Something I'll never understand about Filipinos

[G@dge]

I've been married to a Filipina for 35 years and have had several amazing trips to the Philippines which I love (most of the time)
I feel I know a lot about the people, culture and cuisine.
The thing I will never understand is that when you are living in the Philippines, everything from abroad is better, when you live abroad you send cases of foreign corned beef back home because its "superior".
Tinned food, cigarettes and various spirits among other things are always treasured when brought back to the Philippines. The thing that seems high on the desired list is the humble corned beef.
So why, when I was in Earls Court the other day, my wife saw some Pinoy corned beef and immediately wanted to purchase it. I just don't get it.

[Pete/London]

I just don`t understand my wife at all, she has lived here for 24 years and when we were first married had a mix of friends. The last few years she spends more and more time just with Filipino friends and I, like most of their British husbands, take no part and let them get on with it. The last 6 months she is even spending an hour at night watching Filipino soaps on line, and on Saturday went to see some singing star who was performing in London. I think the older she gets the more she regresses

[grahamw48]

Maybe that's why we gel so well though, because as nations we're both pretty odd lots.

[RickyR]

I guess its like us Brits abroad in many ways. We go abroad on holiday and bring home the best of foreign ingredients, a trip to italy makes us specialist italian chefs. When we go abroad as expats we setup our little shops with Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers and Walls Sausages, and eat them, and build up our expat communities and activities.

[Terpe]

Hi there G@dge, welcome.

My wife also has the same strange ideas. Not just for corned beef, but other stuff as well such as sardines and peanut butter.

As far as I know the tins of corned beef in Philippines contain Brazil corned beef. Same as here in UK.
The tins of Sardines taste exactly the same to me. The only difference is price. Ligo are much more expensive.
Now regarding peanut butter, I can't offer any opinion at all. Can't stand the stuff.
Now where's my Marmite

[Arthur Little]

... guess it's a question of 'one person's meat - or fish - being another's "poison"!' Then again ... it could simply be a cultural "thing" ... e.g., MY wife eats rice with practically every meal - whereas, having it occasionally, is more than enough for me.

[Arthur Little]

Anyway, G@dge ... to the friendly, online filipino/uk community.

[G@dge]

Thanks Arthur, glad to be here.

[G@dge]

... guess it's a question of 'one person's meat - or fish - being another's "poison"!' Then again ... it could simply be a cultural "thing" ... e.g., MY wife eats rice with practically every meal - whereas, having it occasionally, is more than enough for me.

Hi Arthur, I agree with that, it's just my point is not what people eat, just that in the Philippines, everything is superior abroad, when living here, the same things are better from the Philippines. It amuses me, even my wife laughs and she still does it.

[Arthur Little]

Hi Arthur, I agree with that, it's just my point is not what people eat, just that in the Philippines, everything is superior abroad, when living here, the same things are better from the Philippines. It amuses me, even my wife laughs and she still does it.

... another of these little quirks of human nature.

[scott&ligaya]

hehehehe yeah my honey does stuff like that, but then our American friends in Hong Kong were for ever going crazy over the cadburys chocolate we would bring over saying how much nicer it was than their stuff back home, but you put a hershey bar in front of them and they go all orgasmic about it . nowt as queer as fowk as they say

[Moy]

over the 29 years of living in the Philippines having a pack of cheap sweet(candy) is a treat but here in the UK everywhere and anytime of the day i felt sick just merely looking at them on my shelves

[branno]

ive got emergency rashions..... MILKEEEEE POLVORO.. any offers

[lastlid]

MY wife eats rice with practically every meal - whereas, having it occasionally, is more than enough for me.

Arthur, do you mind if I ask a silly question? Simply, how do you go about that? I guess it just means extra cooking. Your good wife eats rice and you eat potatoes at the same sitting? Is that how it works?

Having said that, although I forsee a similar situation for us, my wife assures me that she plans to cut back on rice in her diet.

[RickyR]

If you buy a rice cooker, its dead easy to always have some rice thrown in on any meal :-)

[grahamw48]

Rice, fish and veg' keeps em slim.