Saturdays at Salcedo

CEBU, Philippines - In Makati City, Saturday is market day. 

For almost six years now, Salcedo Village in Bel-Air, Makati has been the host of what would be the most successful weekend market in the country – the Salcedo Community Market. 

So, when Smart brought me to Makati for the 6th SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards, I made it a point to drop by the weekend market, especially since I was billeted just a few blocks away, at Somerset Salcedo, Makati.  

The weekend market started in 2004 with only 27 vendors. According to the event’s founder, former Bel-Air barangay captain and now Makati City consultant for barangay affairs, Constancia “Nene” Q. Lichauco, the project started as a way to show residents the different programs of her office. 

“We thought that this would be a temporary thing, but then more vendors came and one thing led to the other,” said Lichauco.  

She, however, clarified that the market is a service for the residents of Bel-Air and neighboring communities. “We have no profit from this. We organize the vendors and we take care of them,” she said. 

Perhaps, the uniqueness of the Salcedo Market comes from the diversity of vendors and customers. But as Lichauco pointed out, they made sure that the products sold are all related to either food or plants. To make sure that no product sold in the market escapes their scrutiny, every piece would pass through the organizers; this includes taste testing sessions for all new dishes to be sold. 

But, let me say that I was misinformed about the market. No, it is not a vegetarian market, an organic market or a health buff’s market. Everything edible is sold here. It is just that there are plenty of choices for vegetarians and health buffs. I would say that the diversity of vendors have made the market a paradise for gourmet items.  

“You can find everything here – French, German, Italian, International food. Some of the vendors are residents, homemakers who thought of earning extra by cooking up their specialty,” Lichauco revealed. 

“Some become successful that they eventually put up their own restaurant like Myron’s Place,” she said. Couple Ramon and Monica Eugenio opened Myron’s Place restaurants in Greenbelt 5 and Rockwell.  

Aside from that, Lichauco said that rarely would they get any other reason for a vendor to leave his space. What? With the 1000 vendors on the wait list, it would be crazy for one of the 130 vendors to give up their hard-earned space. 

And it’s just right for these vendors to pray for their chance to come as every weekend more and more visitors flock the market. From residents of Bel-Air village to tourists who somehow found their way in this exclusive community.

So, if you develop a following from Makati’s alta sociedad, expect to open a restaurant in a couple of months or so. That was exactly what three of the vendors that I was able to chat with planned to do. 

Carlitos Abello (with his gourmet sauces) joined a few months after the fair started. “We try to come up with healthier alternatives to Filipino sauces,” Abello proudly said while showing his bestseller, Malungay Pesto (P198/ 225gm). 

“Even before malungay became a health fad we were already selling these. So, when the Department of Health issued a statement on the health benefits of malungay we started to run out of the Malungay Pesto,” he said. 

So from a businessman in the garments industry, Abello eventually found success in doing what he truly enjoyed, which is cooking. Today, he supplies restaurants, hotels and coffee shops. 

His latest products are the Tofu Adobo (P95/225gm.) and the Healthy Bagoong (P110/225gm), which Abello said is sautéed in olive oil sans the salitre, MSG, food coloring and definitely less on the salt. 

Abhra Dam of Yogi Chef, on the other hand, serves vegetarian food. He is basically a novice in the Salcedo Community Market but already he revealed that opening a full-blown restaurant is in the blueprint.  

Dam has been cooking for 25 years, although he’s been a vegetarian for only a year. He said that cooking has been his passion, the reason why he found success in the business. Aside from the Salcedo Market, though, the Yogi Chef is also part of Mara’s Organic Market. 

For Jiro’s Native Lechon, they pride themselves for selling authentic Cebu lechon, the recipe of which, owner Cherry Valente claims, was inherited by her Cebuano father from their elders.  

Valente said that the weekend market has turned into a family affair for them, for three years now. Her father cooks the lechon early in the morning so that they would bring it to the market by 6 a.m. Selling then turns into a family activity with in-laws, children and grandchildren flocking to the stall to help out or just to enjoy the people passing by the stall. 

Because the market is located inside a park, it is not a wonder why going to the market has become a family affair. As Lichauco would put it, this has become a time for busy people to meet each other in a very relaxed atmosphere. Mind you there is a place where you can enjoy the food that you fancy, and with a well-appointed clinic and a clean toilet, you need not worry of packing it all in. 

So, if you happen to be in Makati on a weekend, do drop by the market. It is located at the Jaime Velasquez Park, between Leviste and Tordesillas Sts., Salcedo Village. They are open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.