Market Manila

I am sure I have not seen or tasted many local fruits and vegetables. However, it isn’t often that I am almost completely stumped by a bunch of fruit when it is presented to me under such casual circumstances. Back at the farm in Bicol, the locals and farmhands were probably a bit amused that I would fawn over a pili tree, gush over freshly scooped coconut meat and stare up in wonder whenever I saw a familiar tree bearing fruit. They were perplexed why I would photograph plants, fish, animals and fruit but not people and probably figured out what would make me happy…find this nutcase an odd fruit, they thought, and better yet if it is still attached to its branches… and were they on the money or what?! The second day there, I was given this bunch of purple fruit still on the branch (they noticed my pili photo session) and it was explained that it was locally called igot. I tasted the fruit which was a bit like duhat or java plum but unique enough that perhaps it wasn’t just a mutated cousin… I got one that was a bit unripe but the riper blacker ones were rather sweet. They eat them like duhat, with salt and sometimes sugar mixed in. I took a photo, tasted a few more and made a note to look it up when I got back home.

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Hang on to your taste buds, cool your sweat glands and read this post thoroughly before you fire off a comment. I expect this discussion could be heated… But why not fan some flames on a boring Monday morning to keep some of you hot and bothered the whole week long…

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I find that local markets hit an incredible low in late-May and early June… there seems to be less variety, quality and volume of produce on offer. It seems somewhat illogical at first, since the peak of the summer should be when fruit and other vegetables should also reach their peaks, but after many years back home, I find that the vendors have less to offer for a 4-6 week period during the Philippine school holiday season. Now I think there are some logical reasons for this market malaise. First, the heat is almost too much for the produce and transporting it means steaming it on the way to the markets. Also, fruits and vegetables are quite perishable so vendors buy less fearing a high loss rate. Many buyers may also be on vacation and away in the provinces or out of town. Folks are gearing up for school and tightening their spending on non-school items, etc. etc. But for some reason, the markets perk up just a few weeks after school starts and I think yesterday was a turning point this year. There was more on offer at the markets, prices were okay, and there was a lot of volume changing hands… I went to the market by myself and at the end of 1 hour had purchased over 25 kilos of goods, filled three market baskets and was sweating like a hog… First neat find were these organically grown white and purple eggplants shown here. Genetic mutants, these seemed like the perfect eggplants to use in an experimental bicolano style dish up soon…

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Fresh pili nuts are utterly incredible! I have written about pili before so click the link if you want more details on the tree or fruit. While I was at the farm in Bicol, I spied a pili tree that had hundreds of fruit in varying stages of ripeness (green and purple) and I asked one of the farm hands to cut some branches for me so that I could take a close up photo of the fruit that was still on the branch. While I was photographing the fruits/branches, one of the locals opened up a greenish (I never thought you could eat these) fruit and carefully extracted a nut from within the tough shell. After removing the skin, he said to just pop it into my mouth. I was a bit skeptical but did as suggested and was treated to the most incredible first taste of a totally fresh pili nut. It was creamy, flavorful and delicious. There was a bit of aphudness (astringency?) caused by the sap which must have had some tannins or other chemicals but it was very slight. Overall, the off-white nut with a creamy texture and subtle flavor made this an incredible heretofore unknown treat…

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I once joked with my boss at a fairly well known management consulting firm that I would call it quits, retire early and hie off to a coconut plantation in the middle of nowhere. I was speaking figuratively, or so I thought. Karma has a way of getting back at you when you least expect it. My two-day trip to Bicol was to return to my grandfather’s neighborhood of 80 years ago. He grew up there and as he got more successful as a lawyer, he purchased more and more farmland in the neighborhood where he grew up, a town just 20-25 minutes out of Legazpi, though he never intended to move back there. Much of that land was eventually given up to several phases of land reform programs (generally huge failures, I might add) by several different administrations, but a tiny portion of the land remained in the family.

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After hitting two markets and meeting up with the rest of the group that I was traveling with in Legazpi, we were, of course, famished and decided to try the Small Talk Café for lunch. My first impression was quite good, a charming café with a bit of character located in an old house off of a main street. It had shades of those early restaurants in Malate that might be described as being quaint. There was a huge reservation for 20 or more for lunch so they had trouble seating our party of 8 but after some adjustments they got us squeezed in. The first hint of trouble was with the arrival of the menu. It screamed Western and Pinoy favorites and Bicolano food was relegated to a small segment of the menu. I realize most Bicolanos have fabulous food at home and have no desire to go out and pay for it in a neighborhood restaurant so I decided to straddle the menu and order an assortment of Filipino-ish dishes and hope for the best. We ordered Sinigang, Caldereta, Spare Ribs, Pinangat, Bicol Express, Fried Chicken, etc.

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What to see, what to see in so short a time… Soon after arriving at the hotel, and while waiting for 3 other colleagues to arrive, I decided to head out to the “Satellite Market” that is supposed to be handicraft central. Our vehicle for the stay hadn’t arrived yet so I hailed a tricycle and gamely headed to the market, a ten minute ride away. I’m not sure if tricycles have gotten smaller or my rear end wider, but I could barely fit in the passenger cabin with one other passenger…and frankly, it was a bumpier and more exhaust-filled ride than I had bargained for. At the satellite market, I perused the aisles quickly and took in the thousands of similar looking abaca bags and slippers and pili nuts and was a bit disappointed by the selection and quality of goods on offer. Prices were outrageously low when compared with Manila but I didn’t buy anything on the first pass. I even got the “our bags are only overruns and this is the bag that JLo used in the movie Maid in Manhattan spiel.” I watched Maid in Manhattan (twice!) and I know which bag they are referring to BUT IT WASN’T the bag they were hawking at me, so there! And yet, I do know that that bag did come from the Philippines and was probably made in Bicol…

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The Mayon Volcano is absolutely MAJESTIC! It is spectacular, stately, dignified, powerful, imposing and perhaps unrivalled in its beauty brought about by a near “perfect” cone. If a young child were asked to draw a volcano, they would draw something very similar to Mayon, regardless where they lived on the planet. I first saw the Mayon volcano in 1973 when I was roughly 10 years old. I thought it was great then but its majesty must not have sunk in, for I would have endeavored to return to see it again sooner than 33 years later! I had to go to Legaspi and its nearby towns to take care of some family business and my 48 hour trip was an eye-opener on many fronts and I am so eager to share what I discovered on this short but exhausting trip. Coming up as quickly as I can write them will be at least 12 posts on the food, produce, materials and experiences in Albay…

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