Erik
Founder and writer, Erik the Hungry Traveller
I started this site in 2016 after a solo trip to Legazpi that I only took because nobody else was free that weekend. It turned out that eating alone in a province you do not know is the best way to learn a place, and I have been doing it since. I write mostly about Cebu, where I am based, and about the parts of the Philippines that are a bus and a ferry away.
How these guides are made
Ten years writing about Philippine food and solo travel. Based in Cebu City. Eats at a place at least twice before writing about it, and pays for every meal on this site.
Editorial standards
- No paid placements. We do not accept payment for a placement, a ranking or a favourable review. Where a link earns a commission, the page carrying it says so.
- No untested claims. We do not say we have tried something we have not. Prices and plan details supplied by a provider are labelled as indicative rather than presented as our own findings.
- No page for the sake of a keyword. A destination gets a page when there is something specific to say about it. That is why the site is small.
- Corrections are made in public. A factual fix is applied to the page and the update date changes with it.
21 pages by Erik
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Korean Restaurants in Cebu Why There Are So Many and Where to Go
Cebu City's Korean restaurant density is no accident. Here's the backstory and the specific spots worth your money.
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Cebuano Chinese Restaurants The Old Ones and What to Order
The century-old Cebuano Chinese restaurants in Cebu City that define the city's palate, and exactly what to order in each one.
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Eating Well in Cebu City for Very Little Money
Where to eat memorably in Cebu City on a tight budget, from pungko-pungko stalls to the best carinderias near the universities.
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Eating Out Alone in the Philippines How It Actually Goes
The honest reality of walking into a Cebu City restaurant alone, and the specific spots where a table for one feels entirely natural.
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Introvert Friendly Restaurants in Cebu City Quiet Corners and Calm Meals
Cebu City restaurants chosen for quiet, low social pressure, and the specific corner tables where you can eat in peace.
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Where to Eat in Cebu The List I Actually Give Friends
The unsponsored, specific Cebu City restaurant list I text to friends, organized by craving and situation rather than neighborhood.
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Puerto Princesa Underground River and the Food I Came Back For
The Puerto Princesa underground river draws the crowds, but the city's restaurants, from Ka Lui to the baywalk grills, are what made me extend my stay.
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Eating in Puerto Princesa Beyond the Seafood and Crocodile Sisig
Puerto Princesa is more than a stopover for the Underground River. From crocodile sisig to baywalk seafood grills and Vietnamese-inspired chaolong, here's where to eat in the city.
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Manila the Layover City Used Properly by Someone Who Lives Here
A Manila layover can be a sweaty regret or a surprising highlight. With the right terminal exit strategy and a Binondo food crawl, you can use those hours properly.
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One Perfect Day of Eating in Manila Through Binondo and Beyond
A single, walkable day of eating in Manila centred on Binondo, the world's oldest Chinatown. From morning hopia to the famous dumplings and fried chicken, here's the itinerary.
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Legazpi and Mayon The Trip That Started This Whole Site
The Legazpi City trip and that first unbroken view of Mayon Volcano that convinced me to start writing about travel.
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Bicol Food in Legazpi How the Chilli and Coconut Really Taste
Bicol food is famous for chilli and coconut, but how hot is it really in Legazpi? Here's where to taste Bicol Express, pinangat, and laing with Mayon Volcano as your backdrop.
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Surviving Boracay as a Solo Traveller When You Hate Party Islands
Boracay has a reputation as a party island, but a solo traveller can find long empty beaches and quiet corners if you know where to step off White Beach's main strip.
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Kalibo Beyond the Airport Ati-Atihan and the Boracay Transfer
Most people land at Kalibo International Airport and rush straight to Boracay. Here's why Kalibo itself is worth a stop, from the Ati-Atihan Festival to the mangrove park.
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A Weekend Alone in Dumaguete the Friendliest Small City in the Philippines
Dumaguete calls itself the city of gentle people, and for a solo traveller with a free weekend it delivers exactly the slow, unpressured warmth the slogan promises.
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Where to Eat in Dumaguete From the Boulevard to the Pasalubong Stalls
Eating in Dumaguete means grilled skewers on the Rizal Boulevard at sunset and boxes of silky Sans Rival to bring home. Here's where to find the city's essential flavours.
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Cebu City How I Eat and Understand the Lay of the Land
How I navigate Cebu City's sprawl from Carbon to Banilad, and the eating neighborhoods that make the chaos make sense.
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Solo Travel in the Philippines What It Is Actually Like Day by Day
Solo travel in the Philippines is not all palm trees and new friends. Here is the honest daily reality, from eating alone in Cebu City to the kindness of strangers on a long bus ride.
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When to Come to the Philippines the Dry Season and What Typhoon Season Means
The Philippines has two seasons on paper and many more in practice. Here is what typhoon season actually means for your trip, and when the Cebu weather really delivers.
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Getting Around the Philippines Ferries Budget Flights and the Jeepney Truth
From overnight ferries to budget flight roulette and the jeepney routes you actually need, here is how moving between Philippine islands really works.
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What the Philippines Costs From Someone Who Actually Lives Here
Philippines travel budgets online swing wildly. Here is what daily life actually costs, from carinderia meals to inter-island ferries, priced by someone who lives here.