20051010

manila: salcedo market, pt.1: produce.

market produce 2

i'm back! with an actual haircut (i keep thinking the name of the salon was sinking titanico, but i am most likely wrong), and a full belly. i took a tip from market manila and visited the saturday open air market in nearby salcedo village, which turned out to be the highlight of the all-too-short jaunt, so i'll be posting photos from the market for the next few days.

market asparagus

local asparagus, radishes and lettuces.

market produce

rambutan, suha, atis, papaya, and mangoes (although i think they are out of season).

market lanzones

lanzones!

market coconuts

young coconuts, husked and ready for drinking (and of course, eating).

12 comments:

Welcome back. I think you've left your mail forwarder on.

Do tell about the haircut.

omg! langsat! i'd completely forgotten they exist. used to gorge myself on them when they were in season... lucky you!

Hi Santos - welcome back! Can't wait to see more of the market. About those coconuts - I've seen those in the store here. At first I thought they had the shell already removed, but then I think I saw a sign that said the shell was on, but white. Are they interchangeable with the more familiar looking coconut? I ask because I see these more often then the other kind. Glad you're back!

mmmm... i miss the atis and lanzones.

helloonthony--no and no.

bram--i know, so did i! so sweet, and juicy.

hi cathy! these are young coconuts, compared to the brown giant nut thing you might be more used to seeing. it's green on the outside, but they've hacked off the green husk. inside you should find coconut water, and a softer, almost gelatinous flesh. i know they are more popular in the mainland these days because raw food restaurants use the flesh cut in strips as a type of noodle. there are filipino recipes that also use the flesh in savoury dishes, but it is mostly uses in sweet dishes. you might want to try it sometime, although cracking through that husk would still require a cleaver or machete....

oooh, sorry i missed you, maria. i am not much of an atis eater, so i just found out that if you cover atis with newspaper or a towel to keep them warm they ripen much faster. the lanzones were great, so sweet and juicy!

Hi S,

I hope you had a nice time in Manila even if it was a short trip. I've never had lanzones...nor have I seen them. From the photo in the link, they kind of look like longans (?).

hello santos. I think the name of the salon is Crispin Britanico salon in glorietta. I happen to know the owner btw.

hi oslo! i had no idea there were different varieties. i didn't have any this time around because i was stuck in with mangosteens, bananas, and lanzones. i hope they are still around when i go back.

hi reid! they are a little different from the longan--the flesh is similar in colour and texture but it's segmented with one or two seeds within the segments, instead of the flesh surrounding one big seed. the flavour is similar too, although slightly more tart.

hi lisa! that's the name. i met him. i just go where my stylist is. that place is a little bit of a death trap on weekends though.

O.My.God. Lanzones. I cried a little inside when I saw that photo. Now I wanna go back home just so I can eat a bushel or three of that tasty good stuff.

lorelei--go now! they're in season and cheeeeeeeaap :)

ah, mangosteens. aren't they the best?