Cheap Eats: 5 Best Street Food in Bacolod That Locals Love

Recommended place: Aida’s Chicken Restaurant in Manokan Country

Best time to eat: Lunch or Dinner

Price: PhP80 to PhP90

Bacolod City is home to one iconic dish: the savory chicken inasal (roasted meat). This food has become a must-try for tourists and a taste of home for locals working in big cities. Chicken inasal is cooked by cutting it first into the leg, the wings, and the breast. The chicken pieces are then marinated in a mixture of vinegar, pepper, annatto, soy sauce, calamondin, and other spices depending on the cook’s style. For a better eating experience, the chicken is usually dipped in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and calamondin and paired with rice drizzled with garlic oil.

If you’re keen on trying it, Aida’s Chicken Restaurant serves one of the best inasal in town. It serves juicy, flavorful, and perfectly cooked chicken that doesn’t disappoint, leaving you wanting more. After eating, burn the food you ate by taking a stroll in the mall as Manokan Country is just beside SM City Bacolod.

How to get there: Take a Fortune Town jeepney if you are coming from the east area, it will drop you off in front of Manokan Country. If you’re coming from the north or Lacson area, you can either take a Bata or a Mandalagan jeepney.

Where to find it: Outside universities or schools, public markets, and downtown area

Best time to eat: Afternoon

Price: PhP10 to PhP12/piece

If you are thinking of eating an on-the-go merienda (light meal) after work or school, try these cute egg balls called kwek-kwek or tokneneng. They consist of hard-boiled eggs or quail eggs coated with an orange batter then deep-fried until crispy. Some vendors cut the kwek-kwek in small pieces and serve them in a small plastic cup or paper plate. But for some locals, they enjoy the “tusok-tusok” (pricking or poking) tradition of eating kwek-kwek.

This popular afternoon snack is sold by fishball vendors on food carts. It is usually dipped in vinegar or special sauce with two different flavors, sweet and spicy.

Where to find it: Public markets and drinking pubs

Best time to eat: Afternoon and during drinking sessions

Price: PhP20 to PhP25/3 sticks

If your taste buds are looking for burning and exploding pleasure, this is it. The name of this dish itself already tells you what you’ll feel once you take a bite. The dynamite stick is a type of deep fried spring roll that is filled with cheese and chilies. Sometimes it is stuffed with other ingredients such as sliced pork, beef, or chicken.

This affordable snack is a great appetizer or “pulutan” by some social drinkers. Its spice can take away the aftertaste of alcohol. Just a piece of advice: if it’s your first time trying this, don’t make it your dinner meal during a drinking session.

Where to find it: Downtown and Public Markets

Best time to eat: Afternoon

Price: Php15 to PhP20/stick

An affordable sweet treat and an all-time best selling street food anywhere in the country, banana cues are what most locals love. These are found typically anywhere; vendors would even roam around subdivisions shouting its name. Banana cues are made from Cardaba or Saba bananas rolled in brown sugar and then deep fried. Two to three golden bananas are then skewered on a bamboo stick.

Most people would choose the one that is coated more in sugar, as the crispy caramelized coating pairs well with the soft banana inside. But some vendors will let you request for one that has less sugar.

Where to find it: Outside bars, public areas, and near transportation pubs

Best time to eat: Post-dawn and while drinking

Price: PhP20

It may be just a normal Tuesday post-dawn energizer, but for some, balut is a challenge. This food is only sold at night, and some believe that it has to do something with what’s inside of it. Balut is a fertilized duck egg which has been incubated for about 12 to 18 days, just long enough for the fetus to begin forming. If you can eat everything—the broth, the yolk, the albumen, and the embryo—then congratulations, you have overcome the mental discomfort of eating balut!

People also enjoy this during a drinking session, as they believe that this helps them drink longer. It is also considered a nutritious mini-meal that can help stiffen the knees.

Even with just a few coins left in your pocket, you don’t have to worry. These delicious one-of-a-kind fares are not only delicious but also affordable. So if you come across one of these on any of Bacolod’s streets, don’t hesitate; get your hands on it!

Visit Yoorekka to discover more native delicacies and food spots in Bacolod.