Off-season bazaar

The holidays are over, and the bazaars as well – or so it seems. The “Summer Bazaar at the Vue”was held in late March at the Bellevue hotel in Alabang, co-sponsored by the Four Seasons Creative Ventures. It attracted a lot of shoppers, and from the way they were shopping, it seems as though there is still money to spare.

There were lots of clothes and women’s accessories, bags – big and small, glamorous and functional, shoes (particularly the current craze, gladiator footwear), imported and local costume jewelry. Prices were good, surely lower than in the commercial stores.

We found our bazaar friend, Mercy (631-7619), the lady behind Mac Deli, a presence in most bazaars in the city. The enthusiastic and gracious lady has some of the best processed meat in town – in fact, even the five-star hotels and restaurants buy from her. She’s got Hebrew natural beef franks at P300 a pack, Sinai kosher dinner beef frank at P1,200 a kilo, fresh rib eye steak for P1,300 a kilo, fresh corned beef at P400 (which we got), Hillshine kielbasa sausages and the local Lucban longganisa. 

Gvin Brosoto (850-9815), based in Ayala Alabang village, sells empanadas with three kinds of filling – chicken, tuna and pork at P35 per. She puts them in boxes of six and 12 for gifts. She also sells mountain brew coffee at P150 a pack of 250 gms. 

Coffee is one of our passions. And the company called Equilibrium (862-3041) sells a very good blend, Café Mauro from Italy. The Oro variant is the most sophisticated among all coffees, 100% Arabica, with low caffeine content, intensely aromatic, sweet and delicate. There are other blends which go perfectly with the Torani syrups that come in a variety of flavors, our favorite being French vanilla. Some new flavors include almond rocca and macademia. The company also carries sauces, coffee machines and accessories.

Then we found Sapore Vero, distributed by the Eos Di Virginia International corporation (526-2447). This is a new brand of olive oil from Turkey that has yet to make its entry in the market. The flyer says the oil lowers the level of total blood cholesterol, has anti-oxidant properties, and helps the digestive system. They were selling at a promo price at the bazaar. Look out for this brand when it comes out comercially, it could be less expensive that the more popular ones.

More Turkish goodies – pastries and desserts – are sold by Anatolia Cuisine (437-4249). They do many kinds of baklava (which are not as sweet as those found in Cairo, Egypt), ranging from P250 a box. They have spinach quiche, Turkish crepe and stuffed eggplant, from P75 per.

Gustazo Savory Bottled Foods (913-6998) was manned at the bazaar by a mother-son-daughter team. They have gourmet tuyo in mild and hot variants at P150 each and home-made bagoong at P100 a bottle. They are found in Sevilla’s, Tiendesitas and Market!Market!

Those who love polvoron can look up HOP, produced by Motz Foor Products (837-0688), which offers an assortment of this sweet in regular and mini boxes. The selection includes pinipig, cashew, pili and cookies and cream.

Pastries and cakes from Bellevue were also on sale, including ensaymadas filled with fruits, like mango. They are priced at P55 and P60. For the duration of the bazaar, guests were treated to a 20 percent discount on meals at hotel outlets. This month, they are serving Greek food – humus and sharwarma, prawns, and pizza gondola at the Poolside with refreshing drinks and cakes.

The Promenade in Greenhills is one scary place for those with weak knees. We had a look-see at Gourdo’s open kitchen on the second level. This is a haven for kitchen freaks who love getting state-of-the art equipment and utensils. World Market is a brand for a few of its many offerings, like the Philippine coffee blends. We got the espresso of Arabica, Robusta and Exelsa, P240 for a pack of 250 gms. They’ve got cookies as well, two flavors at P100 and P130 depending on the variant. We found ceramic bowls at P50 each. There are lots of buy-1-take-1 items. A new kitchen aid is the marinator at P2,999, big enough for a whole chicken.

Speaking of coffee, there is the premium Lagawe Arabica blends of ground coffee from SN Aboitiz Power Incorporated, under the One Town One Product program (63-74-382-2025). Lagawe is in Ifugao, with a community in the Cordillera Mountains. They have been growing coffee since the 1930s and are now expanding their industry.

Help local industry, patronize Philippine brands.   

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