Savoring Baguio

There is always something new in the Baguio City Market. The latest craze was a root crop called yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius). Originally grown in the mountains of Peru and Ecuador, and bearing a resemblance to both the camote (sweet potato) and singkamas (jicama,) it is believed to have antioxidant and cleansing properties. Fetching a price of P300 per kilo when it was first introduced on the market, yacon seemed the ideal alternative crop for erstwhile marijuana growers who wanted to go legal.

The yacon bubble has since deflated. Overproduction saturated the market, pulled costs down, and the current price averaging P50 per kilo is no longer as attractive to farmers as it was before. However, the upside to this development is that more people can now afford and enjoy the yellow-orange, crisp and succulent tuber. Its sweet, faintly gingery flavor is a tasty addition to salads and stews.

The vibrant Baguio market is one of the well-known attractions of the city. It is a mishmash of colors and aromas. Indigo colored blueberries, orange carrots, dark red fist-sized tomatoes, bright green or purple heads of cabbage and flawlessly white cauliflower are neatly stacked beside heaps of violet skinned sweet potatoes. Persimmons from Sagada, lychees and longans from the mountain trails, and mulberries carefully picked from backyard trees are sold alongside sweet yellow mangoes from San Carlos, Pangasinan. Strawberry season is marked with fern-lined baskets or kaings filled to the brim with the fragrant, sweet, yet slightly tart crimson fruit. Bunches of celery and onion leeks are sold together with edible bouquets of watercress, delicate fennel, and sweet basil.

You may be tempted to buy roses from flower vendors carrying armloads of blooms. Sugared rose petals are a unique and whimsical treat, but one has to be certain that the blooms are organically raised, not sprayed with harmful insecticides. Occasionally, one would stumble upon basketfuls of wild mushrooms. Many locals ignore these, but an excited European friend swore that these were piedmontese or white truffles. The distinctive earthy and garlicky flavor of the mushrooms seemed to bolster his claim. For less audacious mushroom aficionados, button and shiitake varieties are readily available.

Baguio City is an old Ibaloi settlement and the ingredients of traditional Igorot fare are sold together with the usual market items. In the poultry section are blackened chickens prepared the tribal way – slowly beaten black and blue and then singed. These are for pinikpikan, the delicious Cordilleran chicken stew. Fiery red chili powder that is used as a dipping condiment for chunks of boiled meat served in feasts, or canaos, comes in clear packets in stalls that also sell taro and potatoes. In a corridor tucked behind the vegetable section, tobacco leaves and betel nuts favored by village elders line the aisle across stalls that sell a variety of bananas.

The city is situated 5,000 feet above sea level, but the assortment of fresh seafood in the fish section is sure to delight the avid chef. Glistening heaps of silver milkfish from fishponds in nearby Pangasinan are set alongside fresh tuna harvested from the deep ocean by fishermen from La Union. In a basin set on the market floor, squirming mudfish wrestle for space and occasionally jump out to surprise the unwary person walking by. 

In the meat section, the butchers cleave entire hogs and cows into prime cuts and manageable portions. Livestock is butchered every day and the meat remains fresh in the chill mountain air. Ropes of longanisa or local sausage seasoned hamonado (sweet) or de recado (with garlic) hang to form aromatic curtains of meat.

For pasalubong shopping, visitors can opt for sweet jam or strawberry wine made from Japanese shoga strawberries, bottles of purple yam or ube jam, lengua de gato cookies packed neatly in plastic bottles, buttery and crisp peanut brittle, chocolate crinkles, potent local coffee beans or bottles of spicy kimchi. The delicacies reflect the influences and preferences of the different people who have made Baguio their abode.

It is a cold rainy day during off-tourist season and the bright greens, oranges, reds, and yellows of the Baguio City market glisten and beckon, "Come, bite into my crispness. Savor my sweetness." Clad in my pink galoshes and marveling at the banquet of color, I dillydally and feast my senses on the rich spread of the market before me. The anticipation and pleasure escalate. The city has truly changed much throughout the years. Nevertheless, although many yearn for the Baguio of their memories, I am happy to be here for the weekend. This city will always be my home.