I looooove street food! Living in Manila, I’m never too far from a stall selling barbeque, isaw (pork or chicken intestine marinated and grilled), banana-Q (banana coated in brown sugar and deep fried), fish balls, and anything else you can deep fry. Though as much as I love eating street foods, I am also wary about its possible effect to my health. Whether I’m traveling or just here in Manila, I can be quite picky about the stalls I buy food from.
Budget Travel Online has some good tips for avoiding traveller’s diarrhea while enjoying glorious street food:
Follow crowds
“A line of people is always a good indicator that the food is tasty and fresh — it never sits idle for long. If a vendor on a busy street has no customers, there’s probably a reason.”
Ask the locals
“The best recommendations I got were from taxi drivers, policemen, shop owners and office workers. Locals are discerning: They only eat what they like and what doesn’t make them sick.”
Read the rest of the tips over at CNN.com.
Care to share your favorite street food stall?
For isaw and barbeque, my favorites are the isaw stalls in UP Diliman; one in front of Kalayaan Residence Hall, the other in front of the Ilang-Ilang Residence Hall Hall. Another favorite is the barbeque stall at Proj. 4, near Glori’s supermarket along P. Tuason.
Outside the UP Dilimall, there’s one stall selling fish balls, chicken balls, tokneneng (quail eggs covered in batter then deep fried), and some bottled drinks. I also like the fresh fishball sold in front of the Quiapo Church.
What’s your favorite street food and where do you buy them?
Posted on June 18, 2007
Filed under Everything Travel Related
Tags: food_stall, street_food
Visited 4753 times, 2 so far today
I love street food as well. I remember trooping to the Agno parking lot behind school for squidballs. Eating kwek-kwek (tokneneng) at a stall outside Anna-Lynn’s in Alabang. Eating more kwek-kwek inside the Moonwalk market. And of course, more squidballs outside our office building along Ayala. Unfortunately for me, none of these streetfood stands are still accessible for me.
Streetfood withdrawal. *sob sob sob*
naku sis, there is this relatively new street food im dying to try… might blog about this too soon.. yun bang deep fried breaded squid head! it smells really good and laging madaming tao around the peddycab which doubles as the stall itself. sawsaw sa suka with sili and sibuyas…yay! parang ang sarap sarap nya… have you seen one around?
Kaoko: Whenever I was asked what I missed most about the Philippines when I was in Melbourne, I always reply that I miss the streetfood the most! Wala kasing ganun dun eh!
Gita: I’ve seen those! May nadaanan ako sa Ermita dati, kaso I was in a hurry and di ko masyado feel kumain magisa kaya di ako bumili. Pero it smells so good nga!
Ay, Gita, nakita ko na rin yun. Parang sarap na sarap nga yung mga tao, kaso isip ko baka parang calamares lang yun? Albeit cheaper version. Nakita ko kasing tinutuhog nila was the squid rings version.
Just an aside, sa South Supermarket, they don’t only sell squid rings, they also sell squid wings. Hahaha, laughtrip :P
Nakupo, naging victim ako nyang traveller’s diarhea sa Cambodia. Grabe, me time na naisip kong magpa admit sa hospital dun sa sakit. Buti na ang nadala ng imodium and mefanamic acid dun. Hehe
Aruy, ang sakit naman nung Ferdz. Never na talaga nawala sa packing list ko ang Loperamide
those are imported frozen squid. compared to local squid, they are not as tasty. they cost around p90/kg., cheaper than local.
they are best fried, as they are fatter and do not shrink and are tender compared to local squid; because of the fat content.
but, as adobo, they are not suitable. i guess the freshness matters for adobo or when grilled.
but i must add that they are excellent when fried with batter !
and at p3/ring, excellent value !
My parents who doesn’t like us eating street food actually buys these calamares off the street. Instant ulam!
The stall to pioneer fried isaw is near De La Salle CSB. Then I love the freshly-fried quail eggs at PNU corner of Taft Avenue and Ayala. Then the best calamares would be found at PUP along Teresa Street. Actually, a diverse selection of street foods there.
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