Regina Troy Barrios

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Erwan Heussaff and Phil Rosenthal

If you’ve ever tried explaining Metro Manila to a jet-lagged foreigner with a camera crew in tow and a vague craving for “local flavors,” you’ll understand why <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLC4ZqNISIu/?igsh=MWJmaTg4aTdla2dobg%3D%3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Erwan Heussaff</a> was nervous. Manila is not a city you tame in a day. It’s not even a city you can direct with a production schedule. It’s a sprawl of 16 cities pretending to be one, a living, pulsing contradiction of grit and grace, where carinderias share street corners with Korean fried chicken chains, and you’re as likely to get stuck in traffic as you are to stumble upon the best sisig of your life.Enter <a href="https://www.instagram.com/phil.rosenthal/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Phil Rosenthal</a>, the affable host of <a href="https://www.philrosenthalworld.com/cities/manila" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Somebody Feed Phil</a>, whose superpower is his genuine, wide-eyed curiosity. He smiles his way through the world’s kitchens like a golden retriever discovering peanut butter. And yet, even that kind of sunny optimism needs a translator in a place as gloriously chaotic as Manila. That’s where Heussaff comes in.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1750304084880a.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Surprise! Erwan’s joining Phil on his next delicious adventure | Photo: Erwan Heussaff on InstagramErwan, for those unfamiliar, is the poster boy of Filipino food media—good-looking, well-spoken, with a knack for making adobo accessible to both expats and actual Filipinos. He has a YouTube channel, a production company, a restaurant or two, and an Instagram feed that can make even bagoong look sexy. But for all his polish, what’s most endearing—and most effective—about Heussaff on Somebody Feed Phil is that he knows when to step back.</div>He doesn’t mansplain sinigang. He doesn’t over-hype the lechon. He simply walks Phil through the city with the quiet understanding of someone who knows its noise, its flavors, its layered histories. The result is a rare thing in travel television: a Manila episode that doesn’t flatten the city into a backdrop. It feels like Manila—restless, radiant, contradictory, alive.There’s a poignant note, too: this was the last meal shared with the late, great Gaita Fores, the chef-restaurateur whose love for Filipino cuisine radiated far beyond the kitchen. She’s there, radiant as always, cracking jokes, coaxing bites, embodying the kind of hospitality that doesn’t need subtitles. That alone makes the episode worth watching.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17503042207902.jpg" style="width:500px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Just a taste of what went down in Manila | Photo: Netflix</div>So yes, the cat’s out of the bag. Erwan Heussaff’s in Somebody Feed Phil. But really, he’s not “in” it—he’s a quiet conduit, a co-conspirator, the local who knows the best pancit spot and how to time a joke. And in a show about feeding people and making them feel welcome, that may be the most important role of all.

Erwan Heussaff guides Somebody Feed Phil through the vibrant chaos of Manila in an episode that serves as both a feast and a heartfelt tribute to Filipino food, and to the late, great Gaita Fores.

Erwan Heussaff guides Somebody Feed Phil through the vibrant chaos of Manila in an episode that serves as both a feast and a heartfelt tribute to Filipino food, and to the late, great Gaita Fores.

Erwan Heussaff Unpacks Manila In Somebody Feed Phil Season 8

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Erwan Heussaff Unpacks Manila In Somebody Feed Phil Season 8

Metro.Style Team

Published Jun 19, 2025 07:45 AM PHT

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Updated Jun 19, 2025 11:42 AM PHT

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