Bicol food is the reason to pay serious attention to what's on your plate in Naga. The regional cuisine is built on coconut milk and chillies, and it's significantly hotter than most Filipino cooking. The signature dish is Bicol Express — pork cooked with shrimp paste, coconut milk, and plenty of fresh chilli. Laing is taro leaves simmered in coconut milk until they nearly dissolve into a rich, slightly spicy stew. Pinangat wraps fish, shrimp, or pork in taro leaves and cooks the whole bundle in coconut milk — a variant of the same idea. Naga's markets and carinderia (local eateries) are the best places to eat all of these.
The SM City Naga mall has a food court with reliable options if the heat and chaos of the market aren't appealing. The city's large student population (multiple universities) means there are many affordable eateries around the university areas, particularly near Ateneo de Naga and the University of Nueva Caceres.
Bicol Express Restaurant on Magsaysay Avenue is a longstanding local institution serving the namesake dish along with the full roster of Bicol specialities in straightforward surroundings at low prices.