Southeast Asian food in KL: The Philippines

Filipino food is a delicious jumble of influences from its colonialism and geographical location. There’s some Spanish, some American, some Portuguese, some Chinese, and some Malay. The central meat that brings these cultures together is pork, and the primary base to most Filipino dishes is vinegar. Vinegar is used in just about everything in a Filipino kitchen – seasoning, marinating, dipping, fermenting, glazing and pickling.

There’s little heat incorporated into the cuisine, but it’s made up for with bold sour and salty notes. What may be considered excessively, lip-puckeringly sour or salty in Malaysia may be just right in the Philippines. Vegetables are not consumed in the same volume as the rest of Southeast Asia, but when eaten it’s often used to flavour meat or braised in stews.