Actor and theater performer Ian Pangilinan, known for his screen roles in Gaya Sa Pelikula and Family Matters, alongside stage turns in Rent and Bar Boys: The Musical, is officially stepping behind the lens for his directorial debut, Patay Gutom (Dead Hungry).
Co-directed with acclaimed filmmaker Carl Joseph Papa, the project stands as an official entry to the 2026 Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival. With Patay Gutom, Pangilinan isn’t just steering the ship from the director’s chair; he also co-wrote the screenplay and stars in the film, making it a true creative moment for the rising star.
Beyond the stage and screen, Pangilinan also exhausts his creativity in the kitchen. As a self-confessed foodie, he has been gradually developing a mindful relationship with food—a deliberate choice in an industry where eating is often under strict maintenance. More than just nourishment, food, for him, is also about the experience itself, where one can be rewarded with life’s simplest pleasures.
“If you’ve gone to these places, which treat food as an experience and craft, you’ll recognize that there’s so much joy to be found in it. I’m somebody who is constantly finding more and more joy in food.”
When it comes to cooking, he likes to slow-build on flavors, favoring one-pot creations where basic ingredients can transform into magic. From rich curries and pasta dishes to a classic adobo, his kitchen experiments are all about extracting maximum satisfaction from easy comfort. His go-to pairing? Anything he can pair with gising-gising—his favorite side dish.
As for grocery shopping, he treats it like a playground, eagerly picking up ingredients like mirin and miso to test on his family.
These are the other items you can usually find in his cart.
Q: Favorite junk food?
IP: I love Pringles, sour cream specifically.
Q: Favorite supermarket shortcut?
IP: I do like the Bull-Dog sauce. Katsu sauce is a very multi-step process so I turn to this. Also, sriracha mayo. It goes well with so many things. I love spice.
Q: Biggest supermarket splurge?
IP: Cheese. It’s not only just the cheese that you eat with grapes and crackers but cheese that you make with a certain dish. Like pastas and some beef dishes. And I also hold good memories of cheese. When I was a kid, I experienced putting a mountain of cheese on spaghetti. In my teens, it’s the cheese chips that I like. When I got older, I visited Switzerland and I had it [cheese] in a place where they actually make it.
Q: Favorite checkout line treat?
IP: I do love mints because after eating different kinds of food, sometimes you just want to clean your palate.
Q: The supermarket aisle you take the longest time in?
IP: Meat. I like my meat. But I also take a long time in the pasta section because I just love a good pasta. And I want to try different sauces.
Q: Most surprising thing in my cart?
IP: If I see a very interesting biscuit. I’m always down to try a nice biscuit.
Q: One item that’s always on my list?
IP: Good lean ground beef.
Q: Ingredient I’d drive the farthest for?
IP: Cheese! I love a good pecorino. I like goat cheese that I can eat on its own.
Q: What I’d stock up on in the event of an apocalypse?
IP: Vegetables. A bunch of it because they’re very filling and I’m a volume eater and I like having my greens beside me. In particular, I like cauliflower.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ian Pangilinan is an actor and theatre performer, having worked on the films Gaya Sa Pelikula and Family Matters and acted in productions of Rent and Bar Boys: The Musical. He recently made his directorial debut with the 2026 film Patay Gutom.
Some of snacks Ian Pangilinan will pick up include Sour Cream & Onion Pringles, interesting biscuits he’s never tried before, and some mints to cleanse his palate.
Lean ground beef, a new pasta he hasn’t tried yet, and cheese are just some of the items you may find in his personal grocery list.
In the event of an apocalypse, Ian Pangilinan will stock up on vegetables. As a volume eater, he thinks they are very filling. He specifically likes cauliflower.
Ian Pangilinan shared that he holds a lot of good memories of eating cheese from when he was growing up from grating a mountain of cheese on his spaghetti to traveling to Switzerland to learn how a certain cheese he tried while there was made.
An ingredient he would travel far just to get is pecorino and goat cheese.
