Joanna Marie O. Santos
December 14, 2022

In 2020, the quarantine period brought out the best in our cooking skills at home - starting with the classic Dalgona Coffee, sushi bake, and the revamped Ube cheese pandesal. While in 2021, it gave us the rise of #ChefTok in the social media platform, TikTok that handed us the crispy Conchinillo, food hacks on fast foods to save a buck, and quick and easy Airfryer recipes that we could try at home from content creators all over the world.

 

Just like our quintessential delicious Pinoy lumpia - the year is about to wrap up! 2022 may have given us shocking breakups, problematic celebrity mishaps, and issues that caught the eye of our daily Marites, but food trends indeed captured the hearts of the netizen! From the classic pandesal with a gourmet twist to K-Drama-inspired Corn Dogs, let’s look back this year and see what caught our hearts and taste buds!

 

PH Top Picks: 10 Delicious Food Trends of 2022

 

Korean Egg Drop Sandwiches

 

Image from SunnySide_Manila via Instagram

 

Popularized by the cute Father-son Bonding of Ik Jun and Baby Uju on the K-drama Hospital Playlist, the delicious and savory goodness of an egg between two slices of brioche bread together with a generous amount of different fillings — such as bacon, ham, and cheese captured the hearts not only by Kdrama fans but also certified foodie! The good thing is that this Korean cuisine is not limited to its homeland — it can also be found in various food restaurants in the metro! Sunny Side Manila offers loaded fillings that will make your mouth go crazy! Soft Shell crab, Kani - Egg Salad, Truffle steak, and Garlic Bacon are some of their sandwiches that will make you say masitseumnida (delicious in Korean)!

 

Birria Tacos

Image from Los Tacos MNL via Instagram

 

Another one on the food bucket list is from Mexico - the classic taco with a twist! Birria Tacos is a combination of Birria - a spicy and savory Mexican beef or goat stew that's slow-cooked until the meat is tender and juicy; and plain taco. The meat is stuffed inside the shell and then pan-fried for that Mexican fusion goodness! Los Tacos MNL also has their cheesy version of Birria Tacos - Mulita, loaded with cheese, sour cream, and pickled jalapeños. This home-based taco shop offers Taco goodness in the areas of Mandaluyong. On the other hand, Quezon City has the House of Birria PH, which offers authentic premium beef barrias to its customers with salsa, lemon, garlic cilantro cream, and consomé on the side for added goodness.

 

Korean Corn Dogs

 

This revamped American classic has taken the internet by storm. As it stars in various k-dramas, its mouth-watering appeal, aesthetic cheesiness, and large quantity - Korean corn dog made its way to our list and our stomachs once more! Sausage wrapped in breadcrumb batter, then added with various toppings and fillings such as mozzarella cheese, spam, and more fried until golden brown is the staple of Korean corn dog goodness! Not to mention the dips and sauces like mayo, aioli, ketchup, and mustard that complements the treat! Since its fame and easy recipe, this Korean street food has made its way to countless Cafes and kiosks all over the country. Some of the restos you should try out for their version of K-dog are Korean Corn Dog Bonbu with their classic Half and Half (half mozzarella and half cheese dog K-dog) and Cafe Constancia with their bold flavors such as Cheesy Squid and Jalapeño melt, both in QC.

 

Image from Cafe Constancia via Instagram

 

Stuffed Pandesal

 

Plain pandesal in the morning is out! Stuffed pandesal is in! Gone are the days of pandesal with small cheese slices; 2022 has found favor with pastries filled with goodness. From ube cheese that crashed our social media feed by storm, it finally made its taste to bakeries and bake shops in the metro. Salta: Italian Rotisserie Bar offers delicious stuffed pandesal with their Mini Panderya. This Italian QC-based restaurant offers handmade pastries accompanied by pasta and wines. Buenos Días Panadería, on the other hand, offers freshly baked pans and delivers them to its customers. This family-owned bake shop offers a new twist on stuffed pandesal like Milo buns and Espresso buns fit for all foodies.

 

Image from Buenos Días Panadería via Instagram

 

Baked Feta Pasta

 

TikTok’s home-grown food trend, Baked Feta Pasta, made its way to our list not only because of its fame from the #BakedFetaPasta hashtag on the app with 60 million views but also its appeal to any person on the earth - even without cooking skills! Its recipe comprises three ingredients, cheese, tomato, and any pasta of your choice, making the preparation easy and flavorful for anyone! Who would have thought that a three-ingredient recipe could make a simple Juan wear his chef’s hat and own the kitchen to create an outstanding delicious dish?

 

Turkish Eggs

 

Another entry from the social media platform giant, this classic Mediterranean dish made eggs benedict tasteless! From one of Daphne Oz trending recipes, Turkish egg also known as Cilbir is a combination of poached egg, in garlic infused yogurt topped with cucumber and mint, and drizzled with toasted butter infused with pepper on top. It is accompanied with brioche bread toasted well to perfection! If you want to taste a simple yet delicious European dish, you should try this out!

 

Biscoff Tiramisu

 

Who says that Tiramisu is not the A-tier classic dessert? Make way for its rival - Biscoff Tiramisu! A new food trend that is adding to easy-to-do recipes at home! TikTok found its niche in attracting gen Zs and millennials with no cooking skills and offering them food hacks that save dessert nights! For this trend, just like any other, you only need a few ingredients: Biscuits, coffee, cream, and biscoff spread, making it easy and hassle-free. After soaking the biscuits in coffee, just like our classic graham cake, create a pattern of layers comprising all of the ingredients, topping it off with an optional cocoa powder, and you're done! No bake and no degree in patisserie needed!

 

Smashed Burgers

 

A solution to an old classic problem, a regular burger is too big to handle, and a large patty languishes on the grill, the solution? - Smashed burgers! Cooks use their Hulk Smash power to pressure to squash the burger patty on the grill resulting in a crispy and well-browned burger that has more flavor than the regular one because of its retained juice inside. Luckily this practice was adopted by burger restos in the country and offered the same style! One of them is Smooshed! which sells and delivers smashed burger lineups online! They only serve four burgers: Cheeseburger, Four Cheese Burger, Overloaded Cheeseburger, and the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, all of which come in double patty variations for affordable prices!

 

Image from Smooshed! via Facebook

 

Artisan Donuts

 

Meticulously Handcrafted goodness, three words to define artisan donuts! It is when the food trend meets art; it is no longer finger food and pasalubong for friends and families at home but a new experience to try and indulge in beauty and food at the same time! This delicious pastry sets itself apart from the typical commercial donuts from its craftsmanship and attention to aesthetics and taste. You can get artistry in pastry with artisan donuts with Poison Coffee & Doughnuts in Makati, which offers sourdough brioche base donuts to die for and accompanied with coffee and other delicacies. Bungalow coffee, on the other hand, offers freshly baked doughnuts 24/7. They use fresh cream and custard, as well as nut butter and jams made in-house with local ingredients assuring that everything is fresh from preparation to table.

 

Image from Poison Coffee & Doughnuts via Instagram

 

Asian Cucumber Salad

 

Last and certainly not the least on top food trends in 2022, a dish that will surely replenish your hot summer days with its taste - Asian Cucumber salad! Its prime ingredient, cucumber, will make you feel cool and refreshed after you finish this one-of-a-kind Asian salad! After salting the sliced cucumbers in a bowl, add garlic, ginger, and chili paste to add that Asian kick and flavor. You could add fried halloumi cheese or toasted bread for your liking.

 

Adding that Asian twist to this dish will make your taste buds fly around east Asia! You could make a Thai version of the trend by adding roasted peanuts, fish sauce, and lime. Adding gochujang for a Korean cucumber salad variation and replacing chili paste with chive blossom will surely bring out the Japanese side of the dish.

 

What to Expect in 2023?

 

What to expect in the upcoming year for foodies? - the better question is, "what is not to expect?!" With the verge of the world existing in a social media renaissance, the seeking for new hobbies, ideas, and trends keeps on coming, and sooner or later, new food trends will emerge that we had never heard of. May it be a revival of an old classic dish? Food trend focusing on finger foods? Food trend on edible plants? Who knows?! What we do know is that social media holds a significant part of the future of trends, and it is a matter of time and virality to make your food hobby a trend for all to try!

 

And that’s a wrap for food in 2022!!