In this Filipino street food guide, I’m going to share with you popular street food snacks that you’ll find all over Manila and throughout the Philippines.
So get ready to dive straight into some of the most delicious and adventurous Filipino street food!
Note: This list mostly includes Filipino street food snacks, but I’ll be publishing another post about Filipino main dishes.
ISAW
We are going to start this list off with a street food that I think reigns supreme on the afternoon grills throughout the Philippines: isaw, which refers to both pig and chicken intestines, grilled over hot fire.
Starting in the middle to late afternoon, you’ll smell the charcoal being lit, and you’ll know it’s time for your afternoon snack. The intestines are coiled onto skewers, and grilled until charred and smoky. The pig intestines are a little chewier and stronger tasting, while chicken intestines are just like mini tube sausages.
One of the best things about eating isaw (and true for lots of Filipino street foods) is seasoning with vinegar. Most people like to soak their isaw in chili onion vinegar and let is absorb as much vinegar as possible. The contrast of the smoky isaw with vinegar is extremely satisfying.
KWEK KWEK
Another giant of Filipino street food, and popular throughout Manila is kwek kwek.
Kwek kwek are quail eggs that are coated in an orange colored batter, and deep fried. You’ll notice them by their bright orange color and almost ping pong ball appearance.
Again, you’ll need to season them with vinegar, chilies, and onions, before eating for the best taste. Kwek kwek is kind of like a corndog, but with a quail inside instead of a hot dog.
HELMETS AND ADDIDAS
There are quite a few common Filipino street foods that are somewhat adventurous, and helmets and Adidas are names used to refer to chicken heads and chicken feet. Just like isaw, they are poked onto skewers and grilled over charcoal.
I’ve personally never been huge on chicken feet as there’s just not too much to eat there, but a chicken head every now and then is pretty tasty – especially when the neck is included with the helmet!
MANGO WITH SHRIMP PASTE/ BAGOONG
You can think of it kind of like the Filipino version of a caramel apple, but instead of an apple it’s a green mango, and instead of caramel it’s spicy shrimp paste. And for me, it’s probably one of the best things you can eat on the streets of Manila.
They typically use Indian mangoes (what they are called), and the mangoes are cut off the seed, poked onto skewers, and when you order one, the vendor will give your mango a nice spread of shrimp paste.
The mango is crisp and very sour, while the shrimp paste is salty and fishy and a bit spicy, making the ultimate marriage of flavors and textures.
FISH BALLS/ CHICKEN BALLS
Possibly one of the most beloved Filipino street food snacks, especially among kids in the Philippines, and throughout Southeast Asia for that matter, are fried fish balls and nowadays fried chicken balls as well.
Usually when you eat the street food versions of fish or chicken balls, there’s really only a little meat in the balls, but they also contain quite a lot of flour.
The balls are deep fried, and in the Philippines you grab a skewer and poke them right out of the oil, dip them into chili-onion-vinegar, and eat.
PALABOK
Palabok is one of most common of all Filipino noodle dishes, and it’s a popular Filipino street food snack that you’ll find throughout Manila.
Rice noodles make the base of this dish, and a thick sauce that’s made from shrimp, minced pork, and fried pork skin (chicharon) is placed on top.
Sometimes you also eat palabok with a hard boiled egg. The sauce is rich and garlicky, and makes a great pair for the silky rice noodles.
SOTANGHON WITH EGG
Another common noodles dish in the Philippines is sotanghon, or cellophane noodles. The sotanghon I tried in Manila at Quiapo Market included cellophane noodles in an oily meaty broth that was fragrant with fried garlic.
It also came with a hard boiled egg and little slivers of long beans or green beans in the mix. Sotanghon is the type of noodles you’ve got to just keep on slurping until you finish your bowl.
LECHON MANOK
Lechon manok, or roasted chicken, is more of a Filipino food main dish (and I’ll be writing a separate post about Filipino dishes), but I just had to include lechon manok on this Filipino street food list because there are some amazing street food rotisserie chicken stalls in Manila.
The chicken is stuffed with lemongrass, and rubbed in a marinade of soy sauce, sugar, and kalamansi, before is slow roasts to golden crispy perfection.
Street food roasted chicken is something you don’t want to miss when you’re in the Philippines.
LECHON BABOY
ONE DAY OLD FRIED CHICK
One day old chickens are another one of the more adventurous street food snacks you’ll find in Manila, especially common around the Quiapo Market and Quiapo Church area.
I know it doesn’t sound too good, but I’ve read reports that say the one day old chickens are often rejects from the chicken farms. So rather than the chickens being discarded and wasted, it’s actually a resourceful snack.
BALUT
There’s no street food snack in the Philippines more famous (or possibly infamous) than balut — a partially developed duck egg embryo: you could call it the king of all Filipino street foods!
It’s a snack that’s readily available, and very popular to eat, especially in the evening.
In order to eat balut, you crack a small hole at the top of the shell, and first drink out the chicken soup. You can then peel the rest of the egg, season with salt and vinegar, and eat the embryo and yolk.
WHERE TO EAT STREET FOODS?!
You’ll find street food snacks all over the Philippines, and in Manila, you can’t walk more than a few meters in many areas of town without seeing something being served.
However, you do have to choose wisely the street food you decide to eat. Some of the street food is not always too fresh looking or hygienic. So try to choose street food that appears to be fresh, and that has a high turnover rate, and be more cautious with street foods that use water or ice in the preparation.
That being said I’ve been to the Philippines a number of times, and eaten plenty of street food and never had a problem.
The best places to eat street food in Manila, in my opinion are both local markets, and really local neighborhood streets.
Markets in Manila like Quiapo Market and Divisoria Market, are great places to start, and you’ll find an abundance of Filipino street food to try.
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