The Balut has gained notoriety all over the world as one of the “grossest” and scariest looking food. However, it tastes good actually. You can also skip the chick and just eat the egg yolk but don’t forget to slurp the soup that goes with it.

The Halo-halo is a cold dessert which is a mixture of local fruits such as coconut meat, beans, ube yam, ube ice cream (purple ice cream), red beans, langka (nangka), and topped with crushed ice and evaporated milk etc.

Another local favorite and guilty pleasure is the dried seafood that you fry until it’s crunchy. It smells aweful! However, it’s really yummy when eaten with even with just plain white steamed rice. When I was little I remember that they sometimes mix in fresh goat’s or carabao’s milk with the steamed rice when eating the dried fish. I still do this myself sometimes.

Buffets are everywhere and they don’t cost so much and even for locals. Here at Market! Market! we had lunch in Filipino buffet that costs 250 pesos (4 euros) normally but they have merienda buffets that only cost like 150 pesos (3 euros). This particular Filipino food buffet, inspite of having a smaller selection than Dads Triple V seemed to have a great selection and better quality. I also like the fact that it is quieter than Dads Triple V.