3 Filipino meat soups among TasteAtlas' top 50 highly-rated

Three meat soups from the Philippines made it to Taste Atlas' Top 50 Best Meat Soups in the World in November 2023, the travel website announced.

Sinigang na baboy was the highest-rated Filipino meat soup at 11th place, while bulalo and tinolang manok ranked 17th and 30th, respectively.

Getting a 4.5 rating, sinigang na baboy is described as a "variety of sinigang – Filipino savory and sour soup – consists of various pork cuts that are simmered along tamarind fruit. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, okra, white radish, water spinach and green long peppers are also commonly used for this soup."

"Nowadays, sinigang mix is available in supermarkets, but enjoying the dish made from scratch represents the full experience. " it added.

Bulalo, meanwhile, got a 4.4 rating.

Per Taste Atlas, bulalo is "a traditional Filipino soup that is prepared by cooking beef shanks and marrow bones until the fat and collagen dissolve into the broth, resulting in a robust flavor of the dish. The soup is a specialty of the Luzon region, where it is traditionally consumed during cold weather, when it is usually served for dinner."

Also called chicken tinola, tinolang manok, on the other hand, had a 4.2 rating.

Tinola was a staple, nourishing chicken soup in every Filipino household, Taste Atlas said.

"It can consist of various chicken cuts and internal organs cooked in a flavorful broth alongside green papaya and chili pepper or malunggay leaves. The broth is usually generously seasoned with ginger, garlic, and fish sauce, and the soup is often served over plain white rice." said the website.

Rated 4.7, Central Thailand, Thailand's tom kha gai placed first followed in succession by Surabaya, Indonesia's rawon and Vietnam's beef pho in second and third place.

Completing the top 10 are the following by order from 4th to 10th: Radauti, Romania's Ciorba Radauteana (4.6); Northern Vietnam, Vietnam's Phở bò tái chín (4.6); Hungary's Gulyás (4.5); Poland's Rosół (4.5); Taiwan's Beef Noodle Soup (4.5); Hungary's Húsleves (4.5); and Jakarta, Indonesia's Soto Betawi (4.5).

Founded in 2018 by Croatian journalist and entrepreneur Matija Babic, TasteAtlas is an experiential online travel guide that provides travelers with collated authentic recipes, food critic reviews, and research articles about popular ingredients and dishes from across the globe.