The fair factor

My former classmate and seatmate Anay Mayoralgo- Zalamea (My surname then was Mayor, so I sat in front of her) invited me recently to the Salcedo Market, a project of Barangay Bel-Air, of which she is an active member.

I had heard much about the market, but found out only after I visited it that it’s better than its reputation. Think of a school fair or a country fair without the rides – now, isn’t the food usually the next attraction to the rides in any fair?

At the Salcedo Market, set up in an acacia-lined park on Leviste Street in Salcedo Village from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday, you have over a hundred stalls under pretty white tents that sell virtually anything or everything in the food alphabet – from arugula greens to virgin coconut oil, from lechon baka to Angus prime rib, from piyaya to paté. The only other products that you can find in the market aside from food and drinks are plants. No ukay-ukay, Bangkok goods (except sampaloc) or pearls that the Greenhills tiangges are famous for.

The Salcedo Market, which opened to the public in May last year, was a brainchild of Salcedo Village residents Lisa Ongpin-Periquet and Trickie Colayco-Lopa.

The idea of a fair was welcomed by Barangay Bel-Air’s beloved kapitana Nene Lichauco, who saw it as a chance for the community to bond.

"It was a nice focal point for the community. We could not have gone for it without Mrs. Lichauco’s support. It’s a Barangay Bel-Air project," says Lisa.

Marc Medina of Barangay Bel-Air’s "juniors" was named market manager. He initially faced the daunting task of getting concessionaires, who were hesitant about setting up a market in the heart of Salcedo, which has a mix of residential and office condominiums. Marc approached the network of vendors who participated in the former Magallanes and FTI markets and managed to get 11 vendors to sign up.

Well, the magnificent 11 are now reaping the fruits of their faith in the Salcedo Market. They get the prime center aisles of the market all the time, despite the fact that there are now 129 stall holders, and a waiting list of 349!

Now, Marc Medina is probably more popular than his mother, travel journalist Susan Calo-Medina.

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So, how does Marc get the best from the waiting list?

"Well, I don’t go by seniority. I usually choose applicants who offer what the other markets do not yet have," he says.

"It’s a specialty market. That is what makes the Salcedo Market unique," adds Lisa.

Anay says the Saturday market is a non-profit undertaking. Proceeds from the rental of the tents go to the upkeep of the market and to the maintenance personnel. Whatever else is left over from that goes to the outreach program of the Bel-Air "juniors."

"This market aims to involve all the members of the barangay. This is a place where they can meet and gather. We wanted to make them conscious of what benefits they can get in the community, like flu shots, ambulance service, etc. Residents of Salcedo Village also became conscious that they are part of Barangay Bel-Air," says Nene Lichauco.

This sense of community in a festive atmosphere – so unlike a typical townhall gathering – has strengthened the bonds of the residents.

It is also a treat for gourmets and food-lovers, and a destination for those who want specialty food but do not have the time, the know-how or the equipment to come up with it.

Ambience is also a key factor – shopping becomes idyllic when done under the shade of old acacia trees. There are supermarket carts courtesy of Rustan’s for those who want to buy by the bulk – like Ilocos bawang, tuna belly, organic fruits and vegetables.

There are styrofoam coolers for the perishables. For instance, the viands sold by Bessie and Violet of Mekeni Abe are cooked in the condominium across the park, where one of them lives. So, everything is freshly cooked and does not have to run the risk of spoilage that comes from long-distance travel.

What makes Violet and Bessie unique is not just the scrumptious Kapampangan food they serve. It’s the fact that the money they make on a market day goes to the Save a Life Foundation. (You may reach Bessie at 0916-3406809 and Violet at 0917-9481855.)

Violet and Bessie sell mouthwatering Kapampangan delicacies right beside the stall of Michele d’Orival, who sells French gourmet dishes. Married to a Frenchman, Michele studied gourmet cooking in Paris. In her stall, you can buy Canard a l’Orange (Orange duck), Langue de Boeuf Sauce Piquante (beef tongue with hot sauce) Quiche Lorraine and Pate de Foie de Porc.

Also on the same row are dried fish from Iloilo, like dilis, pusit and danggit (look for Mrs. Jalandoni); and VCO (virgin coconut oil, which my husband immediately bought a big bottle of).

One of the biggest attractions of the market is Ineng’s barbecue, which you have to line up for, complete with order slip and number (just like the system in a bank or an airline – that’s how popular Ineng’s is).

Ineng is the success story of young couple Michelle and Richard Santiago. On their first day in the market a year ago, they sold 700 sticks of barbecue. Nowadays, they can easily sell over 3,000 sticks every Saturday.

The secret, says Michelle, is in the consistency of their product and the freshness of the pork they barbecue. They began with six people in Salcedo, they now need 14 people to man their booth.

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Another come-on of the market is the free parking and the ample parking spaces around the park and the free entrance to the market.

There are also tables set up under tents where shoppers can sit down, have a cup of brewed coffee with heavenly butter cake from the Vargas Kitchen in Forbes Park (810-7529) or dirty ice cream. I bumped into at least a dozen friends, so a place to chit-chat while admiring one’s good buys was most welcome.

It’s really like a village fair, where shopping for food isn’t an obligation or a ritual, but an adventure and a treasure hunt. When you go home, you feel like you’ve discovered something your neighbor hasn’t.

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(You may e-mail me at [email protected])