What Filipino dishes should I actually try, and is the food spicy?
Nervous about whether I'll like the local food as a first-timer.
2 answers
- Marites (Cebu food tour host)📍 LocalJun 28, 2026
Filipino food is mostly NOT spicy (Bicol is the exception, they love chili). Must-try: lechon (roast pork, Cebu's is the best), adobo, sinigang (sour tamarind soup), kare-kare, and halo-halo for dessert. Street BBQ skewers run PHP 15-30 each. In Cebu hit a lechon spot like Rico's. Try balut only if you're brave, the rest is super approachable.
- GretaJun 28, 2026
Don't skip the carinderia (small local eateries), point at what looks good and a full plate is often PHP 80-150. Mango here is unreal too. If you want to budget your food days roughly, /expenses helped me plan, I averaged about PHP 500/day eating local plus the odd nicer meal.