Most Pinoys nowadays are frequent travellers. The popularization of seat sales in airline companies as well as improved routes of transformation has made travelling to a lot of easier compared ten years ago. But of course, we Filipinos are more of a muncher than a traveller. So whenever we go out and about exploring the world, we always like to bring some food to eat to past the time or to just fill an empty stomach.

So what are the most popular chichas for Filipinos on the go? If you’re planning for an out of town trip, an adventure trip or you’re just plain hungry, here are a few snacks you might want to consider bringing the next time you want to go Dora the Explorer.

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Peanuts – Peanuts are probably one of the best knick-knacks to bring whenever travelling. They’re very easy to stash in your bag. Peanuts can be bought from supermarkets as packed snacks with different variants and flavors or be bought from vendors in bus stations or sidewalks.

If you’re buying from sidewalk vendors, you can either get a steamed peanut (shells included) or a fried version with two variants. One with the skin (the brown coating found on peanut seeds) or the one without which is known locally as the hubad na mani.

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Chips – Another snack favorite for people on the go are chips. Chips are readily available in most supermarket and even in sari-sari stores so getting them is a piece of cake. The most common chips are those from Jack N’Jill, Oishi and Regent. For the more posh traveller, there are a variety of imported chips you can choose from including Lays, Pringles and Doritos.

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Pugo (Quail Eggs) – Although not really something that’s easy to eat on the road, quail eggs or pugo have long been a favorite for travellers all over the country. They are usually sold in small plastic bags with a small amount of salt included. Each pack contains around 4-5 pieces of quail eggs and costs around 20 pesos per pack.

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Corn (Cornick or fresh corn) – Another favorite snack in buses and trains is corn. Whether in the form of deep fried corn bits or steamed corn on the cob, you can see corn snacks sold in bus and train stations and even sold by vendors in bus stop overs.

If you love the steamed corn on the cob, do take note that there are buses that do not allow passengers to eat this while on the bus. This is because they can be quite messy to eat at times and can’t leave an unpleasant smell if you leave them on plastic for a considerable amount of time.

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Biscuits/crackers – Last but definitely not the least are biscuits and crackers. They’re very cheap and very reliable when it comes to satisfying a hungry stomach. There is a diverse list of choices such as plain crackers, cream filled biscuits, jelly-filled biscuits and flavored crackers to name a few.

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So there you have it guys! Which is your best buddy whenever you’re travelling? Please tell us by leaving a comment below. And please, don’t forget to add TFL on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus and subscribe to their feed for more Filipino lifestyle stories.

Tablets such as those from Apple, RIM and Google have slowly but surely become a household item these days. Although faced with scepticism at first, sales of these tablets are now on its all-time high. Directly proportional to this sales stats are the number of apps that are available for download for these devices.

However, a lot of people don’t know that there are apps and games readily available for download that are made by Filipinos. And even less people know that some of these games were designed to reflect the culture and lifestyle found in the Philippines. A good example of such game is Grillin’ Pablo.

Fortunately, Icannhas, the developer of Grillin’ Pablo, was generous enough to give me a copy of the game. So, After a few days of fiddling with the game, here’s what I have to say about it.

THE STORY BEHIND THE GAME

The opening credits of the game reveal the storyline that the game follows. That is, you play the role of Pablo’s childhood friend who vows to take revenge on him for humiliating you when you were still young. 

A few years later, Pablo is now a street food vendor and you plan to settle your score with him by building your own food cart business and giving him a run for his money. Set on Sunnyvale – a fictional neighbourhood, your goal is to cook an array of street foods, from fish balls to isaw, in order to “Grill” Pablo and (possibly) push him to bankruptcy.

GAMEPLAY

Grillin’ Pablo is your typical management game but with a Filipino flavour. Players start off with the basic cooking equipment (a grill) and one food item (isaw). The goal is to serve as many customers as possible within a given time frame without disappointing them. Each customer then pays you coins of a specific amount based on what kind and how many items they received. These coins in return are used to purchase items and allow you to cook more items for incoming buyers.

As you progress along the game and as you amass more coins, you will be able to buy upgrades to your food cart and additional food items that have higher coin return values. Just like any other time management games, there is a goal in terms of the number of coins you have to collect for each round in order to proceed to the next level. If you exceed this goal, you get bonus points for that round, while failure to meet the goal would mean that you have to redo that level.

WHAT’S NICE

As I said earlier, Grillin’ Pablo is a time management game with a Filipino twist, and as such, it features a lot of things related to Filipino culture. For starters, you get to sell your favourite street foods, like isaw, fish balls and gulaman.

Furthermore, the customers featured in the game reflect a lot of Pinoy traits and characteristics. There’s a boy next door student, a serious professor that makes the students anxious, a jogger who just wants to quench his thirst and a social climber female student are some of the characters one will meet while playing the game.

And if that’s not enough, there’s even a robber if you take too much time before collecting the customer’s payments. In terms of visuals and sound, the game offers average to above average graphics, which is to be expected in this game genre.  Music and sound are average, with the polyphonic background music providing that much needed accompaniment tune.

WHAT NEEDS SOME WORK

There are actually only two things that I didn’t quite like about Grillin’ Pablo. First is that the game seems to be suffering from a mild case of identity crisis. The indeed has major Filipino influences, but the stages in the game, like Sunnyville and Schmell Academy sounds a little bit foreign. Malls and movie houses like the Tyna Malls and DreamBig Cinemas stages also aren’t really places where you’d find a roving food cart that sells isaw and fish balls right?

I’d probably understand the foreign influence in the game if they are also targeting non-Filipino iPad users, but  if that’s the case, then I don’t know why the developers decided to put that weird voice-over before each level that says: “Hoy! Magluto ka na”. I mean, if they’re targeting a more diverse audience, wouldn’t English be a better choice?

The second thing that I think needs some work in the game is the controls. For a time management game, dragging items around the screen isn’t really a time saving way of playing the game. It also makes it difficult to see incoming customers especially if your hand is blocking the view while you’re putting sauce in an isaw you just cooked. Maybe future updates can make use of tapping rather than dragging items across the screen.

FINAL WORDS

The world of app development is indeed very competitive. With lots of players in the market and various game genres to choose from it’s very easy to get lost in the mix. However, it’s very nice to know that there are still Filipino players in the brutal battlefield of apps.

Icannhas’s Grillin’ Pablo might not be the perfect app but it sure does what it’s supposed to do. Yes, there are some things that its developers may need to improve in future updates of the game, but all in all, it is quite an enjoyable experience playing the game.

For players who want that action-packed scenes and gameplay, visually stunning graphics  and deep storylines in their games, this app might not be for you. But if you’re the kind of casual gamer who just wants to kill some time, or if you’ve been a big fan of games like Cake Mania and Dinner Dash, or better yet, if you’re feeling patriotic and wants to try out some proudly Pinoy-made apps, then Grillin’ Pablo would be perfect. And at $0.99 in the Apple Appstore, it's one sweet deal for a great app.

GAME RATING: 4 out of 5

Street foods are heavenly. Food tripping is really more fun here in the Philippines because we have countless choices of street foods to try. I am one of those who love to eat street foods. From fishballs, kwek-kwek to betamax and barbeque. It feels so good to treat yourself with affordable foods found anywhere you go. 

Ignore the bacteria or the dirt, what matters for me is the delicious and mouth-watering taste of these Filipino street foods. To keep you feeling hungry, here are top Filipino street food favorites. 

Filipino Street Foods to Make You Feel Hungry

Isaw

Who haven't tried isaw? You can see this grilled intestine almost on every corner of the street. It's either made from intestine of chicken or pig. Whatever is your choice, it is guaranteed to taste delicious.

Betamax

If you don't like isaw, you may try Betamax. It's called betamax because of its shape that looks like a Betamax player, a video player device during the 90's. Betamax is a grilled blood of pig or cow.

Barbeque

For those who are not too adventurous to try betamax or isaw, you can be safe with barbeque. This grilled pork tastes heavenly specially when it's paired with vinegar.

Fish Ball

What makes fish ball delicious is its sauce. Hot and cooked from the boiling cooking oil, this rounded ball made from fish is one of the favorite Filipino street foods. It is also used to mix and add taste to pancit and other Filipino dishes.

Kwek-Kwek

Coated with orange colored flour, this deep fried quail egg will make you eat more than two pieces. Just be reminded that this delicious street food is high in cholesterol. But when you are enjoying your meal, it is easy to forget. :)

Taho

"Tahhoooooooooooooo!." Sold by Manong in your baranggay, some people's day won't be complete without a glass of taho. This usual morning breakfast is made from soy mixed with sago and sweet syrup of sugar.

Thanks to these photos for making me crave for these foods. Filipino street foods are really mouth-watering and delicious. These foods have been part of the Filipino culture. There is no wonder why in spite of the rise of different fast foods, restaurants and cafes, street foods are still found almost everywhere. Still the best selling foods up until now.