Balut is one of my favorite exotic foods here in the Philippines because it gives you vitality as said by people. It looks bad but very good when you taste it. Smells and looks awful but just give it a try. It is rich in protein but not good for people who have hyper tension. The most yummy part is the chick and its juice. Recently balut price increase from 12 pesos to 13 pesos but still I will buy balut.

Adobo

Adobo is considered to be the national food of the country. People call a place “adobo country” where most Filipino people are living. For adobo, you can use pork or chicken.

Bulalo

This is one of the most favorite soups of many Filipinos, although this is not supposed to be served daily. Bulalo is a bone boiled in a beef shank with variety of vegetables.

Caldereta

 

Caldereta can also be called “Filipino beef stew”. This is famous because it is mostly served in every occasion, especially during fiestas.

Daing Na Bangus

Daing na Bangus is simply a marinated dried milk fish. This is one of the most favorite dishes of the Filipinos. I have tasted every version of this dish, and I recommend the daing na Bangus in Sarangani.

Fish Escabeche

Although this is found in some places in the world, Philippine's Fish Escabeche could be called one of the unique ones. Filipinos were able to change some of the ingredients that made it taste better.

Humba

Humba in English is “Braised Pork Belly”. Traditionally, cooking Humba is just to simmer the ingredients with salted black beans.

Kare-Kare

Kare-kare is a “Philippine Stew”. It is made mainly of peanut sauce mixed with variety of vegetables. Kare-kare is one of the most dishes in the Tagalog. Fiestas and occasions will never be complete there without this dish.

Lechong Kawali

Lechong Kawali is popular in the Philippines. It is a roasted pig. This type of dish is usually cooked during fiestas and other big events.

Menudo

Menudo in the Philippines is an entirely different dish compared to those food served in other countries. This dish is cooked with garlic, onions, diced pork chops, pork liver, diced potato, diced carrots, green bell peppers, soy sauce and tomato sauce, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Pinakbet

Pinakbet is a native food of Ilocos region. This dish is composed of bitter melon, eggplant, tomato, ginger, okra, string beans, lima beans, chili peppers and various Filipino vegetables like parda, winged beans, and such.

Sinigang

Pork Sinigang is considered to be the popular variety of Sinigang. Historians say that Sinigang came about because it is considered to be an energizer to those people living in the tropical countries.

Sisig

The popular Sisig is invented by a Kapampangan named Lucia Cunanan. This is cooked with pig ears and cheeks seasoned with vinegar, calamansi juice, chopped onions and chicken liver.

All of them are proudly made by Filipinos. Tourists from different parts of the world just come here in the Philippines to try these foods. How about you? Would you like to taste them? Biyahe Tayo sa Pilipinas!

A stroll through the 16th-century walled city takes you to such landmarks as San Agustin Church, Luneta Park, and Bahay Tsinoy. Each of these sites deserves to be visited individually, particularly if one is interested in culture. Attached to San Agustin Church, the Philippine's oldest church, is the San Agustin Museum-displays an astonishing array of artistic treasures. Nearby is another point of interest-the Bahay Tsinoy. The Bahay Tsinoy, or the Chinese Filipino House is a mansion located in the Intramuros section of Manila that has been converted into a museum. The museum documents the history, lives and accomplishments of the Chinese in the Philippines, as well as their position in society. Just outside Intramuros' walls lies Luneta Park, where many important historical events have taken place, including the martyrdom of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, our national hero. Rizal's death ushered in in the Philippine Republic, Asia's first democracy. Rizal's monument depicts his courageous stand for freedom and enshrines his mortal remains as a symbol of Filipino nationhood.

In every aspect of Philippine life, in every phase of Philippine history, in its culture and tradition, language and songs, in everything Filipino, there throbs a presence of unique Filipino which found its way there long before Philippine recorded history. We are Filipinos and molded centuries by Philippine life. If Chinese are proud to be a Filipino, then we should be also. We need to trace our history, learn, cherish, be proud of it and share with other Filipino. From a destiny shared with every Filipino, in everything that is Philippines, then, we are enriching this land with the legacies of his Filipino heritage.

It's so silly actually, Filipinos still find time to worry about their looks when in fact our country is facing a much bigger dilemma compared to having a huge pimple on the face. Women save money for a whitening soap but ignore the poor beggar girl on the street. A mother goes gaga over a new line of mineral make up and forgets to buy food for her children back at home. Ok I think the last one is a bit exaggerated but you get the point.

So is it really wrong to try to look good? I never said no, right? I even think it's appropriate to take care of yourself, including your looks. It's the very first thing people judge if they see you, so why not make a good first impression? You must practice good hygiene and posture. Wear clean clothes and make sure you brush your teeth at least twice everyday. But we get very envious of that girl we saw at the mall. She has a very fair complexion and she looks like a model in an ad! And now we look at ourselves, and suddenly we feel down for not having the same complexion. Insecurity sinks in and we are drowned by sorrow and self pity. Eventually we find ourselves saying, "I'm not pretty enough."

Personally, I have stopped buying magazines. First, because whatever tips those magazines can give, I can find them in the web. Second, I'd prefer to buy myself some food than a copy of a magazine. And third, I don't like their models. Just like any other form of media, the magazine also imposes an impossible standard. In other words, I get insecure when I get myself a magazine. It makes me feel bad and sorry for myself.

So instead of joining along the bandwagon, I chose to go my own path. I rarely watch television and as much as possible, I avoid advertisements during breaks. I ignore what people say about me (i.e. too thin, dark skin, etc.) and I try not to compare myself with others. The whole avoiding thing gets easier actually, only if you surround yourself with the things you like and do the things you love doing and you are good at.

Sadly, some people couldn't get away from it easily. I know I'm not alone when I wanted to change my views pertaining to this topic, but there are factors that affect everything. Fortunately, I'm not in a private school (Everything is easy when you are not rich enough, you are forced to accept things the way they are.), I'm not surrounded with overly superficial people and I know that if I joined the trend, I will of course look better, but I know I will never be contented and I would keep on wanting for more, thus will lead me to have a miserable life.

Blame it all on the media and the stupid beauty industry. They are in it for our money that's why they have to try to hit us hard.

During those years, the Japanese soldiers were considered enemies. They were the subject of revulsion among Filipino people. Anybody who sees Japanese would yell out in disdain. However, as years pass by, the Japanese government and its people tried to establish comradeship with the Filipinos. Thus, Japan and the Philippines became friends and started to support each other for progress.

As a symbol of peace between the Filipino and Japanese people thirty three (33) years after the Second World War, this stone monument of the Madonna Maria Kannon (populary know as Madonna of Japan) is erected in memory of the brave soldiers who fought and died in the battlefield.

This monument is situated at the foot of Kanhuraw Hills in Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines. This is mostly visited by Japanese people when to go to Tacloban City. They offer flowers and take photographs with the monument.

Add a webcam into the mix and you are all set to create the illusion of close proximity, which will never fail to amaze both of you to no end. Of course this technology can screw up at times, like when you are listening to what your friend is trying to say and there is an accent involved, which can make it difficult to decipher to begin with, and suddenly, one of the microphones decides to cut out, and you end up listening either to an electronic growl, or to static, whichever comes first. That's when you have to stop the other person in mid-sentence and ask them to repeat something they said two minutes ago. Then that person wonders what kind of drug you are on, and you realize that it is much easier to simply laugh at odd moments and pray that laughter is called for.

When you hear nothing but silence at the other end of the net, combined with a polite chuckle, then you know that your guess is incorrect and you need to re-think your philosophy a bit. Then you have to admit that you missed something along the way and once you get that cleared up you can both get on with life. Plus, if the person in the Philippines has a window open in their home you get the distinct pleasure of listening to 5,000,000 motorcycle engines racing past throughout the entire conversation. The motorcycle is the automobile of choice in the Philippines, so you will hear a lot of them to the point where you will begin to believe the Hell's Angels are sitting on your head.

I have one friend who consistently greets me with a “good evening” when it is actually morning where I am, and a “good morning” when it is evening. Then I have to correct her, with a reminder that we are thirteen hours apart. Then she tells me she is confused by this because I have just greeted her with the salutation representing her own time of day, which leads her to believe that it is the same time of day where I am, which it is not. In my attempts to greet her according to her own time of day, I manage to successfully confuse her every time. This lady is and forever shall be, one of my all time favorite people. You just have to love someone like that.

She gets even however. This lady is trying to teach me the Philippine dialect, Cebuano. It is an easy language to read if you have never heard it pronounced. But listen to a native speaker pronounce it sometime and you will soon be put securely in your place. I struggled to pronounce some Cebuano phrases one evening/morning and had my Filipina friend laughing her head off. She was laughing so hard I could not even hear myself mutilating her language. When I got it through my thick skull that Filipino languages have the same general vowel sounds as the Spanish language, it became a bit easier. I flunked Spanish in High School.

This same lady will meet me in one particular website and will send me a wave. “Hi, I'm waving from the Philippines.” Some crazy part of me will crack at that moment, and I will tell her, “I see you waving. Can you see me waving back?” Five minutes later I get a reply back, which is how long it takes her to get her composure again. I need to establish the point that I am only as crazy as the friends I keep. Another friend of mine from the Philippines always calls me “ate”, (ah-tay) which means, “older sister”. This is not an insult, unless you happen to live in the United States and lie about your age for forty years. In the Philippines this is a mark of deep respect. Call yourself that same name spontaneously sometime in front of a different Filipina and prepare to be laughed into submission.

I love the Filipinos, they are a wonderful, polite, and gentle people. They are also incredibly friendly and they adore Americans to no end. This, in itself, is a refreshing change, but combine that with the fact that most of them speak better English than Americans do, and you have the recipe for a mutual friendship that can go nowhere but up. It also helps to know that the Philippines is an almost entirely Christian country. They will still laugh at you when you attempt to speak their languages, but they will love you to pieces regardless. They have a great admiration for the occidental look, so don't be surprised if you meet up with a Filipino someday and he stares at you shamelessly for the longest time. It is not an insult, as he is merely admiring your non-oriental face. The skin-tone, the shape of the eyes, and yes, the nose. I have been told that my long nose is beautiful. Wow. What a um, unique compliment.

On the other hand, how many times does one get complimented for the shape of their nose anyway? Yep, the Asian people are wonderfully unique, and I for one, just love them to pieces … short noses and all. God bless all of my special friends from the Philippines. I adore you characters.

1. Go ride a Tricycle! (An old motorcycle hooked up to a small enclosed sidecar)
2. Ride in the back of a pickup truck… its legal there
3. Go visit a Filipino restaurant and gorge yourself on Delicious Asian Cuisine
4. Visit the famous beaches and islands of the beautiful Archipelagos

These four things make a vacation there much more relaxing. Do not forget to visit the city during your visit though the city life isn't half bad and the five star hotels in Manila like the Discovery are worth it… also remember to put lots of sunscreen before going to the sari sari stores or taking a dip in the current floods in the barrio.