Ask any average Filipino what they want to put up if given an opportunity to engage in business, and sure enough, the number one answer would be to put up a mini restaurant, or what is commonly called a carinderia in Filipino.

This is because Filipinos love to cook and eat.

The Filipinos passion for cooking and eating can be traced from their ancestors which are a mix of Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, and even that of the Spaniards who ruled the country for more than three hundred (300) years.

For fine dining, one of the best places to go is La Cocina de Tita Moning located right inside the Malacanang Palace grounds in San Miguel, Manila, near the official residence of no less than the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

The ambience is that of the old Manila, as the restaurant is set in the actual ancestral home of the Legarda family with the original heirlooms, priceless works of art and memorabilia of the grand old house still intact. House specialties are the paella and bread pudding which you will come back for again and again.

Other fine dining restaurants are Antonio’s in Tagaytay, Kusina Salud in San Pablo, Laguna, Charley’s in Lipa, Batangas, Entalula, in Palawan, and Vieux Chalet, in Antipolo City.

Filipinos are fast eaters by nature. They want their food served fast, and they devour it swiftly as well. Thus the reason for the wide acceptance and success of fast foods such as Jollibbee, Chow King, Goto King, Greenwich, and the other US franchises such as McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Shakey’s.

Aside from fine dining and fast food, another proof that Filipinos are such voracious eaters is the proliferation of street food, which are patronized by almost all sectors of society from the A to the D crowd.

These street foods consists of either fish balls, squid balls, dumplings, fried bananas or sweet potatoes on a stick, fried quail eggs dipped in a batter and fried, and of course the Philippines most unique street food “balut,” which is boiled duck egg.

Yes Filipinos truly love to eat. From fine dining, to fast food, to street food, you cook it, they eat it.