Sandara Park ranks Filipino dishes in blind food challenge

Many fans were delighted by Sandara Park’s latest video reel as the “Pambansang Krung-krung” took on a Filipino food blind-ranking challenge.

In a recent Instagram post by the Overseas Korean Agency, the Korean singer and actress showed her usual jolly and energetic self as she ranked a selection of Filipino dishes according to her liking. She also does not know what food would appear next.

Although Sandara, 41, speaks mostly in Korean throughout the video, fans quickly noticed how quickly she switched from Korean to Filipino with the accent of a native speaker whenever she said the names of the dishes. 

Sandara’s familiarity with Filipino food and culture is hardly surprising. She was born in Korea but she and her family moved to the Philippines when she was 10. Sandara is a graduate of Pasay City Chung Hua Academy and is fluent in Filipino. 

The blind-ranking format has become a popular trend on TikTok, where users have to assign a ranking to each item without knowing what will appear next.

“Chicken inasal!” Sandara excitedly shouted at the start of the video.

First up was halo-halo, the popular Filipino dessert made with crushed ice, milk, and assorted toppings such as sweet beans, pearls, purple yam, ice cream, and syrup. She placed it at number five.

Next came tinola, a chicken dish made with green papaya and chili leaves simmered in a savory ginger broth. She ranked it number seven.

Sandara looked noticeably excited when she saw sisig, placing the popular grilled pork dish at number two.

Bicol Express followed at number eight. The spicy and creamy pork stew is traditionally made with coconut milk and shrimp paste.

She ranked chop suey, a vegetable dish commonly made with carrots, green beans, broccoli, and pork at number six.

Pork tocino appeared next, and Sandara seemed to have a hard time deciding where to place it. She even put a hand on her chest while thinking before eventually giving it a spot in her top three.

Lechon kawali landed at number nine, while chicken inasal took number four.

For a while, it seemed Sandara was saving the number one spot for something special. She placed bulalo, a popular soup dish and a comfort food for many Filipinos, at number ten.

The final dish was tortang talong or eggplant omelette, which she placed at number one. But it seems there was one Filipino favorite she was hoping to see.

In the comments section, Sandara herself wrote, “Hindi lumabas ang sinigang.”

Her comment had fans convinced that she may have been saving the number one spot for sinigang had it been included among the choices.

Filipino fans also had fun reacting to the video. “We all know she’s saving the no 1 spot for sinigang.” “The adopted daughter of the Philippines. We love you, Dara.” “Ang cute lang ng Filipino accent kapag sinasabi niya yung name of the food.”

Although Korean by nationality and heritage, Sandara has long been embraced by Filipinos as someone who is Filipino at heart. Sandara remains connected to the country through the years despite her international activities, visiting the Philippines whenever she can.