DOT’s KAIN NA: Food Lovers To A Multi-Sensory Adventure

In partnership with Ayala Malls, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is putting on the fourth KAIN NA! Food and Travel Festival, a mix of food and travel festivals. The goal is to satisfy the cravings of foodies, tourists, and people who don’t travel.

From June 9 to 11, KAIN NA!, whose subject is “Food Adventures,” will feature its customary roster of digital food tourism seminars and conversations. From June 10 to 12, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Paraaque City, Metro Manila, will host celebrations with specially selected culinary pop-ups featuring regional cuisines and sweets.

Ken Chan, Theodore Day Salonga, Datu of Teds Bed & Breakfast, Gerald Garigade, and Ryan Kolton of Café Claus Corp discussed their motivational culinary tourism experiences. Food Tourism 101 is also freely accessible online.

At the same time, the Food Tourism Exchange focused on Northern Luzon. It introduced the Cordilleran Culinary Food Circuit, ADAMS Inuwayan: Ilocos Norte’s Trunk for the Agri-Tourism Industry, Sustainable AgriTourism: Stakeholders’ Responsibility and Accountability, and “A glimpse of the culinary treasures of Nueva Ecija.”

Foodie Adventures in Metro Manila and Agri-Cul-Tour: Farm-to-Table Adventure in CALABARZON will be shown in the National Capital Region and Southern Luzon. Western Visayas will feature Negrense Heritage Cuisine and our close ties to the sugar industry.

This will be followed by Kadto ‘ta! Kaon ‘ta! – A Food Trip Guide to Capiz. After that, Mindanao will find Foodie Adventures:

• Come Ta! Mangan Ne! Kaon Ta! Fusion of Filipino
• Italian Flavors
• Zamboanga City-Isabela de Basilan-Zamboanga Sibugay Food Crawl
• Farm to Table in the City

During the four-day food affair, there will also be curated foodie adventure tour packages that are meant to reintroduce destinations and increase spending in the area.

The festival was also going to be improved by a Foodie Townhall session on Food Tourism and business-to-business sessions with the Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA), the Food Tourism Consortium, and regional stakeholders.

Nearly 40 food and travel vendors from across the country and the region came to this year’s KAIN NA! Aside from the traditional foods you’d find in different parts of the country, you can expect to see some new, non-traditional, and native dishes that will make your mouth water.

These include:
• Ilocos Region: Bagnet, empanada, and longganisa
• MIMAROPAB reakfast fare and snacks such as tablea and tsokolate bars
• Davao Region: Durian, jackfruit, marang, artisanal chocolate, and Mindanao fruit jams and pastries

There will also be affordable tour packages that include food, leisure, adventure, and special interest tours to the Cagayan Valley region, Bulacan, CALABARZON, Davao, Siargao, and other popular foodie destinations.