manila

  Excellent great guide, knowledgeable with good English and sense of humour. Tour well planned and conducted. Would recommend to anyone,

  You'd crave the same food the next day - Tip 1: Not fun for those on strict diets ^^ Come very, VERY hungry!
Tip 2: Be flexible with pork— the Fils love their meat & carbs.
... read more /> We joined in October 2022. Sir Jian was a great guide! Easy to negotiate with, precise & conversant, and very personable. I’m Filipino but I still learned new info and places from him. With his years of formal tourism expertise, combined with his admirable passion for Pinoy heritage & food culture, no wonder he thrives in the industry and receives great reviews. Every bite was a nostalgic snapshot of the country’s rich East Asian influences.

There are 3 "off-the-beaten-path"-ish food tours I can personally recommend while in Metro Manila: Isi of Traveling Spoon for a home-cooking experience in a local residence; Venus for a city night-life local pub & food crawl; and Jian for Chinese-influenced street food & good conversation. Jian will take you to some hidden gems inside the busy alleyways of one of Philippine’s oldest towns. It’s a great way to finish the morning and head home with a full belly! 🙂

  Jian was very knowledgeable about all the dishes, the route was well planned with a good mix of flavours and dishes we wouldn't have thought to order ourselves. We got... read more to try lots of new and sometimes challenging flavours.
It felt a little pricey but you get what you pay for; Jian's English was perfect and he was able to answer all our questions about the Philippines and its history, so good value overall.
We would recommend but make sure to arrive hungry as there are LOTS of dishes to try, 16 different elements.

  The tour was really informative and well balanced. I particularly enjoyed the way the guide was both knowledgeable and friendly, whilst being careful to ensure we were comfortable. My mother... read more is disabled, so I was a little worried about her ability to do this tour. I needn't have

  A very interesting experience. Jian has a great knowledge about history and food. A great guy for a great tour. Keep it up!

  Jian was a wonderful guide! The only rule is to taste the food before deciding how you feel about it. Jian is smart to have people taste things and... read more then explain what it is and how it is prepared.

In addition to knowing all about food, Jian was happy to share history, culture and language background!

  Jian is the man. I love taking food tours whenever I visit an Asian country, and his did not disappoint. He introduces you to an excellent cross section of bites... read more you'll be able to find all over the islands, gives you their history and a few fun personal stories about them to boot. I’m still laughing over why they’re called “walkmen,” :D. He's passionate about his country's culinary traditions and eager to share that love with his guests. As we discussed during the tour, in the great smorgasbord of SE Asian food, the Philippines are criminally underrepresented, and he's here to fix that. He'll also give you some solid advice on how to get the most out of your time here. Bring an empty stomach, do it your first day in Manila and tip the man twice.

  If you are looking for something interesting to do in Manila and wants an overview of Philippine history, this is the perfect tour! Guide was really knowledgeable and engaging. The... read more tour lasted for ~2.5 hours which is a good length, paths are easy to walk. We had a great time!