⌛ my new diet

I understand that my diet will change once I arrive next month and I will have to transition from my North American diet to a PI diet. Are there any good restaurants in Dumaguete where I can accomplish this without getting sick and what kind of foods should I be considering or avoiding?

 

That really depends on what you like. There are plenty of BBQ foods to be had at the local restaurants and Shakeys Pizza makes american style Pizza which is tolerable. I really can't recommend the upscale resteraunts since I eat mostly native foods at my in-laws and I have been eating Asian food since I was very young so that is normal diet to me in addition to burgers, BBQ, and Pizzas. In the Foreign restaurants I have eaten in in Dumaguete the food was OK but the service and time to eat was extremely slow. There is a McDonalds and JollyBee is OK for fast food also. Just make sure the food is cooked the way you like it and drink only bottled water especially if this is your first time.

If you are meeting friends or have any there I am sure they will guide you to what they think you would like. Have fun.

 

My rules of thumb are:

If I can't tell what's in it and no one will tell me what's in it, I won't eat it.

If it's smells bad, it probably tastes bad and I won't eat it.

If it looks like it's been setting out for an extended period of time I won't eat it.


If it's your 1st time here and it's not either very hot or very cold, I wouldn't eat it.

Common sense, a sense of smell, and taste buds are all that is required. :D

If all else fails, stock up on Pepto Bismol! :D

 

...what limits the places to eat in Duma to about the amount of fingers on 1 hand of a sawmill-employee ....

 

I simply LOVE the local Filipino food.

But, it DID take some getting used to.

In retrospect, I remember trying to find a good fast food burger, good pizza, good cheese cake, ect, here in the Philippines, and finally realized it was a waste of time trying to compare it to what's available "back home". (there are some places like "Fridays" and "Chili's" in the Metro Manila area that have decent American style food, but the prices are pretty steep)

The "American" fast food pretty much sucks here in the Philippines, at first. But you will get used to it, after a year or 2. This is my opinion only, of course, but when you consider the supply of ingredients of the local fast food places, it makes sense.

To answer your question, of what foods to look for...
If you like fresh seafood, and rice, then your in luck! Talapia, and bangus, are the 2 popular fish. Fresh danggit fried is one of my all time favorites.

I also have to recommend bar-B-Qed, stuffed pusit, (squid), or pusit adobo. It's so tender, and flavorful... Ma sarap~


Dried danggit, and dried pusit, are also very popular, here in the Philippines, especially for breakfast. But, again, it might take a while, for you to fully appreciate the dried versions.

 

It's not THAT bad...

To avoid getting sick, you should mostly be concerned with the water and ice. Make sure it's purified or just order bottled/canned drinks and don't use ice. (Don't forget about ice used in things like Halo-Halo, etc.)

Most of the restaurants that you are likely to frequent are probably fairly clean. (At least by local standards.) There are about a dozen or so reliably good restaurants that I have found around here. As others have said...it really depends are your tastes. Most of the higher quality local restaurants are not really "American" food or American style, but I think most Americans find them agreeable nonetheless.

The Philippines is NOT a 'food country' in my humble opinion. Which means, there isn't a great deal of emphasis and pride taken in food the way there is in some countries, say, for example Thailand and France (my two personal favorites). I never really thought of the U.S. as a food country either, but compared to the Philippines, it is.

If you are looking for "American" food, about the only places I can think of are Private Garden and Boston Cafe.

But, I off the top of my head, I also find the following restaurants good and worth visiting:

Hayahay/Laba-As -- Seafood and Pizza
Blue Monkey Grill -- Grilled Chicken and Seafoods...also great kinilaw
Don Atilano's -- Spanish/Italian theme
Bogart's -- Sandwiches, burgers and breakfasts
Why Not -- Swiss-German; good food, terrible service
Qyosko -- A favorite of locals...good food, broad menu, low prices and 24 hours
Casablanca -- Austrian chef, continental menu
Neva's -- Pizza and Pasta...mostly locals, low prices
Mooon Cafe -- "Mexican-Inspired" Not really Mexican, but decent especially for the reasonable price. However, Private Garden has better Mexican food (how American is that?) haha

Oh, and soon to come is Gustavian. Swedish chef/owner...continental European style.

 

I eat at the following and have never been sick. Plus I like the food.

Lab-as Seafood. 2km up the coast from the pier. Good luck catching a trike back. Excellent food.

Don Roberto's. On Perdices, near National Bookstore, but opposite side.

HowYang, the cooked to order stuff. On Perdicds, across from Lee Plaza

Neva's, the cheddar cheese pizza. I'd rather have it than almost any of the so called motzorella cheese pizzas in this country.

Mamia's. Just up the coast from Why-not.

+1 for Qyosko, the cooked to order stuff. Tell the trike driver your destination is OK Pension if he doesn't understand your pronouncation of Qyosko.

Sr. Pedro for Lechon Manok. It's across the park from McDonalds.

Highway 10. Across perdices from Sr. Pedro.

I got stomach discomfort two of the first three times I at at Ha 'wawhy. I stopped going back because the service was bad by philippine standards and they seem to have Kano versions of their dishes where the amount of animal protein is much less then the same dish served to locals.

There is a shrimp paste that is deeply weird. It sometimes comes on pinakbet, a vegetable dish. When I try pinackbet at a new place I ask if there is meat or fish in it. About half the time I'm told no and it comes with shrimp paste.

A lot of Filipino food will be too sweet, including dishes that you had no idea would be sweet, like tomato based pasta sauce.

Get used to MSG or learn how to ask for no MSG. Then learn how to get used to them including it anyway.

 

My diet didn't really change when I moved here other than the fact that a lot of things used for meals back home are hard to come by here. That means a lot of meals like what you used to cook back home just don't taste the same.

I also didn't have a problem with getting sick, but having a case of the "runs" is unavoidable when you first get here.

You will likely only really get a big change in your diet if you get a Filipina girlfriend who for you. That basically means lots of rice and chicken or pork.

My favorite places to eat...

Private Garden - If you want real hamburgers, this is the place to go.

Bogarts - Pretty much anything.

Hayahay - The pizza is great, but it's not at all like pizza back home, the beer is probably the coldest in town, lots of good seafood and a great environment.

Familiar faces...
Mcdonald's downtown.
KFC in Robinson's.

Honorable mentions...
Mike's Dive Shop - This used to be my favorite. I ate here more than anywhere else because they had a great location and excellent chicken burritos. They have since relocated to Dauin and Bogart's moved in their old place. I haven't been to their new place yet.

There are lots of other good places but I have a tendency to stick to the places I have been before. I need to get more adventurous.

 

I've been married to a Filipina for 28 years and she will still sneak MSG into the food. What chance do you think you have in a restaurant.

Kenny

 

Some comply with my request, some don't. I can immediately taste if they have left out the salt and a several hours later tell if the MSG was included.

I went to Jo's Innato in Cebu with a foreigner who was absolutly clueless about the culture and how well one particular waiter spoke english. After pestering the guy for no MSG, no salt, no soy and to cook the vegetable dish in water instead of oil what we got was oil free. And so salty I couldn't eat it.