**This is the last of the Manila trip posts – and it only took about four months ! Lol.

Our short but memorable trip back to visit my in-laws was finally coming to an end, but before leaving I managed one last Filipino meal at a local quick service chain called Tapa King at NAIA3.

As the name suggests, Tapa King specialises in tapa, a common Filipino dish of thin slices of cured or dried meat (usually beef or pork) which is then fried or grilled and served with fried rice and eggs (a combo called tapsilog). The brand has been around for close to four decades, and has over 56 branches in the Philippines, with one in Singapore and several in the middle east.

The restaurant sports a fire-engine red colour scheme and is set up like a cafeteria – somewhere to grab a quick meal while you’re waiting for your flight rather than a place to hang around.

Tapa King offers several different variants of tapa, such as the Classic (cooked the traditional way), Spicy & Sweet, and Sweet & Savoury (these were formerly known as Tapa King, Tapa Queen, and Tapa Prince, respectively).

I got the Sweet & Savoury, which was pretty decent. I liked the chewy texture of the meat, and it paired well with rice and egg – a simple but satisfying combo. I wished the fried rice was at least warm, though, even if it didn’t have wok hei.

N’s Spicy & Sweet tapa, which had a bit more kick; otherwise the flavour profile was pretty similar.

Tapa isn’t the only thing that Tapa King offers; you can get other Filipino favourites too like kare-kare (beef cooked in peanut butter), beef nilaga (stew with veggies), beef sinigang (tamarind stew), danggit (fried spinefoot fish), and more.

Tapa King is one of the cheaper food options at NAIA3 apart from fast food, since we all know airport food can be notoriously overpriced. It’s a tasty option to fill you up while waiting for your flight.

TAPA KING (NAIA3)

Level 4 Food Court, NAIA3, Andrews Ave, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines

Opening hours: 10AM – 9PM

Goodbye, Manila! Hope to see you again soon!