Siargao Island is a well-known destination for surfers. Are there other reasons to visit this gem hidden among thousands of islands in the Philippines? Of course, there’s plenty to see and variety of food to try in Siargao. This island has stunning beaches and mouthwatering food and is worth visiting. Continue reading to know more about the food in Siargao.
How to get there?
Our flight landed in the evening, so we stayed in a nearby Airbnb for the night. Getting to Siargao has never been so easy as there are several daily flights from Manila and other islands.
Once we landed and got our luggage, several vans awaited the travellers. All we needed to do was to tell the loudest person where we wanted to go. He then directed us to the correct van going in our needed direction.
Food in Siargao
The main reason for our trip was food. My friend Venice and I are foodies, and we love our food. We are not afraid to try local specialities or any street food. On this trip, we wanted to try as much as possible.
Food market in General Luna
The local market in General Luna offers a variety of food. In the morning, it serves as a traditional market where locals sell fresh fruit, vegetables, and fish caught that morning. Almost everything was sold out when we arrived at around 11 am.
There are several restaurants in Siargao, but we wanted to try something different for lunch. My friend discovered on the Internet that the locals brought tables in front of their houses and displayed what they cooked. It is the best way to explore local cuisine and try home-cooked food in Siargao.
Walking around, we opened every pot and asked about the dish. Most of them were stewed or fried chicken, pork, fish, vegetable, and rice. Some of the sellers gave us a small sample to try. It wasn’t easy to pick, so we decided to buy several small dishes from different sellers. We ate our food there, as most places had at least one table and a few chairs.
In the evening, the local market is a lively place. Suddenly all the stores are open, and the sellers sell various snacks and food. Locals park their scooters in a parking lot in from of the market. Once they buy the food they like, they sit on their scooters and talk. The most popular food was skewer Isaw (pig intestines). People dip them in a sauce from vinegar and chilli. My favourite food was Kwek Kwek – a deep-fried egg in the batter.
Another popular street food is Balut a partially developed duck egg embryo. It is loved and hated at the same time. Young kids sold then on the beach at any time of the day.
Desserts
I was not able to find a lot of desserts in Siargao, except this one. They removed the top of the coconut, poured a generous amount of rum and decorated it with ice cream. It quickly became my favourite dessert, and I couldn’t resist and had it a few more times during the stay.
Restaurants
You can always go to a restaurant if you are not brave enough to try street food or buy food from locals. On the first evening, we went to Mama’s Grill for dinner. It was a popular place, and we had to queue with other hungry customers outside. When it was our turn, the staff asked us to pick the food and drinks we liked. It was straightforward, as all I had to do was point to food in the fridge.
Once we were seated, they started bringing the food in a chaotic order. There was a grill outside, where they prepared fish, while the rest was ready in the kitchen inside the house. We tried the fish of the day, tuna, with vegetables and local sausages. Small Filipino limes and chilli were always on the table; customers could use them for any food. The food definitely tasted better with the lime-chilli sauce :).
Da Rosa Del Mar Beach Resort and Restaurant was another restaurant we visited while exploring the island’s northern part. It was a small resort with wooden huts and a tiny restaurant. As we were the only customers, we chatted with the cook about the local dishes. As always, we wanted to try as much as possible, so we ordered three dishes – chilli pork, sizzling shrimps and vegetable noodles. As always, the food came with small limes.
Darosa del Mar (similar name but different location), near the airport, was more an eatery than a restaurant. As our last chance to try local food, we tried almost everything they were selling – fried aubergine, fried squid, sausages (small and big), and fish head. All the dishes were already cooked and displayed, so it was easy to decide what to eat.
Rum
I didn’t do my homework before the trip, as I didn’t expect that they produce rum in the Philippines. This was an unexpected and pleasant discovery. I found this tasty rum at a local supermarket (aka tiny store). Tanduay Rum is made in the Philippines, but I am unsure which island.
The food in Siargao definitely didn’t disappoint. I tried dishes I had never heard of before and discovered a new favourite rum. What food did you try while visiting Siargao? Do you have any favourite places to eat? Share your tips in the comments.
