J. Julius

Noche Buena, The traditional Filipino Christmas dinner!

The Christmas eve dinner or commonly called Noche Buena in the Philippines is one of the highlights of the Filipino Christmas celebration.

If you are a lucky foreigners, who will be dining with Filipino families or are hosted in a Filipino home will surely be treated to a sumptuous fare of Filipino cuisine.
A traditionally, Christmas dinner is usually done in buffet style which could offers 15 to 20 food items in a table beautifully decorated with Christmas wreath or flowers and dining wares used only during special occasions such as this. The Noche Buena is eaten around midnight, after the Christmas eve Mass.

Among the typical dishes served during the Christmas dinner are lechon (roasted pig), kare-kare (oxtail stew in peanut butter sauce), rellenong manok (baked stuff chicken), noodle and pasta dishes like pancit or spaghetti, barbecue, adobo, native rice cakes, lumpia (spring rolls) and Queso de Bola (cheese that is shaped like a ball). In most Filipino tables, the queen of the dinner table is the Chinese ham made from cured and sweetened pork meat....

Other traditional Christmas liquids to try are the hot "tsokolate," a native chocolate drink and the "salabat" or ginger tea which are great for cold early mornings. You may also try the internationally renowned San Miguel beer made in the Philippines.

The Filipino Noche Buena is like an open house celebration. Family, friends, relatives, and neighbors drop in to wish family members a "Maligayang Pasko" or Merry Christmas.

Maligayang Pasko or (Merry Christmas)
God Bless you and your family.




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