Almost two months ago, a comment made by one of Philippine’s popular director became viral. He tweeted about a Netflix’s Streetfood episode – specifically the Cebu episode – and it left a bad taste in the mouths of most Filipinos. The tweet, which now seem deleted, was this:
“The #Cebu episode of #StreetFood at @netflixph borders on poverty porn.”
“The dishes except for lechon are food that are not really a staple of Filipinos. All the other Asian countries had their classic world-renowned street food while we had… bizarre. Bad research,”
“There are hundreds of original Filipino street food and they chose to show an esoteric eel dish and a goddamn chinese fried vegetable lumpia!”
Some said he was plainly being ignorant. Others said he was sour-grapeing – he also had a similar show in HBO titled “Food Lore”.
While I also think that the episode seemed to romanticize poverty in the Philippines, I also cannot deny that the lives of the people featured in the episode were realistic. It also didn’t mainly tap into poverty. If you watched the episode, the business people featured – specifically the lady and the son who runs their lechon business, and the guy who runs a tuslob buwa business – seem to me like the typical SME owners in the Philippines. They seem to be doing well in their lives. And if there was one particular thing it tapped into, it was grit and perseverance. This, I think, is a reality commonly shared by some Filipinos, if not all.
The foods that were featured sure weren’t staples that represent the whole Philippines. I agree with him on this, but not for the same reason. Growing up in Mindanao, specifically Zamboanga, I worked in a big city in Luzon and lived in Cebu. Even if I lived in Zamboanga, I had classmates from the nearby islands of Basilan, Jolo and Tawi Tawi. I’ve also had classmates from the countryside of Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte. I grew up being a Filipino yet my community was incredibly diverse. I spoke Chavacano, whilst others spoke other languages such as Bisaya, Tausug, Sama, and some Yakan. To understand each other, we’d use a language that both can speak – it could be Tagalog, Bisaya or either of our native languages growing up. I realized that we all have a unique attitude and culture, depending on the city, province or region. Part of this diversity is how unique cuisines are across our country. I couldn’t find some street food from Zamboanga in Manila, nor could I find some street food from Manila in our streets. The same goes for Cebu. Watching foreigners vlog about the Philippines on YouTube and featuring our country’s cuisine, one would also notice that the case is the same in other cities, provinces, and regions.
The episode wasn’t really bad research, as what Mr. Matti opined. Having lived in Cebu for more than two years, the Chinese fried lumpia (fried spring rolls) called Ngohyong was a fairly popular street food there. Anywhere I’d go, they’d usually sell Ngohyong. I was initially culture-shocked but then I realized that Cebu, just like the Philippines in general, has Chinese influence.
As for the nilarang, the ones that are popular as street food in Cebu are fish-based ones. It has become one of my favorites when my boyfriend introduced it to me. However, I tasted the eel reef nilarang when we went to Bohol in a carenderia. I didn’t enjoy the latter but I was glad I had for the experience because I was able to get to know the region through its food.
The fact that each region has its differences in food influences must be respected. I have Luzon friends who introduced me to food I didn’t grow up eating such as pancit Malabon, longganisa, pichi pichi, and others – I loved it. I also learned to eat and love dishes I didn’t grow up eating when I lived in Cebu for a time. I love their utan Bisaya and humba.
The Philippines consists of more than 7500 islands to date, and about 120 to 180 languages are spoken in the country. Tagalog, the basis for the official language of the Philippines is understood by most, even spoken, although some non-native speakers find it hard to speak. Cebuano language or known in our region as Bisaya is also common. Now that I understood about our different cultural backgrounds, I realized it is only understandable how Filipinos can’t agree on things. Each region seems to have its own culture and identity. Despite that, there is no doubt that we have things in common – one being Adobo. The early Filipinos have been marinating their food in salt and vinegar to preserve them. Salt was common because of the seas, and vinegar from the coconut trees. Because of Chinese traders, the Filipinos later replaced salt with soy sauce. The Spaniards later came and gave it a name.
As a person who is not from Luzon, I grew up realizing how most films and shows seem Luzon-centric. Most of what it shows isn’t representative of the whole Philippines. I understand how most Filipinos find other regions’ dishes shocking because of this: some of the culture and cuisine are not made known to the rest of the country. Erik Matti’s city-boy bubble needs to be burst so he can accommodate and experience other realities. Ignorance is understandable as long as one seeks to unlearn and relearn their pre-conceived notions.
I hope more city people will immerse themselves in other regions’ culture and cuisine to understand that each region has its unique identity and that a truly Filipino dish is almost impossible. Erwan Heussaf – Filipino Chef, food blogger, and TV Personality, husband to one of the country’s popular celebrity: Anne Curtis – was able to do this. I appreciate and respect how his show – featuring my humble city Zamboanga and our neighbor Tawi Tawi – was able to articulately communicate about the diversity and culture in our region to the audience. If anyone reading this is from Manila and curious, one of my university school mates owns a restaurant offering dishes from our hometown. The place is called Palm Grill and is located in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. They offer food that isn’t common in Manila.
To end my blog post, I’d like to leave this simple message: Go out there – explore and get to know the real Philippines inclusive of Vis-Min. Also, thank you, Netflix Street Food for being raw and honest.
Glossary
Lechón in Spanish is a Filipino pork dish in several regions of the world, most specifically in Spain and its former colonial possessions throughout the world. (Source: Wikipedia)
/LEH-chon/
Lumpia is a spring roll originating from China which is commonly found in Indonesia and the Philippines. Also known as Ngohyong. (Source: Wikipedia)
/loom-PYAH/ /LOOM-pyah/ /NGO-hee-yong/
Tuslob buwa is a popular Filipino street food found in the Pasil neighborhood of Cebu City. Its chief ingredients are pork liver and brain. (Source: https://www.atlasobscura.com)
/tus-LOB/ /boo-WAH/
Linarang, also known as larang or nilarang, is a Filipino fish stew originating from the island of Cebu.
/lee-NAH-rang/ /LAH-rang/ /nee-LAH-rang/
Carenderia – A food stall that has a small seating area. (Source: Wiktionary)
/KA-ren-DE-ree-YAH/
Pancit Malabon is a Filipino dish that is a type of pancit, or stir-fried noodle dish, which originated in Malabon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Its sauce has a yellow-orange hue, attributable to achuete, shrimp broth, and flavor seasoned with patis and crab fat.
/pan-SIT/
Longaniza is a Spanish sausage similar to a chorizo and also closely associated with the Portuguese linguiça. Its defining characteristics are interpreted differently from region to region. (Source: Wikipedia)
/LONG-ga-NEE-sah/
Pichi-Pichi is a gelatinous dessert (this can also be eaten as a heavy mid-afternoon snack) made from grated cassava and sugar. (Source: https://panlasangpinoy.com/)
/PEE-chi-PEE-chi/
Utan bisaya (“ooh-tan bee-sah-ya”), which translates as vegetables Visayan style*, is Cebu’s vegetable soup, generally composed of whatever veggies might be available in the larder or from the back garden. (Source: https://eatyourworld.com/)
Humbà, also spelled hombà, is a Filipino braised pork dish originating from the Visayas Islands of the Philippines. (Source: Wikipedia)
/HOOM-bah/
Link to Erik Matti’s Deleted Tweet: https://entertainment.inquirer.net/328008/erik-matti-street-foods-cebu-episode-borders-poverty-porn
Erwan Heussaf’s show on Zamboanga:
Erwan Heussaf’s show on Tawi Tawi:
Palm Grill on Tomas Morato, Quezon City:
https://www.facebook.com/palmgrillph
Updated 06/19/2019
Panic Realizations 
What a great post, as someone who has never visited the Philippines it gives a really nice insight in tot he diverstiy of food and language. It seems a shame you weren’t able to find that guy’s original tweet and send it to him!
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Thank you. There is a domestic news article link below about the guy’s tweet. He deleted it because he received a lot of backlash after tweeting that.
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