🍛 Top Dishes to Try in Leyte – 2025 Waray-Waray Food Guide & Local Tips

Leyte isn’t just a historical gem — it’s also a hidden haven for Filipino food lovers. Waray-Waray cuisine is bold, comforting, and rich in flavor, blending seafood, stews, and native sweets. Here are the must-try dishes in Leyte, with tips, icons, and where to find them!

---

 🐷 1. Lechon de Carigara

🔥 Smoky, herby, crispy goodness
This version of lechon from the town of Carigara is known for its intense smokiness, garlic, and herbs — a unique flavor from traditional woodfire roasting.

📍 Where to Try: Carigara Public Market, Tacloban lechon stalls
💡 Tip: Eat it with vinegar or don’t — it’s flavorful enough without!

---

🍲 2. Moron (Chocolate Sticky Rice Roll)

🍫 Sweet, sticky, and local-favorite
Made of ground sticky rice, coconut milk, and cocoa — wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. A must-have pasalubong from Leyte.

📍 Where to Buy: Tacloban souvenir shops, market stalls in Abuyog
💡 Tip: Choose the ones with cheese fillings for a creamy twist!

---

🐟 3. Lawot-lawot

🌿 Healthy and humble
A vegetable stew made with okra, talong, squash, malunggay, and dried fish or shrimp. A staple in Waray-Waray households.

📍 Where to Try: Home kitchens, local carinderias
💡 Tip: Enjoy with white rice and fermented shrimp paste (ginamos).

---

🍜 4. Tinolang Isda (Native Fish Soup)

🐟 Comfort in a bowl
A simple fish soup flavored with ginger, tomatoes, and lemongrass, made with freshly caught bisugo or tamban.

📍 Where to Try: Palo, Tanauan coastal eateries
💡 Tip: Try the “tinola sa batwan” version — tangy and unique!

---

🍤 5. Tuba-marinated Shrimp

🍷 Seafood meets coconut wine
Shrimp soaked in tuba (fermented coconut wine) before grilling or frying — gives it a sweet, umami edge!

📍 Where to Try: Barangay fiestas or local seafood stalls
💡 Tip: Pair with grilled eggplant and tomato salad.

---

🥬 6. Binagol (Sweet Taro Dessert)

🥥 Rich, earthy, and festive
Made of grated taro (gabi), coconut milk, and brown sugar, steamed in coconut shells. Native to Dulag and Dagami, Leyte.

📍 Where to Buy: Tacloban bus terminal, Dulag market
💡 Tip: Eat warm or chilled — great both ways!

---

🦀 7. Crab in Coconut Milk (Ginataang Alimango)

🥥 Rich and indulgent
Fresh Leyte crabs simmered in gata (coconut milk), garlic, and chili. Local, fresh, and bursting with flavor.

📍 Where to Try: Baybay and Palompon eateries
💡 Tip: Don’t skip the aligue (crab fat) — it’s the highlight!

---

🍗 8. Pritong Paksiw na Bisaya nga Manok

🍗 Vinegary & crispy
Native chicken boiled in vinegar and spices, then deep-fried — crispy outside, tender inside.

📍 Where to Try: Village fiestas, family kitchens
💡 Tip: Ask for spicy vinegar dip on the side.

---

🧀 9. Roscas (Butter Cookies)

🍪 Buttery, crunchy, addicting
A local delicacy from Pastrana, shaped like rings or twisted knots — made with flour, butter, eggs, and anise.

📍 Where to Buy: Pastrana bakeries, Tacloban souvenir stores
💡 Tip: Pair with coffee or hot sikwate!

---

✅ Quick Leyte Foodie Tips:

• 🛵 Explore towns like Carigara, Abuyog, and Dulag — they’re local food goldmines.
• 🕐 Visit early morning markets for fresh delicacies like moron and binagol.
• 🎁 Pack pasalubong like roscas, moron, and binagol in boxes for travel.