My mom decided to indulge in inflicting me with one of the favorite Filipino past-times of punnishing me with double-entendres and tongue-in-cheek puns. Now, since I’ve moved to Australia, I get these on a regular basis, especially as Rhys is someone who’s weaponized the use of punning (his unit occasionally forget to watch what they say around him, and the results are fun) and Aff and he sometimes toss them around to try one-up each other.
Some of these are easy to understand if you’ve been exposed to the accent of English-speaking Filipinos, while some will need translating, so bear with me when I have to explain the jokes.
We’re going with the intentionally funny use of language, not the ‘lost in translation and cultural myopia’ type. ‘Negros’ is the name of a region in the Philippines, and has nothing to do with American history, or racism.
Ang Kat Tea – Ang kati – ‘how itchy’. A good ginger, lemon and honey tea does a good job of soothing an itchy throat, I have found.
Bun of Brothers -a burger place. Do they break bread with strangers too, I wonder?
Brew HA – bruha – ‘witch.’ Great fun to be had with spelling (spilling, muahahahaha) the (magic) beans at that coffee shop, I see.
Eat My GF- their best seller item is garlic fries
Ken Afford – Located along Katipunan Avenue, where there are at least three large universities and a plethora of schools, their menu is something students can afford… especially if you’re able to afford the tuitions in the schools in this area.
Meats and Match -one has choices of meat dishes; and veggie side dishes.
Johnny’s Fried Chicken-The Fried of Marikina – They’re quite right to be pride-ful of their chicken. It was quite yummy when I tasted it.
Nacho Fast – a snack stall shop pulling fast ones! How cheesy, natcherally.
OBEERTIME – what you need, clearly, after too much overtime.
PorkBarrel Grill and Restaurant – do we have senators and governors visiting here frequently?
TRI MO SHAWARMA CO – “Try mo shawarma ko’ = mo is ‘you’ and ‘ko’ is ‘my’, so this translates to “You try my shawarma.”
Aha, found the same list, but with pictures (and the comments have some additional ones but are a bit harder to translate.)
Pizza ng Ina Mo – Ina mo, Ina Ko, Ina nating lahat – “(word) ng ina mo” … in use is similar to ‘(word) your momma’s face’, but a far ruder version exists – ‘puta ng ina mo’ – your mom is a whore. Translated literally though, the sign says “Your Mother’s Pizza – Your Mom, My Mom, Everyone’s Mom.” I guess this is a variation of a ‘yo momma is’ joke?
Jusko Thai – A play of words on a phrase often used in exasperation, ‘dios ko, dai/day!’ = Dios ko ‘ my God’ and ‘dai/day’ is a slang term of familiarity used by women and local gays, that’s kinda like the Aussie use of ‘mate’.
You Food – (burp)cast yourself – … From the Net and back again…
Tang Inasal – (pu)tang ina – ‘Sonuvabi–‘; plus inasal – which is a very flavorful preparation of grilled chicken. Politically correct, we are not. Easily amused? Very.
SleepNot Cafe – Either this is a net cafe, or a coffee shop, or both. The latter is entirely possible.
Adobo Putoshop – groooooooooooooooan Adobo, which is a Filipino stew, and puto – steamed rice cakes
Beer Hunter
Hijo de Pita – makes sense if you know a little Spanish.
Bagneto – bagnet is a pork dish. The logo has a pig’s face instead of the usual actor’s.
Aristoback. And as their name suggests, located at the back of The Aristocrat. Location: Malate, Manila.
SkewU Grill!
Harry Pata – Crispy pata is deep fried or crispy grilled pork knuckle / belly
Goto Heaven – Goto – savory rice congee.
Seditious Filipino Cuisine
KKK – A Pinoy Food Revolution – Patriotic Punny Pinoyisms with some history thrown in. KKK in the Philippines stands for Samahang Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalang Katipunan ng̃ mg̃a Anak ng̃ Bayan – English: Supreme and Most Honorable Society of the Children of the Nation, a secret society pushing for independence which was responsible for the Philippine Revolution.
Not restaurants:
Your Wash Is My Command
Talk Dirty To Me
Philippine Hairlines
Hairchitecture
Ah, I do love the entertaining use of language, don’t you? ^_^
More from a quick Google search:
Brew’d Awakening Coffeehaus
Grillenium Falcon – Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Bread Zeppelin
Pita Pan
Thai Tanic – Adventures of Thai Cuisine
Custard’s Last Stand
Lord of the Wings
Lord of the Fries
Wok This Way
Hu’s On First Asian Bistro
The Codfather
Frying Nemo
Pho Shizzle
Just Falafs Good Mood Food
Udder Delights Cheese Cellar
Lebaneser Scrooge
Blackboard sign outside a pub: Breakfast is Coming – Game of Scones *Javabean’s Allegiance Lies WIth House Ma(unreadable letter)rina on this one.
Restaurant sign: Ain’t Nobody Got Thai For That
A Salt and Battery Fish and Chips
Planet of the Grapes – Wine shop
What the Pho Vietnamese Noodle Shop