Food trends come and go and come back again all the time, often reflecting the values of whatever time they arise in.
With the many small and large-scale events that took place in the Philippines over the past decade—the Korean wave, the AI revolution, a whole global pandemic—it’s no surprise that a wave of flavors and dining formats have been popularized at different points over that period.
Here are 14 that made a mark in the way we have been eating.
1. Matcha
Matcha’s been trending in waves since the 2010s, but experienced a resurgence in popularity in 2025, largely driven by Gen-Z’s interest in wellness—and, well, the aesthetic surrounding the pale-green drink.
2. Salted Egg
The humble itlog na maalat entered food-trend territory in 2016, going from ensalada staple to becoming a trendy flavor that could be had in everything—from chicken wings and potato chips to desserts.
3. Ube + Ube-Cheese Pan de Sal
Ube’s long formed a part of the core Filipino dessert flavors, but soared to global popularity as it began to trend in the U.S. around 2016, and reached even greater heights by the mid-2020s. Today, the purple yam can be had in pretty much any form of dessert you can think of—ice cream, baked goods, drinks, and so on.
During the pandemic, ube-cheese pan de sal became especially popular as people were baking at home to cope with the uncertainties of the time. The purple merienda brings together nutty ube halaya and salty, creamy cheese inside warm bread rolls.
4. K-BBQ
K-BBQ, colloquially referred to as “samgyup” (for samgyupsal, the cut of pork that’s a staple at most KBBQ spots), is a Korean dish and interactive setup where diners can grill their own cuts of meat. The K-BBQ scene in Manila is diverse enough today that you have options for different price points—from unlimited BBQ joints offering value for money, to more premium spots that use sought-after varieties of meat.
5. Burnt Basque Cheesecake
We’ve come to embrace a specific kind of cheesecake in the past couple of years: the Basque burnt cheesecake, rooted in a similar dessert at the La Viña restaurant-bar in San Sebastian. Its defining characteristic, as the name implies, is the rather aggressively browned, “burnt” top that makes way to a creamy, molten center.
6. Dalgona Coffee
Did you even quarantine right if you weren’t spending WFH breaks making Dalgona coffee? The drink, named so for its similarity to the traditional Korean candy called dalgona, rose to fame after appearing on Korean TV show Pyunstorang. Think of it as a reverse cappuccino of sorts with milk at the base and a foam on top made by whisking together coffee and sugar for a long-enough time.
7. Sushi Bake
This pandemic superstar takes some of the ingredients of modern sushi—the sushi rice, the seafood (crab sticks or canned tuna in this case), the crunchy toppings—and turns it into a layered, baked casserole that’s spooned into sheets of nori and eaten like a one-bite taco.
8. Smash Burgers
Regular burgers are great; smash burgers are a whole different level of crave-worthy. They flaunt patties with crisp, lacey, browned edges—a result of the cooking process where the patties are flattened or “smashed” against the griddle, allowing a higher surface area to come into contact with the heat and be hit with what’s called the Maillard reaction.
9. Birria + Quesabirria Tacos
Tacos come to decadent heights in what’s called birria tacos, which usually comes as two parts. The tacos itself are stuffed with shredded stewed meats and cheese (optional), then given a sear over a pan or griddle. It’s served with a bowl of warm consomme—the meat’s stewing liquid infused with aromatics, chilis, and spices—for dipping into.
10. Croissants
We’ve been seeing an interesting resurgence of croissants, albeit with different twists on the laminated treat—yes, even past 2013’s Cronut. In 2020 we saw tiny croissants sold in bags as “croissant cereal.” Circular croissants in the style of the Suprême at NYC’s Lafayette were all the rage around 2022. 2024 was all about the cookie-croissant hybrid known as a Crookie. More recently, the spotlight has shifted to smashed croissants, used to hold other toppings like you would toast.
11. Cloud Kitchens
While the pandemic imposed temporary limitations on the way we dined, it also let restaurants and food businesses explore other forms of preparing and bringing food to their customers. One of the models that grew fast in that time? Cloud kitchens—essentially concepts or restaurants with no physical storefront, available solely for delivery.
12. Tasting Menus
Tasting menus in Manila aren’t new per se, but the degustation format—with multiple courses, usually in smaller portions, going by some overarching theme or story—rose to popularity by the end of the pandemic, likely as people were seeking out more experiential dining formats following the long period spent cooped up at home. Though tasting menus remain generally pricey, there’s much more variety today that the concept is now more easily accessible to more diners.
13. Chef Collaborations
Chefs in Manila are partnering up with other chefs and restaurants locally and abroad, at times with highly creative results. These multi-hands collaborations (four-hand, six-hand, et cetera) are usually done in degustation format, though going the family-style sharing route is an option as well. Sometimes it’s as simple as the chefs individually preparing their share of the dishes; other times the teams would directly collaborate in some or all parts of the meal.
14. Dubai Chocolate
In late 2024 to mid-2025, you almost couldn’t scroll through social media without seeing a clip of a thick chocolate bar being broken into two, revealing a thick, pale-green pistachio-tahini filling with crispy kataifi strands mixed in. Created by Filipino chef Nouel Catis and originally sold by Dubai’s Fix Dessert Chocolatier, Dubai chocolate has taken the world by storm and can also be had in spinoff formats like crepes, cakes, and ice cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some of the biggest trends include matcha, Dalgona coffee, sushi bake, K-BBQ, smash burgers, Dubai chocolate, tasting menus, and chef collaborations.
Most food trends spread through social media, influencer content, pop culture, or changing consumer preferences.
Dalgona coffee, sushi bake, ube-cheese pandesal, and cloud kitchens became especially popular during lockdowns.
Yes. The viral chocolate bar was created by Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai with Filipino chef Nouel Catis behind its development.
Matcha, K-BBQ, smash burgers, tasting menus, chef collaborations, and Dubai chocolate continue to enjoy strong popularity.
