines
Visit our online Vegan Tribe Cafe and order now.

As of now I no longer endorse any of my former food blogs.

I went Vegan in 2013.

I was surprised to find that there are quite a few American restaurants in the Philippines serving American and European products. These are probably the best places for Americans to eat in the Philippines. They serve foods that Americans are accustomed to.
Of course, not every city has them. Probably most cities do not have even one American restaurant.
Larger cities like Angeles City, Manila, Cebu, Davao and others have some or all of the restaurants listed below.

Use this International Currency Converter Calculator to convert the currency of your country into Philippine Pesos or convert Philippine Pesos into any other world currency. Find prices in Pesos on menus you find via links below.

Click on the following links to find locations in and outside of Metro Manila.

Burger King
Note: In addition to the branches found at the link above, there is a new Burger King at Marquee Mall in Angeles City (as of June 2012) and I have read that there is one in Batangas.

Dominoes

McDonalds 

Check out how the country of Bolivia has totally rejected McDonald's Fast Food Restaurants.

Pizza Hut
For a little over $2.00 US you can have the personal pan pizza special. It features the very small personal pizza, a salad and a drink.

Kenny Rogers Roasters


Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
To find KFC locations in different cities in the Philippines just enter the name of the city
in the Store Locator field at the top right of the menu screen.


KFC's Philippines Menu
Note: Do not expect the same size servings as you find in the USA. For example, a KFC chicken breast in the Philippines is actually about 1/4 to 1/3 of a full chicken breast. But, the prices are lower in the Philippines.
What KFC calls the "Fully Loaded" meal is a good deal.


Pancake House

My favorite pizza is at Sbarro's

Sbarro

On a budget? A slice of regular cheese pizza will cost you about $1.95 US. And, it is probably the best tasting and filling real Italian pizza. If you are still hungry you can buy a bread stick for about 50 cents US. Or, if you are really hungry try one of the deep dish "slices".

Shakey's

This is probably the most expensive American fast food place in the Philippines.
Shortly after I arrived in the Philippines I ate at a Shakeys Pizza in the SM Bicutan Mall in Cavite.
Not being accustomed to prices listed in Pesos on menus I made the mistake of not calculating the cost of what I was ordering. Well, my meal cost me over $13.00 US and I actually did not get full. Portions are much smaller than in the US. Calamari Rings take the place of onion rings on the menu.

Subway

There is also one at Mall of Asia. I don't know why it is not listed on the Subway store locator.

T.G.I. Friday's

Wendy's

And there is one Filipino chain that specializes in great Italian pizza.
It is called Yellow Cab Pizza. Tastes great and they provide bottles of oregano, dried red pepper and more to shake on your pizza.

My favorite buffet restaurant is the buffet at the Clarkton Hotel in Angeles City, Philippines.

My favorite Filipino fast food restaurants are Jollibee and Chowking. They are both frequented by many singles and families with children. Prices are low and they have many menu items. Chowking serves the best Halo Halo in the Philippines in my opinion. Unfortunately Jollibee discontinued the main reason we used to eat there, their barbecue chicken.

I must mention that I have eaten often at 7-11 Stores. 7-11's can be found in many cities. They usually have beef, pork and chicken hot dogs. For a fast and cheap meal, that cost about 25 pesos. Other things at 7-11 are American and Filipino snack foods. How about a donut for breakfast? Fried chicken and some of the microwaveable meals in small boxes make for tasty meals. Use the store's microwave and dine inside at a table or at the counter where you can watch the action on the sidewalks and streets.

There is a Japanese equivalent of 7-11 called MiniStop. Ministop has great fried chicken and other tasty hot foods. Donuts, sandwiches, deserts and more. I have eaten there many times.

Ethnic Restaurants in the Philippines

Cuisine from other countries is also available in the Philippines.
I have seen restaurants specializing in Chinese, French, German, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Mongolian, Singaporean, Spanish, Vietnamese and many others. Most of these may be found in shopping malls including Robinson's Mall in Malate (not far from the U.S. Embassy.)

Check out the Munchpunch web site to find more American restaurants and many more restaurants featuring the cuisine of many more nationalities. It is a comprehensive site! There you may search by location, nationality, price, type and features they offer.

There are many American, European and other ethnic restaurants located in the many malls in the Philippines.

More About Food in the Philippines

Expose about fast food.

Vegan street foods in the Philippines. But be careful to ask if they are made with purified water. If it is made with tap water you may get gastroenteritis and need some medicine from a doctor or drugstore or may need to be treated at a hospital emergency room.

See cooked Filipino foods Americans like in the Philippines.

There are many snacks Americans will like at grocery stores and sari sari stores. Buy the ones that are in professionally sealed packaging.

There are grocery stores in the Philippines selling imported American groceries and European foods.

Before eating in non-brand name restaurants read
my article about foods and drinks to avoid in the Philippines.

If you are staying in a hotel which does not provide room service for meals you may order food delivery.

Meet Filipinas and ask for lunch or dinner dates.

------------------------------------

Are you considering renting or buying real estate in the Philippines?

Was this article helpful?

If you have found this article helpful, have suggestions, advice or insights please "comment" below.

This article will be expanded upon. Please check back to read more about American fast food restaurants in the Philippines. This article last updated April 25, 2025.