Salcedo Village Saturday Market

[JJReyes]

Friends told me about the Salcedo Village in Makati and their Saturday market. I was expecting something similar to the farmer's markets in the United States that are increasing in popularity. There are many similarities, but the Philippine version has its unique character. Very little by way of fresh vegetables, but lots of different tropical fruits. The majority of vendors sold cooked food. It was actually a terrific place for lunch. I tried the black paella made with squid. You can purchase fresh French bread and pate' sandwiches or more traditional Philippine foods like suman and bibingka. There were sufficient tables and chairs until around 12:00 noon when large families descended on the place for a Saturday meal.

 

[Call me bubba]

thanks for the info..... JJReyes

like to add that near by at(ayala) the Gloryette mall. in the center park area.near the hotel(?name not sure) was a mix of various foods, even roast beef, at 130p for a serving.

they said(at the main table) it was Friday & Saturday pm from 4pm til 1am?

it was nice.and a few foreigners was in attendance,

i didnt know that they had this set up. hopefully when i have my next "freedom" break i can go by and spend a while trying the foods,

[Bruce]

I tried the black paella made with squid.

 

" You can take the boy out of the Philippines.... but you can't take the Phillippines out of the boy"  :hystery: SQUID! That is where you lost me, JJ. I never did develop a taste for fish flavored rubber.

 

Does your son eat balute? This is a question I used to ask Pinoys in my store. They of course eat balute, but their children? No way!

 

I think it was my second trip to Phils and I stayed the 21 days and by the time I left Samar and returned to Manila, I saw a Kenny Roger's and almost teared up! :nudie: The pictures all look nice, but with all things offered to eat..... you chose SQUID?

[JJReyes]

" You can take the boy out of the Philippines.... but you can't take the Phillippines out of the boy" SQUID! That is where you lost me, JJ. I never did develop a taste for fish flavored rubber. Does your son eat balute? This is a question I used to ask Pinoys in my store. They of course eat balute, but their children? No way! I think it was my second trip to Phils and I stayed the 21 days and by the time I left Samar and returned to Manila, I saw a Kenny Roger's and almost teared up! The pictures all look nice, but with all things offered to eat..... you chose SQUID?

 

No balut for me. My wife banned it from our home. We were still dating when her family invited me for dinner. They served a large steamed garoupa with ginger sauce. I ate the cheek and eyeball and then flipped the fish to take the cheek and eyeball on the other side. You should have seen the horror look on their faces. Japanese don't flip cook fish, which is considered a bad omen.

 

After our arrival in the Philippines, a friend of my father took us to a fancy Chinese restaurant. As a symbol of prosperity from our recent marriage and good luck, he had ordered Lion's Head soup. Two waiters brought a giant clay pot . They turned the lazy susan so the dish was in front of my wife. The host ceremoniously removed the cover. She screamed! It was the head of a 250 lbs tuna. The host graciously ordered corn soup for her. I ate the left cheek.

 

SQUID? You don't eat fried calamares? We had visiting relatives from Houston, Texas. I took them to Waipahu, a Filipino community for dinner. At the restaurant, I ordered squid cooked in its own ink and stewed with coconut vinegar. There were tears in their eyes. My wife wasn't with us because that's another banned dish from our home.    

[MacBubba]

I tried the black paella made with squid.

 

Was it good?  My wife loves paella and the other arroz dishes (valenciana and something else), but she had never had the black paella with squid before she sampled it in Cuba and in the Dominican Republic.  She said it was distinctive and could hold its own to the regular paella.

[JJReyes]

Was it good? My wife loves paella and the other arroz dishes (valenciana and something else), but she had never had the black paella with squid before she sampled it in Cuba and in the Dominican Republic. She said it was distinctive and could hold its own to the regular paella.

 

I enjoyed it. Bruce wouldn't. Paella originated as a fisherman's dish similar to the French boullabaise. You use whatever ingredients are available. There must be over 2,000 recipes for paella since every Spanish family has their own version. My grandmother had one recipe that was well known in the Philippines. Several relatives started a restaurant serving the original recipe. Overtime, it evolved until the original was no longer recognizable. It was "seco" or very moist as prepared in Northern Spain. Most of what you have is dry or the Barcelona version. The Central and South American versions of paella are pretty good. Their versions use less olive oil.

[Bruce]

You should have seen the horror look on their faces. Japanese don't flip cook fish, which is considered a bad omen.

 

Wow JJ, you live dangerously! You FLIPPED a COOKED FISH? Are you crazy? If your soon to be inlaws were practicing pre war etiquette, she would have been within her rights to whip out her Bonzai (by Ginsu, buy the whole set of 5 knives and they throw in a set of throwing stars) butcher knife and cut off the offending hand! (yours) but it appears they were making allowences for your boorish American behavior!

 

As for your eating eyeballs and ordering squid cooked in it's own ink (PETA people are cringing now) in that restaurant.... Well if you keep that up, Noynoy will recind your appointment to the Phils Tourism Board. You see, the idea is to ATTRACT people to come to the Philippines, not scare them away.

 

Suppose you got an inquiry from a Mr. Trevor Rhyes-Smith from Flies-On-Bullocks, Isle of Wright. And he was thinking about a holiday in the Philippines and was writing to ask if corn flakes were readily available or not. So as to not scare off this prospective tourist, you would reply that YES! Corn flakes are available in most cities. No need to go into further detail and inform Mr. Rhyes-Smith that in the Philippines, corn flakes come in a 'squid flavor' and are best served with 'fish or oyster' sauce!

 

You see, too much squid information may make Mr. Rhyes-Smith strike off the Philippines as a potential holiday spot and instead go, oh, say to some middle eastern country to watch the famed 'deflowering of the virgins' and then the encore of 'stoning of the harlots'! All of which may be great fun (except to the squid / virgins / harlots), but is of no good for the tourism of the Philippines.....  

Edited May 5, 2013 by Bruce