
Spicy dishes and coconut milk bring a taste of Bicol to Taiwan
Have you ever been to Bicol in the Philippines? The island is known for its spicy dishes, coconut milk, and volcanoes. A restaurant in Taiwan has brought the traditional dishes of Bicol to Taiwan. FTV reporter Stephany Yang takes us in for a taste!
Bicol is known for its spicy and coconut milk-inspired dishes. This restaurant in Taipei offers Legazpi-style chicken stewed in coconut milk and Naga-style sauteed shark meat in coconut milk.
A fan of spring rolls? You can try the Lumpiang, a Filipino spring roll packed with savory pork and crab.
Other signature dishes of Bicol are the Bicol Express and Sisig. The bicol express is a spicy Filipino pork dish, featuring tender pork simmered in rich coconut milk, infused with shrimp paste, chilies, garlic, onions, and ginger, which is packed into bell peppers.
Chriselle May Yambao
Philippines Department of Tourism director
The iconic dishes for Bicol would be the Bicol Express as they call it. This is meat cooked in coconut milk with a lot of chili on it. They also have the Kinila that they call it, this is raw fish that is cooked in something citrus and with vinegar, and also with a bit of coconut milk as well. And then, they also have Sisig. Sisig is actually a general Filipino dish but in Bicol, they use fish to do it because Sisig is something you cook with soy sauce and also with vinegar as well so there have a different version in Bicol as well.
The Taipei restaurant, with support from the Philippine Department of Tourism, embarked on a six-day journey in June to learn from local chefs. Back in Taiwan, they fine-tuned the process to preserve original flavors while adapting to local tastes. The Bicol region is located in the southeastern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines, and is best known for its spicy dishes, coconut milk, and Mayon Volcano.
Chriselle May Yambao
Philippines Department of Tourism director
Bicol is actually a specific destination or a special destination in the Philippines that is a very famous place for its Mount Mayon. It is a very perfect cone volcano, but apart from that, Bicol is also famous in the Philippines for its unique dishes. Bicol, destination or the culinary destination, is also very famous for its spicy and coconut dishes. This is a destination where coconut is a very rampant and very abundant source of ingredients in the area so throughout the years, they were able to create different dishes that are based on coconut milk and they use it specifically and put some spicy and chili to make it more special.
According to Chriselle May Yambao, Director at the Philippines Department of Tourism, the best time to explore Bicol is during the dry season, which generally runs from November to June.
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2025-11-18