travel vegan Philippines
The Philippines is known for having an abundance of beautiful beaches and delicious fruit. With a rich biodiversity it has heritage towns, mountains, rainforests, islands and diving spots.
Vegan Tours
We started our trip, flying into Metro Manila, which is where we find people who are the most switched onto veganism.
I want to share in this info. In metro manila, there are 3x or 4x the number than cebu. In people in manila are the most knowledgable on veganism. (Due to access of modern technology unlike provinces) . In metro manila especially in has the most numerous no. Of vegan Restaurants in the Philippines. We have a community (you can join via Facebook) called Manila Vegans (first vegan group in Philippines). Manila-based vegans are the first vegan community voiced out about veganism.(Animal save, Good food sundays in Mandaluyong city, Vegfest Pilipinas (held manila and started 2016), Animal March every year, anonymous of the voiceless 2x month and more)
Vegan Philippines
How vegan friendly are the Philippines?
Veganism is lagging behind other similar countries in South East Asia and vegan restaurants are still few and far between. Filipinos consider meat an essential part of any meal for it to be tasty. They also love cheese and of course being an island nation you can expect to find fish everywhere. One big advantage is that english to widely spoken often very fluently, which means you can easily explain what you want. The people are extremely friendly and will try their best to provide the best meals they can. The cuisine does not make as much use of spices as it's neighbours, which can make dishes somewhat bland. On a positive note, great tropical fruit is everywhere and you could live on mangos, pineapples, coconuts and bananas.
Vegan restaurants and cafes
The best place is Cebu which has most restaurants for it's size. Though Manilla has a few more vegan restaurants, the city can be gridlocked and getting to other parts of the city is not always so easy.
Vegan friendly accommodation
There are a few retreat style places with vegan food and the top star hotels will cater well for their international vegan clients. Another good option is to book a hotel with appartments including a kitchen. Airbnb works well in the Philippines, it's cheap and you can feel at home away from home.
See our full list and reviews here....
Local Vegan Food
- Puto: This delicious sidewalk dish is a steamed sticky rice cake traditionally made with fermented rice dough and tastes salty and sweet at the same time. Check with the vendor that the batter has no eggs or milk.
- Tokwa: Fried tofu or tokwa is typically coated in cornstarch and deep fried until golden brown.
• Ginantaang Bilo-bilo: Tapioca, glutinous rice ball, taro, bananas, Ube, in coconut milk.
- Suman is a type of rice cake made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, and is then wrapped in banana or palm leaves before being steamed
• Dirt ice cream: Most of the times this ice cream is actually sorbet, with no eggs or dairy. There are unique flavors like Ube (purple sweet potato) and avocado. Just verify that it is indeed vegan.
• Taho: Hot silken tofu, with tapioca and sweet syrup.
• Banana Q: Deep fried bananas with caramelized brown sugar.
Find more details here...
