Tips for buying street foods in the Philippines

 1) When buying barbeque, buy at morning or choose clean grills. Those dirty mucks in the grill can cause cancer. Take a look at the vendor's finger nails if clean. 

2) When buying fishball, take a look at the color of the cooking oil if it's color black. Do not dip your fishball in the sauce because it been used many times, otherwise if it's vinegar it should be fine. Be careful of the sticks it might poke your eye. 

3) Whether the vendor is wearing gloves or not it doesn't matter as long his hands are clean. You do not really know how many times he used the gloves, and whether he uses it for handling money. If you notice if he has alcohol it might be safer.  From my opinion lady vendors are more cleaner than guys.

4) Choose well known branded street foods that also have dislayed certificates. The vendors have undergone some training, and it has standards. Some new street foods are branded. Food stalls in SM Malls are much safer compared to ones in streets because they have the money to rent the space though the foods might be more pricier it's worth the safety rather than get food borne diseases which will cos t you a lot of time. money, and health.

5) Be careful of undercooked foods. Never leave you food unattended once they started cooking it. You can ask them to recook if its undercooked especially if its meat. 

6) Never buy street foods if it's located near sewage or garbage. Most vendors will just put the food back if it's dropped to the ground. Even if a lot of people are buying from it, if you have doubts it's better to be safe. You do not have to take the risk, there's always a choice.