They say you have to taste a culture to understand it. The Philippines would prove to be the right place for food enthusiasts – the interesting mix of cultures of this country is evident in their cuisine. But one may ask, how much is a meal in the Philippines?

 

In general, visitors are quite happy to find good affordable food, so you may not need to allot too much extra budget for your daily meals during your tour of the Philippines.

This depends anyway on a variety of things, really. Generally, food in the provinces is more affordable than what they offer in the cities.  Then, naturally, full-service restaurants would be more expensive than side street eateries, self-service cafeterias and small family-run eating houses.

 

It’s safe to say that in Manila, one can have a hefty complete meal at Php500 (around 10 US Dollars) but you can also have a fair simple meal at Php150 (around 2-3 US Dollars). Upscale restaurants in central districts and prime areas would have double or triple (or more!) the prices. The range can vary so much. There can be side street vendors that can be selling “budget” meals at Php40-60 (<1-1.25 US Dollars), but we wouldn’t really recommend these (some, not all) as there may be doubts about hygiene and food safety measures.

 

In the provinces, seafood and vegetable dishes would have significantly lower prices compared to Manila and other metropolitan cities as the raw materials and ingredients are most likely sourced from nearby, and labour costs are lower, too.