Comments on: What does PHP50 ($1) buy you these days???

By: GORDON LIGHT

GORDON LIGHT — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:12:13 +0000

AMPALAYA IS GOOD FOR PEOPLE WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IT WILL LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE CIRCULATION

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 01:16:51 +0000

Marinel, hit the wet markets when you get back. January is great for produce. Prices in the Philippines for food items are rather high in general, except for produce grown close to the towns you live in… However, I find with some sense a consumer can eat very well for reasonable amounts of money…

By: Marinel

Marinel — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 22:41:20 +0000

Thank you for posting this, Marketman. We’re going back in January and I’ve been really curious as to what we can buy for 50 pesos/$1. I’m constantly checking Rustan’s and SM’s website for their produce prices. I read that a bundle of kangkong at Rustan’s is 9 pesos. I thought that was a great deal. But after reading this post, I am really excited to see what other bargains we can find in local markets. Thanks again.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 12:45:11 +0000

stef, I agree, we need to buy local… or grow it if you can (everything I try to grow seems to wither…)!

By: stef

stef — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 17:08:45 +0000

well, true, you can’t buy these kinds of vegetables for $5, but why opt for the mcd’s meal? yes, exotics are more expensive so if you insisted on getting these specific items it will cost you about $15. BUT, with $5 i can get a good sized newly-harvested squash, some garlic, some onion, some late-season beans, a nice baby eggplant or two. If I wanted to I could add an ampalaya from the Indian market and some bagoong and I’ve got me some Americanized pinakbet. Or a ratatouille. Or a respectable vegetarian stew. produce is still the least expensive foodstuff there is, even here in the US, especially if you buy in season and concentrate on locally grown items. just like anywhere, we all need to do our part to support the local farmers. the benefits go both ways. and the dollars go down even more when you choose to grow your own. and the satisfaction in doing so (not to mention the nutritional value), of course, is priceless.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 12:25:20 +0000

ems, yes, salty black beans go well with beef and ampalaya…hmmm, lots of interest in these wickedly bitter “wild” ampalaya…I have to put a post on the dish I cooked them into soon…

By: ems

ems — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 08:03:38 +0000

MM, have you ever tried using black beans with ampalaya? my mom usually cooks it with beef cut in strips (stir-fry cut, as the English call it). tastes really nice

i’m still trying to find where i could buy some bitter melon here, though. not so much luck as with the patola and okra. those i can find at any indian stores.

By: rva

rva — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 00:57:02 +0000

wow, that’s my favorite ampalaya, the wild amplaya growing, well, wild (not really cultivated, it just grows in the environs). i love to “pakbet” them solo as in solo ampalaya pinakbet. the bitter the ampalaya, the more ilokanos love it. any ampalaya lover won’t ever do any thing to remove or neutralize its bitterness. and this wild ampalaya is excellently and deliciously bitter than the larger ones. and yes, it’s superior in pinakbets.

By: ihid

ihid — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 02:49:30 +0000

Rambutan here in southern phils goes for 20 a kilo! The spherical ampalaya and ridged patola looks alien to us here. Do they taste like the regular ones?

By: Mila

Mila — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 01:33:11 +0000

Since you made that wickedly spicy laing, you could cook the patola in a broth, and some ginger and garlic to offset the heat. Patola is paired up with spicy foods in sichuan restaurants as it kills off the burning tongue sensation. As good as drinking a cold glass of milk.