Great Food Treats for Balikbayans

After living on supersize portions of fastfood eats, steaks and calorie-rich imported chocolates, your balikbayan friends or relatives will definitely demand for Filipino dishes that they have missed so much while they’re abroad. If you’re too busy to whip up home-cooked meals for them, you can just treat them to the best of Pinoy food at some of the metro’s well-loved restos.

Adobo

No true Pinoy can claim to be such without having Adobo as one of his favorite dishes of all time. This is the country’s national dish, and all housewives in the country can cook a mean serving of chicken or pork Adobo.

Where to go: Kamay-Kainan at Greenhills Shopping Center, McKinley Lane cor. Ortigas Ave, San Juan, Metro Manila. Adobo here is served home-style with lots of garlic, which is the way we Pinoys like it.

 Kare-Kare

A staple of every fiesta buffet table, Kare-Kare is one of the tastiest dishes ever to come across the Pinoy taste buds. The sight of the rich, orange sauce alone can make us heap our plates with rice to the brimful.

Where to go: Café Juanita at 2 United St. cor. West Capitol Drive, Barrio Kapitolyo, Pasig. Kare-Kare in Café Juanita is a sumptuous mix of tender meat and heavenly sauce made of creamy peanut butter and fresh ground peanuts. A dollop of our beloved Bagoong completes this classic dish.

 Sinigang

Last but definitely not the least, Sinigang is the most favorite dish among most Pinoys. Either cooked with pork or fish with either sampaloc or bayabas broth, no one is invulnerable to the temptations of Sinigang’s signature asim.

Where to go: Max’s Restaurant, with branches nationwide. Famously known for serving the best chicken in the country, Max’s is also known for it’s delicious Sinigang, one of their specialty dishes. Their Sinigang na Hipon is simply to die for.