Do you have a flight from Manila's Ninoy Aquino's International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1? I am writing this to help those who have and want to know about the food situation in Terminal 1. The good news is there are places where you can eat inside the terminal, but the bad news is they are not as many as in Terminal 3. The more popular brands you can find are Starbucks, Subway (soon to open when we were there last April 2023), and Bo's Coffee (the Philippines' homegrown coffee chain). If you want to eat "proper" food, you can try those offered by Piazza Cafe & Bar and Food Market. I chose the latter because I wanted to eat Filipino food.
You can pay using US dollars if you do not have Philippine peso bills. The change is in pesos, so exchanging your dollar with pesos is better. There are a number of currency exchange booths inside the terminal. One of them is near Food Market.
I have been teaching overseas since 2007 so I am shocked to see the prices of food inside airports every time I am back home. Then again, it is an archipelago. It is usually more expensive on islands. And besides, I am based where things are relatively cheaper. Meanwhile, I am not sure if the food inside airports is more expensive than outside because I eat mostly at home when I am in the country.
The cheapest food in Food Market is the classic hotdog at ₱105. It is followed by both pork and chicken asado siopao. The two siopaos are classified as meriendas (snacks). I was not that hungry the last time I was there so I opted for chicken mami. Meanwhile, hubby chose beef tapa. Both dishes were good and satisfying.
If you are going to stay longer inside Terminal 1 and do not plan to book one of its day rooms, I do recommend hanging out in this part of the terminal with its easy access to food, duty-free shops, and charging stations. By the way, the elevator that takes you to the day rooms on the 4th floor is on the same floor as the Food Market. Please take note that the day rooms only accept cash in Philippine pesos.
