Bourdain's CNN Feature on the Philippines

Anthony Bourdain, chef, TV personality and book author, revisited the Philippines last December 2015 to do a shoot for a feature on the Philippines for his CNN show Parts Unknown.

I was able to see a video of him sharing with Anderson Cooper what he liked in his visit to the Philippines. One of the things they talked about was his love for sisig, a popular sizzling dish made from chopped-up pig face that is commonly eaten by Filipinos when they go out for drinks with their friends.

Here's the link to the video showing the discussion between Bourdain and Anderson Cooper: Bourdain and Cooper's talk about the Philippines

Bourdain mentioned that for him, Filipinos are "the most giving people on the planet". He knows this since he has a Filipino nanny in the United States who takes care of his daughter and he has seen how the nanny takes care of his kid and even treats her like family.

In the CNN feature on the Philippines for Parts Unknown, Bourdain talked about OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers). He also visited a Filipina who used to be the nanny of their show's director. He saw how a typical Filipino family enjoys bonding by eating good food like kare-kare and how they find excitement in receiving and opening a balikbayan box(a package sent from abroad by a Filipino relative) that is filled with gifts and goodies.

Bourdain also showed how Christmas celebration in the Philippines is a  big deal. He crashed an office Christmas party and was so happy to eat lechon (roasted pig), one of his favorite food in the Philippines. 

He also tried Jollibee, had halo-halo from a sari-sari store and hanged out with a Filipino band while having beer and sisig. 

He is also amazed at how Filipino bands have the flexibility to sing various songs since it seems that he has never encountered any Filipino band that did not know the songs that he has requested from them.

Here's a video clip sourced from youtube site featuring the Bourdain CNN feature on Manila.

Bourdain enjoyed his visit even if he got stuck in Manila and was not able to go to other islands because of the typhoon. 

He also mentioned about the political history of the Philippines. He also talked with a journalists assigned in Mindanao who shared their view on the country's political situation.

The episode showed the generosity, the sacrifice and the important role that OFWs have in helping the economy of the Philippines. It was mentioned in the feature that the 10 million OFWs from the country is considered as one of the Philippines' most important exports today.

If you want to view the full episode on Manila from Bourdain's CNN show Parts Unknown, please click on the link:  Bourdain's Parts Unknown CNN feature on Manila