America's influence is palpable in the Philippines, and you'll be hard pressed to find a mall without the requisite McDonalds,KFC, Pizza Hut, and even Taco Bell. Filipino fastfood chains that capture the essence of Filipino food compete strongly for Filipino tastebuds however, and they may be a safe place for the tourist to try the local fare. The following are a list of fastfood chains that have branches all around the Metro, and in many cases around the country.
Jollibee, . The most well known Filipino fastfood chain of all, Jollibee can boast of over a thousand stores in the Philippines and more than 300 stores around the world. Typical fastfood fare for the most part, but the burger dressing will taste different (read: sweet) to most foreigners. For something a little different, try the pancit palabok, which is a vermicelli dish with an orange sauce.$1-$2 per serving. �
Greenwich Pizza, . The second of Jollibee corps' trifecta of fastfood chains, Greenwich Pizzas are your typical fare, but once again with the slightly sweeter than usual tomato sauce. Some seasonal offerings may be on offer though, like the sisig pizza, so check the menu.$2-$3 per serving. �
Chowking, . The Filipino version of Chinese food, also owned by Jollibee. For good sampling of their food, try the Lauriats, which feature a viand (beef, pork, chicken), rice, pancit (fried noodles with meat and veggies), siomai (dumplings), and buchi (a sweet rice ball covered with a sesame based coating.$2-$3 per serving. �
Tapa King, . Tapaking is where you get the ubiquitous tapsilog (fried beef strips, fried garlic rice, and egg), along with other local delicacies.$2-$3 per serving. �
GotoKing, . This where you go to get the localized version of congee called goto and lugaw, with different kinds of toppings like chicken, roasted garlic, egg, etc. �
Mang Inasal, . A relative newcomer, Mang Inasal actually brings a variety of barbecue called "inasal" into Metro Manila from the smaller city of Bacolod. They offer other grilled meats, as well as soups like sinigang (a sour, tamarind based soup).$1-2$ per serving. �
Goldilocks, . The place to go for your baked treats and sweets like mamon (a spongy round cake), polvoron (a tighly packed powdery treat) ensaymada (bread baked with cheese and sugar), and host of other delicacies for those with a sweet tooth. �
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Philippines
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Philippines Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
