Does anybody care about the food choices in NAIA?

Posted on November 3, 2012 by CVS

I’ve been quiet about NAIA for a while. Not because I haven’t been traveling. I’ve just been waiting for things to happen, since a huge budget was supposedly approved for its renovation.
If they have already started, I can’t really tell. I’ve given up using the restrooms there. I just try to hold it in until I’m boarded on the plane.
Last November 1st, I was back at NAIA Terminal 1, on my way to Japan. I didn’t need to use the toilet, thank God. But I was hungry. There is no food in NAIA by the way.
First I checked out the offerings at the Japan Airlines Lounge.

All they had were some sad little sandwiches

and a this jar of peanuts. And some butter.

I decided to check out the drinks. They had unchilled drinks in a refrigerator that wasn’t doing its job (no offence to Coke!).

I had 20 minutes till boarding, so I stepped outside in search of food. First stop: Kalayaan Snack Bar.

I was craving for siomai. But listen, do NOT order siomai at Kalayaan Snack Bar. I got four hard balls soaked in soy sauce. When I stuck my plastic fork into it, I swear the fork almost broke.
I didn’t eat it. I did return it to the staff and left to look for another option.
I found this bizarre “food court” in a waiting area.
Now check out the carpet. I do hope they allot some budget to remove this unappetizing carpet.

Here are your food choices:
1) Bo’s Coffee

2) Sweet Ideas Cafe

3) Transit Snack (I have no idea why it’s dark)

but this is where they sell those banned Korean noodles a cancerous ingredient

4) Here’s where I ended up buying siomai

It had no taste, but at least it was hot and a squeeze of calamansi made it bearable.

5) I have no idea

6) Oh, and the darkest eatery had the most people—maybe because they had seating

Meawnhile, check out some of the food I had in other airports, such as Saboten in Hong Kong

Shrimps in salted egg, Hong Kong

Xiao long bao, Hong Kong

Beef Bowl, Narita

Tori karaage and fries at Narita

Fried chicken wings and crispy pandan, Bangkok

Mango and sticky rice, Bangkok

Breaded shrimp at McDonald’s Schipol

Hot wings and fries, Singapore

With so many food choices in Manila, why can’t we have some Cibo, Bizu, Dulcinea, Pepper Lunch, or even Jollibee, KFC or McDonald’s inside NAIA?
Don’t you wish the Ayalas would run the airport instead, so it would have restrooms like Greenbelt 5? Or why not hire someone like Malu Pineda to run the show like Powerplant Mall?

To whomever is in charge of renovating the airport:
The airport is the first and last thing a foreigner sees when they visit a country. If a foreigner sees a disgusting airport, it will set the mood for that person’s stay. It will stay in their memory.
You want to make money from tourism? You need to draw in decent tourists with money.
People with taste and money will have no desire to visit our country with this kind of airport. Just look at the people sitting around in the “food court” photos I took—what are they thinking??

http://profile.yahoo.com/5VEL7MSLFHT26SNYUOA2UTCIQQ Christina

food choices aside, i went to the the Naia 1 last week. Upon entering the first x-ray scanner, two officers were exchanging stories, saying P*****INA in every other sentence. Laughing so loudly. Nakakainis and nakakahiya.
Upon arrival, in the parking lot, two porters eagerly helped our driver load the luggage in the car. All the while saying MERRY CHRISTMAS to me. When they sensed that I had no plans of giving them any tip, they said…. SALAMAT NA LANG AT AYAW MO MAGBIGAY!!!!! The worst Filipinos are employed in the airport!

[Reply]
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6EC37WGGYOB3EL6J3AMJFHHI3A PJ

whenever i fly out, either local or international, i make sure i’ve eaten something already before heading out to the airport coz i know there are not much good places to eat at.

i agree with the others on HK, Bangkok and Seoul (Incheon), lots of good food places in their airports. try the international airport of Taiwan, lots of choices too. Abu Dhabi has a few as well.

[Reply]
http://www.facebook.com/dorene.omandac Dorene Mae Omandac

This is so true. NAIA disgusts me. I just flew today via Terminal 1 and I can’t imagine how a foreigner would react with our airport system. One doesn’t really know what to do and where to go. The signs are not clear, there is not enough seating, the restrooms are disgusting even though they tried to make it pretty by painting it pink. There are no restaurants to enjoy a good meal while waiting for your flight. Although I think I saw a jollibee crew taking an order from someone who luckily had good seats.. and after that I saw another jollibee walking around probably waiting for someone to flag him and order something as well. But what foreigner would do that? I don’t even think there is a thing as flagging down someone and giving a food order in other international airports.. I have been to a number of airports but I haven’t been as confused and afraid to fly alone than in the Philippines.. and also, where did our travel tax and airport terminal fees go??

[Reply]
http://www.arcelialegado.com/ Arceli

Hi Cecile,

Knowing your fear of flying, I don’t want to scare you or your readers by calling attention to the failure of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to pass the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Category 1 rating due to SIGNIFICANT safety concerns.

I work in CAAP’s equivalent here in Australia, helping the organisation improve its processes, thereby improving aviation safety. My Oz colleagues knew I hailed from the Philippines, so they passed me the links below. I’ve never felt more frustrated, disappointed and embarrased upon reading them! Like you I travel a lot on business and leisure. I derived comfort in the knowledge all systems (aircraft and ground) are ok to ensure you arrive in one piece. I normally keep to my own blog, and this is my first time to post a comment on any blog. With your wide blog readership, I was hoping you could include this in your list of all things wrong that desperately need fixing. Maybe, if the travelling public and high-profile bloggers like you make too much noise about these, the issues will get fixed.
Cross fingers.

http://www.businesstraveller.asia/news/philippine-aviation-fails-safety-review
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/10/31/12/ph-aviation-fails-icao-safety-test-anew

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/teadrinker05 teadrinker

Haven’t been to Clark, but I heard it’s overrated. Ewan lang.

And besides, we do need that North Rail project to be a la Airport Express like in Hong Kong. The North Rail project, the train line which is key to shifting some of the air traffic in Manila to the Clark airport, has been scrapped.

[Reply]
http://www.currystrumpet.com/ Deepa

Just saw this article and thought I’d share. In 1972, the late great Doreen Fernandez was writing about almost the exact same problem. (Forty years ago, jusko!) This was a crappy meal on Philippine Airlines, but the idea of offering good food as a way of extending Filipino hospitality to travelers is still totally relevant.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151161483268791&set=a.430587383790.205701.130204438790&type=1&theater

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/kreyzisunshine angelo ibayan

sad. tama lahat ng sinabi mo. parang sa kalagayan ng airport natin, hindi mapag tatakpan ang kalagayan mismo ng politics ng pinas, mirror mirror on the wall, same same lah! hay! (((

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/annaria Ria V

CX first class lounge has Goldilocks chocolate roll! Saya diba?

[Reply]
Joseph Calimag Macarilay
Twitter: briandelro
Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 12:58 PM
Royal Silk Lounge is not bad too

[Reply]
Calix

Ang problema pa sa ibang staff/employees dyan sa NAIA kay YAYABANG! Porket sa airport nag tra trabaho feeling nila mataas na sila. either mag paparinig ng “pasalubong” or maninigaw.

[Reply]
Joseph Calimag Macarilay
Twitter: briandelro
Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 1:01 PM
HAHAHAHA! tama. i remember i wasnt entertained at all sa duty free habang bumibili ng pasalubong. siguro kase mukha akong magsasaka. and when i paid them using AMEX with a bit of phoney accent, biglang nag iba nag ihip ng hangin! hahahhahaha!

[Reply]
CVS Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 2:05 PM
lololol lovett!!

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/denyao Den Yao

Once bought a sandwich for dinner (can’t remember which store though) since I was really in a hurry for my flight. When I got in the plane, I realized my sandwich was spoiled na pala. Fail.

[Reply]
firstlady73

@Drew – NAIA3 is not a domestic airport. It caters to both international and domestic passengers.

[Reply]
Butchee

sad to say but its true… I’m a cabin crew from middle east and I have seen dozens of airports international and domestic around the world, and for 5 years, I’ve seen big improvements in Dhaka (Hazrat Shajhalal International Airport) which is in Bangladesh and in Bombay, India, these two airports are way, way better than ours now which before was two of the worsts I’ve seen.San na ang taxes natin? Nakakapanghinayang!

[Reply]
Joseph Calimag Macarilay
Twitter: briandelro
Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 12:54 PM
true that! even the newly renovated Delhi Airport is parang first world.

[Reply]
Funkeyguhl

This is sad…. to be honest, nagustuhan ko lang sa Naia is ung kopi roti pero nung nakita ko ung place kung saan pineprepare ung drink ko… nalungkot ako…

I hope they do something about Naia talaga…

[Reply]
tsc

You are in a third world country, what do you expect? So it cannot be compared to Japan, Singapore or even Hongkong which are very developed countries. Moreover, the NAIA 3, a private investment project (no money from government) from foreign and local investors under the BOT plan, which is supposed to be opened to public in 2001 had been interlocked in court cases, local and international, purely due to politics. The reasons reeked of corruption and greed…

[Reply]
Deepa Reply:
November 4th, 2012 at 11:54 PM
Porke’t third world or developing country ba, ibig sabihin we should not aspire to something more? Even Malaysia and Thailand which are still officially considered by the IMF as developing countries (like the Philippines) have far better airports than ours.

[Reply]
Grace Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 3:20 AM
meganon!? so kung third world, wala ng karapatan kumain ng masasarap na pagkain sa airport?? kontento na dapat tayo sa ganon? can’t we aspire to be better??

[Reply]
firstlady73 Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 7:51 AM
NAIA 3, turning out as our “budget terminal” if you compare it to NAIA1 and NAIA2 based on the airlines flying in and out of it, has Burger King, Jollibee, Yellow Cab, Dimsum and Dumplings, Shakey’s, Pancake House, and Mini-Stop among others. Way better than NAIA1 and NAIA2 food choices. Several ATMs are also available. My aunt, who had a 7-hour layover here last August, was also pleasantly surprised to find out that it has a spa (her term) where they (both my aunt and her husband are senior citizens) were able to sleep for four hours after their flight from US Mainland before flying to Tacloban. The restrooms are more spacious and pleasant-smelling, too, compared once again to NAIA1 and NAIA2. Being in a third world country should never be an excuse.

[Reply]
Ipha01 Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 2:01 PM
Korek! Being in a third world country should never be an excuse.

[Reply]
lea Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 12:18 AM
they also have prayer rooms for both Muslims and Catholics. huge comfort rooms, no long lines just to pee…T3 is way way better.

[Reply]
justine
Twitter: briandelro
Reply:
November 10th, 2012 at 9:07 PM
I haven’t been to NAIA I, only NAIA III and always Cebu Pacific flights.. they are actually far better than NAIA I to think NIAIA I has the majority of international airlines

[Reply]
http://aysrandrup.blogspot.com/ Ays

Even if i can and want to fly SQ on my visits to manila,i usually fly cebupac just to avoid being at NAIA terminal 1.absolutely hate the claustrophobic immigration area,and the food stores there.Terminal 3 has much better restaurants and not as crowded.

[Reply]
ollgz

sign that our government badly needs improvement? citizens wishing private companies would run public infrastructures like the airport.

kung gusto talaga nilang ng pagbabago, simulan na nila. what’s with the long wait?
hay, totally disappointing na for show lang yung PR nila about changing NAIA. no progress! :/

[Reply]
Tim Speaks

Very Filipino lang ang peg! Lololololol

Forget Ayalas, the Zamoras should run this place!

[Reply]
http://www.karlytops.com/ Karla Solis

i agree that Ayala should run these airports. Or much better, the whole Metro Manila.

[Reply]
http://www.topazhorizon.com Topaz Horizon

Cecile, don’t answer this question! If you have memories of the airport when it was new, you’d reveal your age LOL

[Reply]
Suejolens

A few months ago, we were so excited because the government said it will work on NAIA1, then nothing happened at all………

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/kreyzisunshine angelo ibayan

sad. kawawa naman yung naghihintay ng matagal. im an ofw for a long time now. i visit pinas every 2 years, nagtataka lang ako bakit sa mga wash room, mas maraming pumapasok na mga staff or nag wo work sa airport mismo kaysa sa mga biyahero. tinititigan ko nga sila eh, nakakainis kasi. parang ikaw pa ang mahihiya. putcha! hindi lang food choices, pati duty free, iyong plastic bag nila parang 90′s pa, at mga chocolates hindi updated. walang bagong stuff. i so agree about the airport, hindi world class, parang nasa baryo lang ang peg.

[Reply]
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_72DVEUDHIGDDN6V7C4OOCYI6VQ Michael

fly cebu pacific. more food choices at terminal 3.

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/irishan3 ırısh ☠

our airport here in winnipeg isn’t as big as everyone expects, but it is so much better than naia 1 LOL.

[Reply]
http://www.pinkmagaline.com/ Mrs. Kolca

Sad sad NAIA. Tsk tsk tsk! :/

[Reply]
chengc

I represent an international food chain franchise and I tried applying for a space in Terminal 1 and 2. After months and months of waiting, I was informed that a certain Little Vin-Vin Food Corp. handles all the concessionaires in the airport and they are not taking in new tenants because of the scheduled (or on going?) renovations. It’s just really sad. It’s so depressing to be in our airports. Personally, I think the food stall tenants here are operated/owned by maybe airport employees, or people who are somewhat connected to airport personnel or something. Philippine airports are overflowing with sari-sari store type of stalls. Depressing.

[Reply]
Isa Reply:
November 4th, 2012 at 2:54 PM
Little Vin Vin? Familiar. It sounds like the food concessaire we had in our canteen in UP Masscomm (that was y.1999). Nyark. Sloppy. Horrendous.

[Reply]
Katrina

Been to Continental Airline’s lounge and I can’t really say that the food choices are better since mostly, they serve bread and sandwiches with some coffee or soda. I do hope that the Ayalas run NAIA.

[Reply]
http://justshutterupandblog.com/ Random Boyd

Sucks how all these shops are all poorly lighted, miserable and quite unsanitary. The government needs to have a proper airport renovation team. I love airports but I can’t stand NAIA terminal 1. The pasalubong shops suck too.

[Reply]
Lucasvalderama

Kahit nga sana gotohan, tapsilugan, or barbecue-han sana meron! Imagine foreigners and locals alike digging in Filipino comfort food! I would love to see Cafe/Via Mare in our airport!

What if there’s an NGO that would start a movement to make real changes in NAIA? You guys think it would work out? This problem just seems so hopeless if we rely completely on our government. It’s dragging forever!
Changi is shutting down Budget Terminal and building a new one connected to the 3 main terminals. Mauunahan pa tayo! Kakainggit.

I think it’s also possible sa NAIA. Shut down NAIA 1 for major renovation, open NAIA 3 for international carriers, tapos temporarily siguro balik na muna ang domestic flights sa Domestic Airport for the time being. After the renovation, open NAIA 1 again for international carriers, balik ulet ng NAIA 3 ang domestic flights tapos, renovate Domestic Airport afterwards! Seems very magulo pero I think the public won’t mind the sacrifice.

Else, just tear NAIA altogether and build a new one somewhere feasible instead! Maybe, somewhere in Laguna near SLEX? I think Paranaque is quite crowded now for an airport. Wala nang space for *ehem* future expansion! We have to think long term!

[Reply]
Gia Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 9:25 AM
Agree with most of your points. While renovating 1&2, ilipat muna ang lahat ng domestic flights sa Terminal 2, not dun sa Old Domestic (MIA/Terminal 4). Somebody needs to burn that place down already. Please lang. What an eyesore.

[Reply]
http://www.facebook.com/wltrrbls Walter Robles

True progress is when we stop thinking about the impressions we give to foreigners, but rather the comfort and convenience of other Pinoys, especially the OFWs who have been keeping our economy afloat for years.

[Reply]
omnesia Reply:
November 3rd, 2012 at 9:36 PM
When our airport is improved, everyone benefits! Foreigners and Pinoys alike! ???

Kelangan ba kontra lahat palagi at gawan ng isyu?? My gash… kayo ang cause ng hindi pagiging united ng mga Pinoy.

Ako ang naiistress para sa author ng blog na ito, hahaha

[Reply]
Raincloudsky

I stand with you in your never-ending quest for quality in our Philippine culture. It seems that the crucial answer lies in your suggestions of food choices & the choices in NAIA’s– because it IS a government operated entity, where it should BE a corporate/private entity in order for the quality in services, personnel, food & retail to be elevated.

I completely agree with mall operators running the place, though it should be done by speciality. Ayala, Rockwell and Shang should be in charge of their personnel & shops. I’d give bathrooms to Ayala & Shang as Rockwell’s bathrooms need to be sanitized quicker & better per customer use. On weekends, they should have more cleaning attendants present and they can pick up on some of SM’s bathrooms which have electric oil burners continuously wafting aromatic smells. The only problem with SM is there are no toiletpaper rolls inside the stalls. The good thing about SM and Robinson’s is their strong Wi-Fi signals anywhere you are in their malls. I findly it oddly cheap that Ayala & Rockwell have very weak Wifi-Signals in theirs, considering one of them owns a telecom company. Any of these mall operators would have good choices in food and retail shops.

It seems obvious that the food stalls in NAIA are most probably OWNED by people who run NAIA– much like the padrino system in any other government agency. So it just follows, since they have less than quality personnel/officials running the place, these same people will have poor taste and therefore install their own ‘carinderia’ type stalls as that is also their actual taste when it comes to service, shops, bathrooms, carpets (even if they cleaned up that carpet,that pattern is horrific!) and food! Although in gradeschool, we had an excellent fishball kiosk inside our cafeteria I wouldn’t mind having really good Filipino food classics such as squidballs, barbecue & sago gulaman if they are prepared really well. But there definitely should be a Micky Dee’s (Jolibee’s too strong after taste & after-scent would be nauseating for other passengers, sorry!), Filipino,Italian,Japanese, Chinese, Continental, American, Persian and French ( i know, i wish!!) restos (not just kiosks) in NAIA which is not only the main point of entry for tourists and Filipinos–but also a landmark of Filipino culture & pride!

I know i’m hoping for the moon, but i’ll settle for requiring NAIA officials/stall owners to put at the very least known franchises or qualified gourmet restos if they cannot let go of their businesses inside the airport or if it cannot be be run by or with a non-governement corporation.

P.S. sorry for my long post & thanks for keeping up the fight against the fuglies!

[Reply]
Erin

I hope they renovate it and turn it into something like T3.

[Reply]
Lynjoshjamfor

check the owners of some of these except for bo’s and most of them are connected with officials of previous administrations (Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo) in fact decent, establishments want to go in but could not because of palakasan… dapat if your store gets a lot of complaints you are asked to leave the airport.

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/matromao Marielle Ong

It’s a far different story in NAIA 3, where the bathrooms are neat and new and the food concessionaires are acceptable. Personally, I’m not a fan of any airline bathroom because I find it too cramped and I just absolutely hate the loud popping sound from the flush, so I make myself use the airport lavatory instead.

That being said, it is definitely time to bring NAIA 1 up-to-speed. The moment I walked in, I KNEW why there were so many complaints. Not-so-good crowd control, poorly-lit shopping areas, and equipment as old as time itself. Tsk, tsk.

[Reply]
Shinramyeon

that’s not the banned korean noodles. it’s a different brand and different kind of noodle. the banned noodle is udong and neoguri and those noodles in your photo is ramyeon.

[Reply]
drew

There are way better food choices in domestic airport (NAIA 3) – really the government doesn’t care about foreigners, they want them but at the same time they don`t.

[Reply]
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=658622931 Gladdys Corpuz

NAIA is such a sad and hopeless place. I went “balikbayan” there last july and let me just say it wasn’t the friendliest place.
-Once I arrived at Terminal 2 (PAL), I suddenly felt the scorching heat of Manila. There was no aircon and I could feel my make-up melting It wasn’t the nicest feeling
-Terminal was so small. Baggage rail was jampacked with luggage’s from 3 international flights. Take note, isa lang na paikot na rail ito. It took me 1 hour to finally get my 1 check-in luggage. I wish they had more seating areas for those who were waiting.
-Parang binagyo yung washroom nila. It was so sad. The faucets were either broken or barely working, wet floor, no tissue inside the cubicles, the mirrors were so old, and the lighting was just bad.
-They have the most unfriendliest and un-cooperative staff. I remember almost missing my flight just coz this girl forgot to give me the departure card. I had to line up again and stuff. Plus it took me an hour to get my boarding pass. I wish they had those electronic ones where you just insert you passport and tada your BP is automatically printed out of the machine.
-Again, more seating areas.
-I was so hungry, I wanted to eat something hot pero wala. . I wanted to eat Jolibee one last time before I hadlto fly coz I know I won’t be eating it for years.
-Correct me if Im wrong, but is there any information booths in terminal 2? I remember I was in line and there was this British guy asking a question to this staff, He had to yell because the gate had those dividers and he couldn’t actually come in and talk and I remember the staff saying to his colleague “Anu daw? hindi ko maintindihan. Hindi siya pwede kasi kausapin eh. Bawal”. If they want tourism to boom, they should be more friendly and accomodating. I also remember this American guy na slightly nasigawan/napagalitan nung guard kasi you’re not allowed daw to bring food inside the gates.

[Reply]
Pau Ch

Guess what, the Ayalas are building their airport…… in CEBU! Ayala partnered with Aboitiz to build a luxury airport in Cebu… Lucky them! Cant the government realize that NAIA is just hopeless? They are simply pouring water on a slope!

[Reply]
http://www.christinelovestotravel.blogspot.com/ Christine loves to travel

I thought they had plans to renovate the airport? Last time I was there, the floor had cracks and I swear my luggage trolley got stuck because of it. It’s a really sad place and hope they renovate it ASAP!

[Reply]
http://profile.yahoo.com/XQGMSOSL5UBWEYADNE2ABQTX6A Chie chie

i don’t know why they’re neglecting the importance of having an aesthetically pleasing and efficiently functioning airport. seriously my first out of the country trip sobrang nanliit ako because of how BIG AND MAGNIFICENT the airport of that foreign country was as in kahit sobrang walang kwenta english nila super nganga naman tayo sa airport nila.

[Reply]
hiddendragon Reply:
November 3rd, 2012 at 6:05 AM
As in!
These people whose English is ‘walang kwenta’ do not, and need not speak English.
Kahit Taglish kaya!

[Reply]
omnesia

All I associate with EBG is Everything But (The) Girl hehe. Baka maging kasing payat mo si Tracey Thorn sa lack of food choices

[Reply]
CVS Reply:
November 3rd, 2012 at 1:48 AM
well, I wouldn’t mind. haha!

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/firewoman24 Keli

i agree! mas masarap pa ang karinderia sa kanto kesa sa mga food sa airport! i always look forward landing on incheon or narita because their airport is waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy better. sana kung may jolibee di ba?yung may pangalan naman..tsk

[Reply]
Michelle Reply:
November 3rd, 2012 at 9:20 AM
Actually, there’s Jollibee in NAIA3. Overall, the food choices are better in NAIA 3, the concessionaires are decent also (they have National Bookstore inside).

I remember that there was a plan for BCDA (the gov’t agency that partnered with Ayala in privatizing Fort Bonifacio) was supposed to rehabilitate Clark Airport. Since BCDA has a good track record (it built SCTEX in record time, without the usual corruption – ask the Japanese), I had really high hopes. But DOTC (Mar) stepped in, got Clark Airport back from BCDA, and viola, walang nangyari ulit.

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/pawawawofficial paulo castro

hay ate nakaka init ng ulo. nakakahiya!

[Reply]

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