I, too, was disappointed how hard it was to find fresh produce in the Philippines. And I visited multiple islands. All you can really find is meat in heavy sauce or deep fried with giant servings of white rice. The food in the Philippines is more related to the islander/Polynesian diet. This is most likely do to the standard of living across all islands. People in the Philippines just don't have enough disposable income, hence food will be the quality that is most affordable. Also, Filipinos do not care for raw fish and the average Filipino wouldn't really be able to afford sashimi. The worst part of the Philippines was the supply chain operations. I walked into a Jollibee (Filipino equivalent of McDonald's) and there were like 5 teenage employees just sitting and texting on their phones while I waited 30 mins for my food. Terrible service.
Taiwan is close to the Philippines in geography, however they are culturally way more East Asian. Not to mention their economy is much stronger so its citizens have the spending power. Noodles in Taiwan are freshly handmade and their beef soup always has tender chunks of slow cooked beef. Their service was great, too - once a table was vacant, someone would clean and wipe it down within seconds so that the next party could sit. Kids were super behaved, too. A huge contrast from the Philippines. I loved my visit to Taiwan.
