Regina Troy Barrios

From Avocado Toast To Ube Everything: 2016’s Viral Food Hits

Article (news)

<p>2016 in food was just plain fun. It was the year of iPhone eats first while hot food grew cold on our plates. We lined up happily for things we’d never tasted before and might never taste again, chasing novelty, color, and simple pleasure. Food didn’t lecture or promise; it just delighted, surprised, and stuck in our memories long after the plates were cleared. Here are some of our favorite viral food moments that defined the year—and still make us smile when we look back.</p><div><br/></div><h3><strong>Avocado toast</strong></h3><p>Avocado toast wasn’t invented in 2016, but that was the year it became impossible to ignore. It arrived in Metro Manila via Australian-style cafés, neatly plated, microgreens standing at attention, the sort of breakfast that made healthy eating feel not just achievable, but worth showing off.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17691327002863.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Avocado toast | Photo: Canva </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3><strong>Rainbow Food</strong> </h3><p>Rainbow bagels, cakes, lattes, even grilled cheese sandwiches flooded feeds in 2016, dyed in colors no pantry could justify. They weren’t especially delicious, but they were cool to photograph—and for a while, that seemed to be the point. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17691327496896.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Rainbow cake | Photo: Canva </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3><strong>Activated Charcoal</strong> </h3><p>We convinced ourselves that black ice cream and other charcoal-flavored eats was a good idea. Charcoal cones, buns, and lemonades showed up looking severe and virtuous, promising something cleansing, even as we ordered them mostly because they looked striking on Instagram.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17691328078087.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Charcoal ice cream | Photo: Canva</span></span></span></div><div><strong>Cheese Pulls</strong> </div><p>Remember all those IG posts of mozzarella stretching from pizza slices? Yup, pulling cheese was everywhere and, by the way, is still sexy. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176913283108710.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Cheese pulls | Photo: Canva </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3><strong>Instagram Coffee</strong> </h3><p>Coffee wasn’t only about beans or roasting notes; it was about how it looked in the cup. Rainbow lattes, blue algae drinks, rose-tinted foam—coffee became something you posted about before you took a sip.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176913287270913.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">IG-worthy coffee | Photo: Canva </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3><strong>Ube Everything</strong> </h3><p>Ube had always been part of our kitchens, but in 2016 it took over menus. You could buy ube cheesecakes, waffles, ice cream, and lattes—purple appeared everywhere, from Manila to New York and Chicago, cementing its place as one of the Philippines’ most recognizable flavors abroad.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176913291895118.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Ube buns | Photo: Canva </span></span></span></div><h3><strong>Salted Egg</strong> </h3><p>Salted egg, long a staple of Filipino kitchens, started showing up everywhere, from chips and fries to croissants and pasta. Its rich, savory punch gave familiar dishes a surprising twist, and suddenly no snack felt safe from it.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176913295110816.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Salted egg trend | Photo: Canva </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3><strong>Gourmet Burgers</strong></h3><p> Burgers became fancier, with brioche buns, towering stacks, Wagyu patties. In food parks to fine dining restaurants, burgers were built to impress. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176913297884928.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Gourmet burgers | Photo: Canva </span></span></span></div>

<p>A nostalgic look back at the colorful, playful, and Instagram-ready viral food trends that defined 2016 in the Philippines and beyond.</p>

A nostalgic look back at the colorful, playful, and Instagram-ready viral food trends that defined 2016 in the Philippines and beyond.

From Avocado Toast To Ube Everything: 2016’s Viral Food Hits

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From Avocado Toast To Ube Everything: 2016’s Viral Food Hits

Metro.Style

Published Jan 20, 2026 09:55 AM PHT

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Updated Jan 23, 2026 09:55 AM PHT

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2016 viral food

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