Travel vlogger tries leftover food in the Philippines
Pagpag is leftover food from restaurants scavenged from the garbage by people living in the slums of the Philippines.
When you think of travelling and exploring different cuisines, unique regional dishes and world-renowned restaurants probably come to mind.
However, not everyone experiences culture this way. Some travellers look for places that aren’t tourist hotspots but instead offer an authentic glimpse into daily life.
Travel vlogger Ali takes this approach, sharing his experiences on social media.
Recently, he documented his visit to the slums of the Philippines, where he met a single mother who prepares pagpag – a dish made from leftover food scavenged from restaurant trash bins.
Described by Efe as “a stew cooked with scraps of meat and bones scavenged from rubbish bins that is cooked or refried again and seasoned with sauce”, pagpag is a harsh reality for many of Manila’s poorest residents.
Watch Ali's video that shows how a local woman turns pagpag into a meal to sell as a source of income.
Video courtesy of Instagram.
A local, Coder Zairos, explains how pagpag came to be in the Philippines.
It's sad to know that in the Philippines, fast food restaurants throw leftover foods in the trash bins, but seeing some Filipinos try to recycle this food is worse. Pag Pag refers to shaking the dirt or 'Shake off the Dust'. You can usually hear them saying, 'OK pa yan, wala pang five minutes' or 'It's still OK, five minutes haven't passed yet'. We usually say those sentences in the Philippines when food drops on the floor. This habit seems disgusting to others, picking up the dropped food back and still consuming it. But I somehow understand how Filipinos think (maybe it's because I've done it also); Filipinos are not good at wasting food. Food is precious to many Filipinos; they can't endure wasting the food they have worked for days. This may also be why the 'Pagpag Food' was formed.
If you would like to learn more about this – watch the video from YouTube.
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Image courtesy of Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFXQMZOBanV/