Philippines named world's 'most underrated' foodie destination
MANILA, Philippines — Is the Philippines overlooked as a foodie destination?
One website shared the results of a poll that had over 250 chefs and foodies from all over the world participate and it turned out that the Philippines is the most “underrated” foodie destination in the world.
Ten-year-old website Chefy’s Pencil came out with its list and the Philippines, it said, “rarely gets a mention in the top foodie destination lists. And that’s an awful shame as its cuisine is a unique fusion.”
It went on to describe the Filipino cuisine as originally similar to Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines but “trade and migration created a rich mix of cuisines.”
Long-time trade partner, China, for example, brought in noodles, soy sauce, tofu and spring rolls, the latter locally known as lumpia. Lumpia has been gaining traction overseas with many mentions of its crunchy goodness among non-Filipino eaters. It has also become a favorite party food along with the pancit or noodle dish.
Two of the Philippines’ former colonizers, Spain and America, were also cited as heavy influences. It said that “sofrizo is heavily used here,” and that the “national adobo dish” is heavily influenced by the Spanish adobo.
Americans’ love for hotdogs, hamburgers, ice cream and convenience food also reflect on the Filipinos’ taste palate. The article also called on the food daredevils to try “the most challenging of delicacies” – "balut" (boiled duck embryo).
Apart from the Philippines, two other Southeast Asian countries landed on the list, Vietnam and Thailand, at the second and fifth spots, respectively.
The Philippines’ Asia Pacific neighbor, Australia, came at the seventh spot. Completing the list are Mexico (3), Croatia (4), Peru (6), Jamaica (8), Portugal (9), and Norway (10).
RELATED: Filipino cuisine among world’s least popular — poll
