You’ve heard of the Red Caviar from the Salmon, Black Caviar from the Sturgeon fish, and the rarest of all, the Gold Caviar from the Albino Beluga. Now, I’m going to introduce you to something even better, the Philippine Caviar – Fish Balls!
Ok, so it’s not really caviar, but it has been proven time and again that these special fish ball treats are just as awesome, but nowhere near as expensive, as those other fish thingys.
Fish balls are a staple of Chinese cooking and are used in a wide array of dishes. Other than in the Philippines, fish balls are also hugely popular in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and China. In the US, they are available in most Asian groceries.
Simply put, the common fish ball in the Philippines, which can also be spelled fishball, is an edible, ball-shaped patty made of pulverized fish. It is somewhat flat in shape and most often made from the meat of cuttlefish or pollock and served with a sweet and spicy sauce or with a thick black sweet and sour sauce. These fish meatballs are primarily white or yellow in color, and measure about an inch to two inches in diameter.
Fish balls in the Philippines are sold by street vendors pushing wooden deep frying carts. The balls are friend then served skewered, and most often offered with a choice of three kinds of dipping sauces:
- Spicy (white/orange colored) – vinegar, water, diced onions and garlic
- Sweet (brown gravy colored) – corn starch, banana ketchup, sugar and salt
- Sweet/Sour (amber or deeper orange colored) – the sweet variety with lots of small hot chilis added.
Dark sauces are rare as these are soy sauce based and soy sauce is expensive in terms of food cost for street food. A recent trend in the Philippine fishball industry is the introduction of ‘ball’ varieties: chicken, squid (cuttlefish actually), and kikiam (pronounced que-kiam, a pork and vegetable mix). Chicken balls, squid balls and kikiam sell at about 2 Philippine Pesos (4 US Cents). Regular fishballs sell at 50 Centavos (1 US Cent).
I first discovered this tasty street delicacy in my youth. Those crazy days when I was really young and living in the Philippines. My parents sent me to this conservative Chinese catholic school which was pretty much a a waste of my existence… lol (whole different story). Fortunately, the only good thing that came out of that was the discovery of after school treats of street food outside the campus.
“Mang Alex” was a staple of life at that Nazi… I mean… Catholic school. The word “Mang” is pretty much like a “Sir” or “Mr.” title in the Philippines, and his name was Alex. But today, he is known as the LEGEND!
He has the legendary recipe for the BEST Fish Ball Sauces that man could only dream of. It’s so addictive that once you try this, you would probably crave for more throughout your lifetime. I’ve tried street food, and other fish balls in particular from many different street vendors, and none of them even come close to this!
And yes, you do have to try all the other varieties of street food such as the Chicken Balls, Squid Balls, Kikiam, Pugo (quail eggs), Day-Olds (one day old chick) and more.
I do warn you that ignorance is bliss, and not trying this tasteful sauce may be better for you if you do not want to suffer from withdrawals or craving from this addictive saucy ”drug.”
However, if you are one of the brave souls willing to venture into this fantastic journey, I recommend coming to St. Jude Catholic School, right next to Malacanyang (White House of the Philippines) and finding Mang Alex and his cart outside the gates of the school. He is usually there from Mondays through Thursdays from around 9am – 5pm or until he runs out of fishballs. For an even better experience, come here on a Thursday. St. Jude is said to be the saint for the hopeless and it’s also said that Thrusday is St Jude’s day, thus, every Thursday you’ll find masses, crowds, street vendors and lots of “hopeless” people praying for salvation at this Church. I remember being one of those “hopeless” people praying with a lit candle wishing to pass my next Chinese exam. I found out the hard way that hoping to pass a test, instead of just studying for it, is not the best strategy you can come up with.
Anyway, back to the balls…
Next time, When In Manila, come to Saint Jude Catholic School and look for Mang Alex to try out his infamous Fish Balls and other street food. Try all his different street delicacies as well as the different specialty sauces he made. Be warned though that it will surely have you craving for more!
P.S. Mang Alex caters!!! Seriously, you can rent him out for a day while he serves you endless street food at your wedding, party, event or whatever. He’s told us stories of him at fancy hotels with his street cart serving these fish balls to the even fancier guests. We’ve actually availed of his services and had him at our Christmas party last year. It’ll only cost you about P3,500 (about $80 US Dollars) for his services for an entire night. And yes, he will push his street cart to wherever you are. He’s a cool guy!
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Name of venue: Mang Alex’s Fishballs (just a street cart with street food, no real name)
Address: Outside of Saint Jude Catholic School – 328 Ycaza St., San Miguel, Manila (next to Malacañang Palace)
Phone Number (catering inquiries): +63921.287.4257
Price Range: 1 US Cent per Fishball
Cuisine: Street Food
Fish Balls – Best Street Food in the Philippines
Fish Balls – Best Street Food in the Philippines: You’ve heard of the Red Caviar from the Salmon, Black Caviar fro… http://bit.ly/9SJjBE
Fish Balls – Best Street Food in the Philippines: You’ve heard of the Red Caviar from the Salmon, Black Caviar fro… http://bit.ly/cOvh8j
i want fishballs right now. It’s weird but the frozen ones that i buy at the grocery (and cook at home) do not taste like the street version. Mas masarap yung sa kalye. haha! Btw, one of the vendors shared his brown sauce recipe with me – it’s cornstarch, sinangag mix, water and brown sugar.
Wow,it’s been such a long time since I’ve eaten fishballs… now, I’m craving for one!
Oh, men! I missed the over fried fish balls, super crunchy…
I wish you could also feature the odox (one-day-old chick) street food. I’m curious how it is done. Ang sarap kasi eh, have you tried one?
ahahah mang alex!! yeah!! :p his fishballs are definitely the best!!! he’s been invited to receptions and stuff just because of his fishballs!!!
gotta try them!
I like this video clip!
Mang Alex the best!! he’s a legend
Cheers to mang alex 
yes sir it is,Im addictive to it also, I strongly agree that fishballs and kwek kwek (quail eggs covered with oranged-colored flour) are the best heheh!!!
Woah!! The legend finally published!! haha!! Mang Alex is simply the best.. he can even give advice about stuff! just talk about anything and everything under the sun! wah! craving fish balls already!
oh i miss mang alex fishball…. hahaha
whoa. this dude’s awesome. brings back nostalgic memories. i would come to his shop everyday back then. good stuff
shares http://tinyurl.com/ygu4738 (Mang Alex, the Legend! XD) http://plurk.com/p/3tcs8h
wow!! i miss mang alex’s fishballs! i use to buy some everyday when i took summer classes! memories… =) i think he also sold those cocktail size hotdogs that i loved eating too. i went to st jude a few months back but he probably went home already.
WOOHOO GO MANG ALEX!
) mang alex’s sauces and pugo are the best!!! 
)
wow! mang alex is so famous til now! he has the best fishballs, pugo and sauce! the best talaga! MUST TRYYY!!!
wow, I missed Mang Alex’s fishballs, best fishballs ever, especially the sauces! i used to buy 20pesos worth of fishballs after school. Then sometimes mix of hotdogs and quekquek(quail eggs) Hay… Come to think of it, it’s been 7 years since I graduated from SJCS. And 7 years since i last ate those fishballs! Hmmm…. I would surely, visit SJCS when i get back to manila, to eat fishballs! hehehehe… for those who haven’t tried it, highly recommend it, you’ll really love it!
Can someone tell me if Fish Balls are the same thing as bola bola? THAT is my addiction regarding street food!!!!!!
Salamat.
P.S. I’ll be in Marikina in just two weeks.
cool mang alex!!!
suki!!
more power to your site dude! I enjoyed watching you guys…
LOVE your video. I’ve been trying to find the sauce recipes. Secret, hu? That’s okay. I won’t have any problem figuring them out (^_^) I’m guessing you have more foodie videos. I will have to look for some more. Miss the Filipino food a lot. It’s one thing to eat Filipino food, it’s another thing to eat it in the environment you grew up in. Miss it all!
Pinoy love……….
oh yes, mang alex’s fish balls… yum…
i used to eat there after school, they’re really good… hehe pero, parang pumayat si mang alex sa pics ah… hehe
geez… it’s my past catching up at me! i want mang alex here in norway…
Vince I’m from St. Jude, miss those balls haha
Hey, I recognize that guy in your pic; thats Quasy right? haha. Mang Alex, feeding Judenites past present and future.
Got Alex to “cater” to some of our kiddie parties and even our reunions the past couple of years
Sold out!
I’d like to know which markets in manila and elswhere in the Philippines can I find many fish ball vendors? I’d like to choose.
I like it too.. sauce is sweet or sweet & spicy!
careful though coz some might be dirty.
we love buying this squid balls in Odd Balls (a stall usually found in malls). Love their sauce too.
RT @WhenInManila: Fish Balls – Best Street Food in the Philippines http://bit.ly/bLWZRT
[...] 10. Take it to the streets – Street food [...]
http://www.wheninmanila.com/fish-balls-best-street-food-in-the-philippines/ for our entrepreneurship/econ proj. Time to sell, baby!