Why is Filipino food not as good as food from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia?

 

Michael Figueroa

Global Talent Acquisition Specialist + Filipino

142 followers

23 following

Here to correct misconceptions and false information about my wonderful country, The Philippines.

Not good? Or not as exotic? Filipino cuisine are based on Filipino taste palette. Mostly plays between Sweet-Salty-Sour-mildly Spicy.

Heck, the spiciest Filipino food I know - Bicol Express, would be a simple appetizer for Thais and Indonesians.

Sauteed Garlic and Onion are the base of most Filipino dish. People find it blant if they have tasted other Asian food first before trying a Filipino one.

Not all of Filipino food is bad. It is a general notion provided by so called “food guru”, comparing it to our neighbors “indigestible” food relative to Filipinos.

I personally tasted a ginger flavored chocolate from Indonesia (we then used it as a punishment in a card game), a friend once had an appetizer that tasted like an old woman's perfume, heck she tried her best to swallow it because she is in front of her Thai colleagues in Chang-Mai. I can't say it tastes weird, but I'd rather tag it as exotic.

Why would international food blogs and personality consider Filipino cuisine as the “next big thing” if Filipino dishes taste bad in general? Talk about Pork Sisig, Adobo etc.

This cuisine is the 'next big thing,' says a Michelin star chef

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Even Meghan Markle Has Her Own Recipe For this Filipino Dish - Preen

Philippines ready to help disaster-hit Indonesia

INDONESIA. Residents take a bath amidst remains of toppled homes and structures at the earthquake and tsunami-hit Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia on Friday Oct. 5, 2018. As the sun slipped behind the mountains and a gentle breeze blew onshore, hundreds of people gathered on an Indonesian beach Friday to chant a Muslim prayer and remember those they lost one week after a massive earthquake and tsunami ravaged the area, killing more than 1,500 people. (AP)

By: RUTH ABBEY GITA

THE Philippines has expressed its sympathies to Indonesia, following the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that killed over 1,500 in Sulawesi Island.

President Rodrigo Duterte assured disaster-stricken Indonesia that it would receive assistance from the Philippine Government.

“The Filipino nation extends its most sincere sympathies to our Indonesian brothers and sisters affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami,” the Chief Executive said in a statement released Friday, October 5.

“The Philippines stands with Indonesia during this most difficult time and is ready to provide assistance to Indonesia,” he added.

“The Philippines will do its part, no matter how modest, to help ensure that the challenges Indonesia currently faces, will be overcome,” he stressed. (SunStar Philippines)

Pride and momentum up in Philippines-Indonesia Volley

By: Nelson Beltran (The Philippine Star)

JAKARTA – Alyssa Valdez said it’s a fight for pride more than anything else as SEA Games rivals the Philippines and Indonesia face off tonight in the penultimate playdate of the 18th Asian Games women’s volleyball competition group play at the GBK Tennis Indoor court here.

It’s a virtual non-bearing game since both have booked spots in the quarterfinals with no way of bumping off Thailand and Japan on top places in Pool A.

But the two teams are expected to figure in a fierce battle in their 7 p.m. (8 p.m. in Manila) match to build some momentum going to the knockout quarterfinals.

And as Valdez insists, it’s for pride.

“Even if we’re assured of the quarterfinals, we would feel good pulling off another win, especially against our longtime rival,” said Valdez.

“Our campaign here would be better if we beat Indonesia. It’s a showdown of SEA Games rivals,” said national coach Shaq delos Santos.

After all, the main purpose of Team Phl’s presence here is to size up neighbors Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam and prepare for the SEA Games in Manila next year.

The Thais, the Indonesians and the Vietnamese finished first, second and third, in that order, in the last SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

“They won the silver coming from another bracket. But seeing their games, I do think we have the better skills,” said Delos Santos, confident of their chance against the Indonesian team built around sisters Amansya Angraini and Aprilia Santini Mangarang.

“We’ll break down the game of the Mangarang sisters. We will work hard to stop them,” said Delos Santos.

Valdez and her teammates are in high spirits following their 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 drubbing of Hong Kong Thursday – the Philippines’ first win in Asiad volleyball in 36 years.

“We’re very happy because it’s a historic win. We sacrificed a lot of things to be here, so we might as well do our best to produce the best result we could get here,” said Valdez, among the lead guns of Team Phl here along with Santiago sisters Jaja and Dindin Manabat, Mika Reyes, Aby Maraño, Mylene Paat and Kianna Kim Dy.

Curiously, the Indonesians took four sets to top Hong Kong, 21-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-14, last Wednesday.

After the decline of the Philippines in SEAG, Indonesia and Vietnam rose as Thailand’s toughest challengers. The Vietnamese were second placers in eight of the last SEAG while the Indonesians collected a silver and five bronze medals in the last six editions of the biennial meet.

The Philippines has never had a podium finish since salvaging a bronze in Manila in 2005.

Border Talks with Indonesia after Sinking of 4 Philippine Vessels

By Carmencita A. Carillo, Correspondent

DAVAO CITY -- The Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) met with the Indonesian delegation at the 34th Philippines-Indonesia Border Committee Chairmen’s Conference (BCCC) to discuss border issues, following last month’s arrest and sinking of four Philippine fishing vessels by the Indonesian Navy.

“There is a need to clarify this from a technical viewpoint because as far as we are concerned, the fishing vessels were still within the Philippine EEZ [Exclusive Economic Zone], while Indonesia thinks otherwise,” BFAR National Director Asis G. Perez said in an interview on Wednesday on the sidelines of the annual conference held in Davao City which began on Wednesday and ended yesterday.

The EEZ is prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the international agreement which covers maritime borders and resources.

“While this is being discussed diplomatically, there is a need to resolve this at the technical level since there is already an agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia when it comes to these boundaries,” Mr. Perez said.

The Philippines and Indonesia, both state parties to the UNCLOS, signed a bilateral agreement on May 23, 2014, which delimits the overlapping EEZs in the Mindanao Sea and Celebes Sea in the southern Philippines and the Philippine Sea on the southern section of the Pacific Ocean.

The agreement was hailed as a landmark accomplishment amid rising tensions in the West Philippine Sea where there are long-standing overlapping claims involving the Philippines, China and other states.

Mr. Perez said his agency raised to the Indonesian delegation its concern that, “despite our communication efforts to conduct an investigation on the matter,” Indonesia reportedly went ahead with the sinking of the vessels.

Reports said the Philippine vessels were stopped by the Indonesian Navy, presumably on Indonesian waters, and their crew arrested as they didn’t have the permits to fish in the area.

The Philippine government has no information yet on the Filipino fishermen who are reportedly facing trial in Indonesia. Mr. Perez said the fishermen are believed to be held in the Indonesian island and city of Tarakan, off North Borneo.

The Indonesian Navy reportedly sunk 12 foreign vessels last month, including the four owned by Philippine companies.

Mr. Perez said this was not the first time Philippine flag vessels were apprehended by the Indonesian Navy.

The Philippine government has not previously raised this matter because the vessels in question were believed to have been operating in Indonesian waters. “We respected their authority,” Mr. Perez said.

Indonesia, which has launched a vigorous campaign against illegal fishing, sank 34 boats from foreign countries, including the four Philippine vessels last August as part of its 70th Independence Day commemoration.

Indonesia’s “sink the vessel” policy is based on Article 69, Paragraph 4 of Law No. 45/2009 on Fisheries, which allows Indonesian authorities “to burn or sink foreign fishing vessels conducting illegal fishing within the Indonesian fishing management area subject to the sufficient preliminary evidence.”

But in the case of the four Philippine vessels, Mr. Perez said an investigation showed they were still within the country’s EEZ. “While I do not expect the problem to be resolved now, we can at least discuss the border issue at the technical level,” he said.

Benjamin F.S. Tabios, Jr., BFAR assistant director for administrative services, informed the Indonesian delegation about the Philippines’ own stand against illegal fishing as affirmed by the passage this year of the Amended Fisheries Code, adding that the government is undertaking an information campaign among fisherfolk about going beyond Philippine waters.

The BCCC is chaired by Lt. Gen. Aurelio B. Baladad of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Rear Admiral Laksda Tni Darwanto, S.H., M.A.P. of the Indonesian Navy.

In a joint statement at the end of the conference, the two officials said “the discussions of the committee aim to enhance cooperation addressing border and maritime concerns of the two biggest archipelagic states of the world.”

Among the issues taken up at the different sub-committee levels were the inclusion of civilian maritime law enforcement agencies in conducting coordinated patrols, and of other transnational and organized crimes (such as drug trafficking and migrant smuggling) in the list of border offenses, along with intelligence and information sharing procedures in the Border Crossing Stations.

The 35th BCCC will be held in Manado, Indonesia next year.

Philippines Cancels Flights and Alerts Hospitals Over Haze

By: Agence France-Presse

A woman takes a photo from a building of the thick haze, believed to be from Indonesia's forest fires, engulfing the city of Davao on Friday. Smog from the fires on Sumatra island and the Indonesian section of Borneo island has affected several Southeast Asian countries. Photo by Dennis Jay Santos, AFP.

MANILA -- The Philippines cancelled flights and put hospitals on alert on Sunday, as its southern and central islands were covered by thickening haze from Indonesian forest fires.

Smog from Indonesian slash-and-burn farming has choked vast expanses of Southeast Asia for weeks, killing at least 10 people, forcing events to be shut down and schools to close across the region.

International efforts to douse the blazes have done little to clear the air, and Filipino authorities warned ash levels were becoming increasingly dangerous in the southern islands.

"The department of health is advising those who have breathing problems or respiratory diseases to wear face masks in areas covered by haze," presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma told reporters.

Hospitals in the south were ready to receive anyone affected by the haze, he added.

Six flights to central and southern islands were cancelled or delayed Sunday due to the thickening smog, after thousands were left stranded over the past 10 days.

Pilots flying in the central city of Cebu could only see eight kilometers ahead, said government weather observer John Agbay, adding that visibility was also impaired in the western island of Palawan.

Indonesian forest fires are an annual occurence, but dry weather has made them particularly bad this year and Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Japan have all sent help to fight the blazes.

While the haze in the Philippines has been mild compared to other parts of Southeast Asia, the smoke has been largely unexpected as the islands affected lie thousands of kilometers away from the fires.

Singapore, one of the worst hit, on Sunday urged fellow ASEAN members to take "firm and decisive action" against ahead of a group summit in Malaysia next month.

The city-state issued the call after Singaporean troops and firefighters returned from an international assistance mission in Indonesia's Sumatra island.

Experts say Typhoon Koppu (local name "Lando"), which passed over the northern tip of the Philippines last week, may have contributed to the problem in the archipelago by dragging the smoke across from Indonesia.

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

The Haze is on

WED, OCTOBER 21, 2015 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR

EDITORIAL

Davao City’s skyline looks like it came straight out of a surreal painting with the darkened horizon. While everyone wants to believe that this fog-like image came as a result of the cool weather brought about by Typhoon Lando, the experts at Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) were however quick to awaken us from dreamland to tell us that this is all haze straight from Indonesia. Apparently, the monsoon winds have brought us not the romantic air we beget but the haze from Indonesia’s forest fires. The same haze is visible in General Santos City, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro City. Even ASEAN countries like Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore have been under a blanket of haze for quite sometime now, no thanks to the forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia.

Forest fires occur because of farmers who engage in slash-and-burn practices when clearing their lands primarily for economic reasons. The El Niño or the long periods of drought or dry season has only worsened the forest fires and unfortunately, the haze. This should be a cause of concern for all of us not only because it is detrimental to our environment. More importantly, this haze could be detrimental to our health especially those suffering from asthma and other chronic diseases. If you find yourself coughing a lot now, or sneezing more than you should be, then you should start to wonder if this is all caused by the haze. It is high time for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to start measuring air quality in the cities and provinces affected by the haze so we become aware if it is still safe to breathe freely. The Health Department should also come up with a guideline as to the effects of haze on our health, and what we can do to minimize the ill effects if there are.

Indonesia may be thousand of miles away from the Philippines but the haze that we are experiencing now shows that no country is isolated from the outside world anymore. As Joey Ayala’s song “Magkaugnay” goes…

Lupa, laot, langit ay magkaugnay

Hayop, halaman, tao ay magkaugnay

Ang lahat ng bagay ay magkaugnay

Magkaugnay ang lahat.

(C) 2015 by MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR, Davao City