There is no question that Pinoys love to eat – and we enjoy eating good food, of course! But there are just some foods that Pinoys will never get tired of eating. And you’ll always see this on the table in any occasion, whether a simple lunch with family or a grand social event!

Adobo

A dish made with pork or chicken (or even both), adobo is such a popular Pinoy food that it is not unusual to see Filipinos eating this even on an ordinary meal with the family. It is also a top-selling favorite at the carinderia and is always offered in Pinoy restaurants, no matter the location.

Pancit or Bihon Guisado

It is said that you have to include a noodle dish in a ‘handaan’ because this symbolizes long life because of the long strands. But this dish isn’t just for birthdays. Just like adobo, it can be an everyday viand and you’ll always find this in the carinderia.

This dish is also perfect both as a snack item and a dish for lunch or dinner.

Bistek or Beef Steak

Cooked with a blend of sweet, sour, and salty, the bistek Tagalog or simply the Pinoy beef steak is made of thinly sliced beef topped with caramelized onion rings.

Fried Lumpia

Although this dimsum dish has its origins from Chinese cuisine, lumpia has long been recognized as a Pinoy food. A popular dish in both special occasions and ordinary day-to-day meals, lumpia can be made with different fillings. Vegetables are a popular filling but meat in lumpiang Shanghai is also a top favorite.

Fried Chicken

You’ll surely not be surprised the fried chicken is a very popular Pinoy food. While some Pinoys prefer the inasal or inihaw version, fried chicken is still a top favorite.

Lechon

The lechon is the star of every Pinoy handaan. Almost always, there’s a lechon during a special occasion in many Pinoy households. These days, even those who can’t afford a whole lechon can still have the dish – thanks to the many stores selling lechon by the kilogram.

It is also now possible to enjoy lechon anytime you want to, not just during special events because these stores are open every day. There are also lots of restaurants offering lechon dishes on the menu.

Each culture has different customs and traditions that may be similar with those from other places. But there are also those that are unique. The following are 5 unique Pinoy traditions that you’d rarely find elsewhere.

Bayanihan

The bayanihan is best exemplified by photos of people carrying a house that needs to be moved to another place. This has long been the tradition, particularly in rural areas in the Philippines.

Now that modern homes are built on a solid foundation, such bayanihan is rarely seen but the spirit of bayanihan (helping each other) continues to live on. Thus, it is common to hear stories of Filipinos helping each other in the most difficult of situations, even when they are abroad and with Pinoys they don’t personally know.

Harana

In the traditional Pinoy courtship, the guys head to the woman’s house to do the harana. They sing the classic kundiman or other songs that show their love. While the bravest guys did it alone, many bring their friends along to help them sing and play the guitar.

While this is rarely done now, especially because people now live much closer to each other and prospective suitors can be really shy in singing to their beloved, this is a unique Pinoy tradition that many hope would still be practiced.

Pamamanhikan

There are many different marriage traditions in different countries. In the Philippines, the groom’s family goes to the bride’s family to formally ask for her hand in marriage. The groom’s family usually brings food and other items as gift to the bride’s family. Then, the elders are often the ones who discuss about the impending marriage.

Kamayan

A lot of Pinoys enjoy using their hands in eating, even when there’s a spoon and a fork available. Many Pinoys will admit that they like eating with their hands much better than using a spoon and fork. Kamayan simply means using the kamay (hand) to eat.

Pagmamano

A tradition that lives on to this day, pagmamano is the gesture of respect to the elders. This is done by taking the hand of the older person and putting it on your forehead. In turn, the elder will tell the younger one, “God bless you”. Thus, pagmamano is also know as ‘bless’ or asking for blessing.

A student’s school project recently went viral for the witty take he and his father did on the “Jaws” poster. Can you spot the funny things they did in the edits?

Student’s School Project Goes Viral

Grade 12 student Wilburthe Gregorio shared the art that he made for his project in Arts 1 with the help of his father, Tatay Ambet Gregorio, on Facebook group GUHIT Pilipinas.

According to this young man, they edited the artwork using Adobe Photoshop. The school project that they made for art made use of the original “Jaws” poster, a popular movie in 1975. The movie poster itself is just simple as it shows a shark’s jaws as it was about to gobble a swimmer at the surface who was completely unaware of the imminent danger.

But because they are Filipino, Wilburthe and Tatay Ambet edited the shark to have a much shorter snout/nose because Pinoys are known to have a much shorter nose than Caucasians. Their work is an allusion to the movie’s American origins.

To match the original ‘American’ jaws of the shark, however, they edited Wilburthe’s photo to give him a much longer chin/jaws. LOL. See the reference there?

Now, the original movie poster shows a woman swimming on the surface of the ocean. Of course, Wilburthe and Tatay Ambet also had to put a swimmer in their Pinoy version of “Jaws”.

In this version, a figure could also be seen swimming, but eagle-eyed Pinoy netizens would quickly notice the resemblance to the figure from the Mercury Drug logo. Considering that Mercury Drug is a Pinoy brand, the cultural reference was not lost to netizens. Kudos Wilburthe and Tatay Ambet for these impressive edits!

What is the Meaning of the Mercury Drug Logo?

Mercury Drug is a company that was founded in the Philippines by Mariano Que in 1945. He named the company after Mercury, the messenger of the gods and goddesses in Roman mythology. So, it is but natural that the brand logo also shows a running Mercury.