Questions · Filipino food
Filipino food questions, from ulam to merienda
Ask a Filipino about food and you’ll get an opinion, a story and probably an invitation. These questions cover the everyday vocabulary of a Filipino table, ulam (the dish eaten with rice), merienda (the afternoon snack) and sawsawan (dipping sauce), plus the comfort food that tastes like someone looking after you.
- 18 questions
- EN + TL on every card
- Free in the app
Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.
Tell us about a food that reminds you of someone taking care of you.
Ikuwento yung pagkain na nagpapaalala sa'yo ng alaga ng isang tao.
Food can carry care without needing big words. Sometimes the simple act of feeding someone well becomes a memory by itself.
Kayang magdala ng care ang pagkain kahit walang malaking salita. Minsan yung simpleng pag-alaga sa pagkain, nagiging memory na.
The questions
18 Filipino food questions
Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.
Ulam, sawsawan and the rules
5 questions
Everyday food that every Filipino household does a little differently.
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Name one ulam you would be happy to eat every week.
Magbanggit ng isang ulam na happy kang kainin every week.
Back of the card
Some dishes earn a permanent place in the rotation. They do not need drama, just rice and a happy yes.
May ulam na deserve maging regular sa rotation. Hindi kailangan ng drama, kanin lang at happy yes.
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Which sawsawan do you automatically look for, and what food is it best with?
Anong sawsawan ang automatic mong hinahanap, at anong pagkain ang pinakabagay doon?
Back of the card
A sawsawan choice can say a lot without becoming serious. Tiny food loyalties are part of the fun.
May sinasabi rin ang sawsawan choice, pero hindi kailangang maging serious. Masaya yung small food loyalties natin.
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Share one food rule your household still follows.
Mag-share ng isang food rule na sinusunod pa rin sa bahay niyo.
Back of the card
House rules around food can be funny, practical, or oddly sacred. They carry the flavor of how people grew up.
Yung food rules sa bahay, minsan funny, minsan practical, minsan oddly sacred. May flavor siya ng kinalakihan natin.
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Choose one food that tastes better when it’s left over for the next day.
Pumili ng isang pagkain na mas masarap kapag tira siya hanggang kinabukasan.
Back of the card
Some food needs an overnight plot twist. Leftovers can be humble, practical, and somehow better than round one.
May pagkain talaga na mas gumaganda kinabukasan. Simple lang siya, practical, pero minsan mas panalo pa.
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Tell us a food combo you like that people might question.
I-share yung food combo na gusto mo pero baka kuwestiyunin ng iba.
Back of the card
Questionable does not always mean wrong. Some pairings just need one brave person to admit they work.
Hindi porket questionable, mali na agad. Minsan kailangan lang ng isang brave person na umaming masarap siya.
Merienda and snacks
6 questions
The 3 p.m. snack, the one you’d eat even when full, and the food that tastes better free.
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Finish this: Childhood merienda feels extra special when...
Tapusin ito: Mas special ang childhood merienda kapag...
Back of the card
Merienda memories are small, but they can carry whole afternoons with them. One bite can bring back a place, a person, or a mood.
Maliit lang ang merienda memories, pero may dala silang buong hapon. Isang kagat lang, may bumabalik agad na lugar, tao, o feeling.
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Pick one snack you would still accept even when you're already full.
Pick one snack na tatanggapin mo pa rin kahit busog ka na.
Back of the card
Some cravings stay charmingly powerful. The snack you still make room for usually knows exactly how to find your soft spot.
May cravings talaga na malakas pa rin kahit busog. Yung snack na yan, alam kung saan ka mahina.
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Name a food that tastes better when it's free.
Sabihin mo yung pagkain na mas masarap kapag libre.
Back of the card
Free food has its own seasoning. Sometimes the best flavor is the tiny thrill of not paying for it.
May sariling sarap ang libreng pagkain. Minsan yung best flavor, yung small joy na hindi ikaw ang nagbayad.
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If someone were choosing a snack or drink for you, what’s one choice that would almost always work?
Kung may pipili ng snack o drink para sa'yo, ano yung halos laging okay sa'yo?
Back of the card
Tiny preferences can be an easy way to know someone better. It feels good when people remember the simple things.
Minsan sa small preferences tayo mas nakikilala. Nakakatuwa rin kapag may nakakaalala ng simple things about you.
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Two choices: unlimited snacks or perfect sleep for one week. Defend your pick.
Dalawa lang: unlimited snacks o perfect sleep for one week. I-defend ang pick mo.
Back of the card
Low-stakes choices still reveal priorities. Snack joy and good sleep are both valid campaign platforms.
Kahit low-stakes, may priorities pa rin. Snack joy at good sleep, parehong valid campaign platform.
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Pick one small mood upgrade, like a drink, song, scent, snack, or clean space.
Pumili ng isang small mood upgrade, like drink, song, scent, snack, o malinis na space.
Back of the card
A mood upgrade does not need to be big. Sometimes one small detail is enough to change the angle of the day.
Hindi kailangang malaki ang mood upgrade. Minsan isang small detail lang, nag-iiba na yung angle ng araw.
Comfort food
7 questions
For tired days and homesick nights.
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What food is hard for you to say no to?
Anong pagkain ang hirap mong tanggihan?
Back of the card
Food answers can be light, but they usually carry a little story: comfort, habit, craving, or someone who introduced it.
Light lang ang food answer, pero madalas may kasamang kuwento: comfort, habit, craving, o taong nagpakilala nito sa'yo.
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If you were too tired to think, what would you order?
Kapag pagod ka nang mag-isip, ano yung o-orderin mo?
Back of the card
The no-thinking order is its own kind of comfort. It is the choice that carries you when your brain is done.
May comfort din sa order na hindi mo na kailangang isipin. Siya yung choice kapag ubos na utak mo.
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When your brain is tired, what is your go-to order?
Kapag pagod na utak mo, ano yung go-to order mo?
Back of the card
The reliable order deserves respect. It shows up when decisions are too much and hunger is already making a case.
Respect sa reliable order. Lumalabas siya kapag ayaw mo nang mag-decide at gutom na rin ang nagsasalita.
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Tell us about a food that reminds you of someone taking care of you.
Ikuwento yung pagkain na nagpapaalala sa'yo ng alaga ng isang tao.
Back of the card
Food can carry care without needing big words. Sometimes the simple act of feeding someone well becomes a memory by itself.
Kayang magdala ng care ang pagkain kahit walang malaking salita. Minsan yung simpleng pag-alaga sa pagkain, nagiging memory na.
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When you think of home, what small detail comes up first?
Kapag naiisip mo ang home, anong maliit na detail ang unang pumapasok?
Back of the card
Home can be a smell, a sound, a person, a room, or one ordinary detail that stayed.
Pwedeng amoy, tunog, tao, kwarto, o isang ordinaryong detail ang home. Minsan yun ang unang bumabalik.
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Which everyday sound reminds you of home right away?
Anong everyday sound ang nagpapaalala agad sa'yo ng home?
Back of the card
Home is not always a place first. Sometimes it is a sound you recognize before you even think about it.
Hindi laging lugar agad ang home. Minsan sound siya na kilala mo na bago mo pa isipin.
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Describe your favorite quiet moment at home in one sentence.
I-describe in one sentence yung favorite mong tahimik na moment sa bahay.
Back of the card
Quiet at home can be its own kind of treat. Sometimes the best part is that nothing needs to happen.
Yung tahimik sa bahay, treat din minsan. Minsan best part na yung walang kailangang mangyari.
How to use them
Before you ask
The best Filipino food questions aren’t trivia about adobo. They are about how a household eats: which ulam you could have every week, which sawsawan you reach for without thinking (vinegar with garlic, soy and calamansi, patis, bagoong), the food rule your family still follows, the merienda that made childhood afternoons special.
They work at any table. Filipinos can argue about them for hours, and non-Filipino friends get a quick, delicious introduction to the cuisine through someone else’s memories. If you’re the only Filipino at the table, prepare to be asked for recommendations.
Every card is in English and Filipino, and food words often stay in Tagalog even in the English version. That’s part of the fun.
Good for
Tips
- Ask for the specific dish, not the category: not “Filipino food”, but “your mom’s sinigang”.
- Settle a sawsawan debate by making everyone mix theirs and taste.
- Let non-Filipino guests answer too, with food from their own childhood.
- Write down the recommendations. You will want them at the next grocery run.
Decks for this
Filipino food words on the cards
- ulam: the main dish eaten with rice, whatever it is.
- merienda: an afternoon snack, often sweet: turon, banana cue, puto, bibingka.
- sawsawan: a dipping sauce, usually mixed at the table to taste.
- pulutan: food eaten with drinks.
- baon: food (or pocket money) you bring to school or work.
- tira-tira: leftovers, which many Filipinos swear taste better the next day.
Filipino food questions
Frequently asked questions
What are good questions to ask about Filipino food?
Ask about everyday habits rather than trivia: the ulam you could eat every week, your go-to sawsawan, a household food rule, your childhood merienda and the comfort food that reminds you of being cared for.
What is ulam?
Ulam is the dish eaten with rice at a Filipino meal: meat, fish, vegetables or anything else. Rice is the base; ulam is what goes with it.
What is merienda?
Merienda is a light snack between meals, usually in the mid-afternoon. Common merienda include turon, banana cue, pancit, puto and bread with coffee.
Bring a better question to the table.
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