Bobby Eusebio wagi sa Pasig

The last time we were at the Sidcor Sunday market on Quezon Boulevard at the back of the Lung Center, it was raining and we had a difficult time keeping our umbrellas over our heads and avoided hitting the hundreds of shoppers. This time, it was a bright sunny day and we had a good time going around, looking at the merchandise, finding some rare items that delighted us tremendously. The vendors are among the most gracious we have encountered. We are tempted to give them an 8 or a 9 on our approval scale.

Some might squirm at finding those struggling live frogs being sold, but to the connoisseur who appreciates exotic food and flavor, frogs’ legs are a much welcome treat. Do not look at the hapless creatures, just tell the man to ‘dress’ the number of frogs you need to make into delicious adobo or stuffed with ground meat and spices as the popular Everybody’s Café in Angeles, Pampanga does. Super! You can get them at P250 a kilo. Then we encountered eel with silvery skin. Again, they may not look so palatable but rather than buy the very expensive smoked eel from  Japanese specialty stores, these are perfect. Use your own recipe, or you can even smoke it.

Ayungin, also hard to find, is a good buy at P180. Done as paksiw,  when nearly done, you can lace with oil (pork lard or canola) and have a very savory dish. The Batangas maliputo (white pampano, our suki Vilma calls them) are medium sized and sell at P280 a kilo. Shelled scallops are priced at P220. On the high side are boneless bangus at P160 a kilo, the reason being the tedious task of de-boning them. Vegetables and fruits are harvest-fresh. We specially noted the red and yellow capsicum, but the vendor, an exception among the eager sellers, was so indifferent we did not manage to get the price from her. Cooked food abounds and as with all the other weekend markets, one can simply pick up a selection  (from barbecue to ulam) and have a good Sunday snack or meal. We regretted having previously bought (at a supermarket) mangosteen at P200 a kilo when we saw the fruit at P80 here at Sidcor. Chicken is expensive P150 a kilo, and if salad tomatoes are on your market list and if you live in the vicinity, this is the place to go. A word of caution: you are likely to overspend here, but try to stick to your budget.

A few days ago, we had a family reunion and had lunch al fresco at the hito farm of a sibling who, like most of us, can whip up a good dish anytime. He had tilapia in coco cream (which we refer to as ‘dinilawan’). It was such a hit that we have included it in our recipe list and are now sharing with you. You need four medium size tilapia, seasoned slightly with salt and pepper; a bunch fresh pechay; half a native garlic, crushed; one onion, sliced; a knob of red ginger (luyang dilao), juiced; one half cup coconut cream. If using fresh coconut, save the first press (kakang gata). Fry the fish and set aside. Saute the garlic and onion. Add the cream and let thicken to desired consistency. Add the ginger juice. Make a bed of the pechay leaves at the bottom of a casserole. Lay the fried fish on them and pour the sautéd coconut cream. Let simmer for a few minutes. If you have kakang gata, lace the fish with it a few minutes before taking it off the fire. Have a good lunch!

We dashed off one day to Market!Market! to pick up native garlic, the only kind we use since the imported variety does not have much flavor. They were selling at between P180 and P200 a kilo, at two different stores.

Makati Supermarket in Alabang should be making the snacking individuals happy with their new collection of cookies and wafers, the latest brand being Voortman from Canada. They have a selection including Fudge Swirl, which we got. They have zero transfats and hence, healthier to munch on. This variant costs P91.50 a box that contains 14 light and crumbly cookies.

We have recently noted that practically all the meat cuts available in the market, either from the big supermarkets or smaller stores, are very tough so they take hours to tenderize.  Not even a good steak knife could cut the sirloin we got. We wonder why. We need answers from the breeders or suppliers. One store that guarantees their meat is Tenderbites at the Makati Supermarket in Alabang. When informed of our observation, the  lady  tending the counter volunteered to take back and replace whatever we would find hard to cook. That should make their clientele happy and reassured. We were.