7 Filipino Dishes You Likely Haven’t Tried Yet (And Where to Find Them in Manila)

In recent years, Filipino food has gained significant attention and popularity.

Once associated with the infamous balut (duck embryo), thanks to shows like 'Fear Factor,' the conversation around Filipino cuisine has evolved. Now, people reminisce about staples like adobo, sisig, pancit, lumpia, and lechon.

With over 7,000 islands, 82 provinces, and 22 regions, the Philippines has an incredibly diverse culinary landscape, offering much more than the familiar favorites.

Here are seven lesser-known Filipino dishes from across the country, and the best places in Manila to sample these elevated versions on your next visit.

Linagpang (Grilled Fish or Chicken Soup)

For the Hiligaynon and Ilonggo people from the Western Visayas, leftovers are never wasted.

In a unique dish, leftover grilled, roasted, or broiled fish or chicken is transformed into a flavorful soup with onions, tomatoes, and ginger, known as linagpang (na manok for chicken, na isda for fish).

In Iloilo, this dish is a common feature in both restaurants and local homes.

Where to try it in Manila: Gallery by Chele

At Gallery by Chele, Chef Chele Gonzalez puts a twist on this dish by 'charring' tuna belly on the grill to infuse a smoky flavor into a delicate clarified broth. He then combines it with Visayan abalone, enoki mushrooms, mustard stems, homemade fish sauce, and fresh herbs.

Gallery by Chele, Clipp Center, 11th corner 39th Sts., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Manila, Philippines; +63 917 546 1673

Kamaru

Kamaru are mole crickets that live in the wet rice fields and are notoriously hard to catch. As the late restaurateur Larry J. Cruz explained, they only become vulnerable when a rice farmer tills the soil, causing the crickets to end up between his toes—perfect for the catch!

In Pampanga, located in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines, Kamaru is a beloved delicacy, typically cooked adobo-style (marinated with vinegar, crushed garlic, and soy sauce) or deep-fried and served with fresh tomatoes. They’re also packed with protein and vitamin B.

Where to try it in Manila: Abe Restaurant

At Cruz's Abe Restaurant, they prepare Kamaru adobo-style, sautéed with vinegar, garlic, and tomatoes. Don't worry, the wings and legs are removed before serving.

Abe Restaurant, G/F Serendra, Retail Area, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines; +63 2 856 0526

Pitaw

Pitaw are small rice field birds found in sugarcane plantations, particularly in Bacolod, a city in Negros Occidental.

Typically fried, these tiny birds are so delicate that you can eat them whole, bones included.

This delicacy, reminiscent of young quail, is often sold in packages at local stores, making it a great souvenir to bring back home.

Where to try it in Manila: Grace Park

Margarita Fores, named Asia’s best female chef in 2016 and a native of Bacolod, prepares this beloved delicacy adobo-style before frying it to a golden crisp at her Manila restaurant, Grace Park.

The birds are served on a bed of garlic butter brown rice.

Grace Park, G/F One Rockwell, Rockwell Drive, Makati, Philippines; +63 2 843 7275

Igado

Igado is a hearty dish made of pork belly and liver, cooked with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, onions, bay leaves, bell peppers, and green peas. It's a favorite in the Ilocos region of the Philippines and can also be found in Bicol, particularly in Albay province.

Named after 'higado,' the Spanish term for liver, igado is often compared to adobo and menudo (a tomato-based pork stew).

Where to try it in Manila: Top Meal Food Haus

Chef and owner Wilson Quindo Tan sautés cubes of pork belly (liempo) and strips of pork liver with garlic, onions, soy sauce, and oyster sauce, finishing the dish with crispy onion rings on top.

Top Meal Food Haus, 5994 J. D. Villena Corner Mabini Street, Poblacion, Makati, Philippines; +63 915 391 4571

Buntaa

How about crabs stuffed with fresh coconut and their own rich aligue (fat), then simmered in creamy coconut milk? Sounds irresistible, doesn't it?

Buntaa is a beloved dish from Butuan City in Agusan del Norte, Mindanao. Its name comes from 'Binuntaan,' meaning 'pull out,' which refers to extracting the meat from female crabs.

Where to try it in Manila: Toyo Eatery

At Toyo Eatery, ranked No. 43 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2019, Chef Jordy Navarra reimagines buntaa by working with its core flavors. He created a crab and ginger flan to replicate the texture of crab roe, then crafted a roe-infused sauce to accompany the crab meat.

Acidity in this dish comes from a reduction of coconut vinegar. Navarra refers to this as 'reusing the theme ingredients'—crab, coconut, and ginger—but in a new form.

Toyo Eatery, 2316 Chino Roces Ave, Makati, Philippines; +63 917 720 8630

Pyanggang

Pyanggang is a blackened coconut curry, traditionally served with chicken, and is a festive dish from the Tausug people of Sulu province in Southern Mindanao.

The signature black curry sauce is made by charring coconut over charcoal, then grinding and mixing it with spices. At Tausug weddings, it’s common to see a whole chicken prepared this way, served over yellow rice as the main centerpiece.

Where to try it in Manila: Talisay, The Garden Cafe

Chef Tatung Sarthou, featured in Netflix's 'Street Food' episode on the Philippines, creates this dish with prawns at his new restaurant, Talisay, The Garden Café, which will open in late September.

Celebrating the rich seafood of Sulu, the dish features poached shrimp whose natural sweetness beautifully balances the rich, smoky burnt coconut sauce. It's served with a refreshing salad of grilled eggplant, tomatoes, shallots, green mango, and palapa (spiced toasted coconut).

Talisay, The Garden Cafe, 44 Maginhawa Street, Barangay UP village, Quezon City, Philippines

Tiyula Itum

Tiyula itum, literally meaning 'black stew,' is a braised beef soup that originated with the Tausug people of the Philippines’ Sulu archipelago.

This dish is considered 'food for royalty' and is typically served on special occasions like weddings and Hari Raya (the festival marking the end of fasting). Like pyanggang, its black color comes from the use of charred coconut meat.

Chunks of beef, or sometimes goat, are marinated in a blend of spices and powdered burnt coconut before being fried with garlic, onions, turmeric, ginger, and lengkuas (a type of tuber).

Where to try it in Manila: Lampara

In celebration of Eid al-Adha, the 'Festival of the Sacrifice,' Chef RJ Ramos created his own version of tiyula itim as a homage to the distinct flavors of Mindanao. Their interpretation of the dish includes elements of pyanggang to complement its flavor profile.

Homemade chicken stock is blended with lemongrass to create fish fumet. The burnt coconut is sautéed with a combination of garlic, ginger, lemongrass, charred chilies, galangal, and onions before adding the reduced fish fumet to complete the dish.

In Lampara’s version, beef is replaced by prawns and mussels, reflecting the Tausug people’s strong connection to the sea.

Lampara, 5883 Enriquez St., Poblacion, Makati, Philippines; +63 917 173 5883