By Brian Campued
Now that our day’s getting a bit colder, nothing beats a hearty meal and piping hot soup to keep us warm—and sinigang leads the pack when it comes to all-time favorite Filipino food!
In TasteAtlas’ September 2024 ranking of best and worst rated Filipino food published Sunday, Sept. 15, sinigang (collectively) topped the list with a 4.5 out of 5 rating.
This traditional Filipino dish was previously included in the global food website’s “Top 100 Soups in the World” back in August—cementing its place as a “true representative of Filipino cuisine” regardless of which souring agent you prefer to use.
Trailing behind sinigang is inasal na manok, which also got a 4.5 out of 5 score. Using various chicken cuts marinated in a mixture of vinegar and spices, this uniquely grilled chicken dish was declared as Bacolod’s cultural property in 2022.
Also listed in the top 10 are: lechon, the main character among major Filipino festivities; crispy lechon kawali; and popular Kapampangan dish, sisig. These three pork viands also ranked among the Best Pork Dishes in the World last May.
Well-loved Pinoy dessert and topping to a “haluhalo espesyal”, leche flan and another flavorful soup best consumed in cold weather—bulalo—both landed in the list. Leche flan likewise placed 95th among the best desserts globally in TasteAtlas’ April ranking, while bulalo joined sinigang among the best soups.
Of course, every ranking of Filipino food is not complete without the ever-popular, party-favorite lumpiang shanghai—which previously rolled its way among the best Southeast Asian street foods in March.
Also completing the top 10 are tortang talong and adobo.
Meanwhile, balut was named as the worst rated Filipino food with a rating of 2.7 out of 5 despite being “served everywhere from street stalls to upscale restaurants.”
According to TasteAtlas, the other worst rated Filipino food are: Bulacan’s signature dessert, inipit; toasted glutinous rice flakes, pinipig; traditional rice delicacy, biko; Bicolano noodle dish, kinalas; and traditional chicken soup from the Cordilleras, the pinikpikan.
Also included in the list are: Filipino sweet rice cake, suman; breakfast dish, spamsilog; local appetizer or side dish during beer-drinking sessions, kilawin; and pochero, a Filipino stew variation of Spanish puchero.
Whatever your preference is with regards to Filipino cuisine, its diverse flavors still tickle our tongues and fill our stomachs as we eat to our hearts’ content. So, which Filipino food is your absolute favorite? — iro