Relax, let someone else do the cooking
The dampa is a typical market in the Philippines where one can have the option of letting somebody else cook the fresh stuff in the basket. The dampa concept became so popular that it sprang up in different cities around the metro.
Today, there is a Dampa sa QC, Dampa sa Libis, a seaside palengke in Metrowalk Ortigas, Dampa sa Macapagal and Dampa sa Farmers in Cubao.
Accessible from various traffic points — EDSA, MRT and LRT — the Dampa sa Farmers is fast gaining popularity because of its clean and spacious dining area that can sit up to 500 guests. A plus factor is the assurance that the food you are about to partake comes from a market (Farmers Market), famous for its fresh seafoods, meat and veggies. Now in its 30th year, Farmers Market continues to provide customers with convenience, comfort and a wide array of fresh choices.
The Dampa sa Farmers Market opened last December 2005 occupying the same spot where the old carinderia stalls used to stand. Under its roof are 10 paluto establishments with seasoned cooks ready to whip up culinary delights that the customer so wishes. Paluto charges vary based on the weight of, say, seafoods (per kilo) and the condiments used in cooking.
We were invited by Clarina Dris, marketing officer of Araneta Center Food Court, to experience for ourselves the fun of dampa dining. Well, that’s what we thought. Sadly, Clarina and her team prepared the dishes in advance to make it convenient for all of us.
At Dampa sa Farmers, diners have the option to buy the ingredients fresh from the palengke (right next to the row of restaurants) or order a la carte.
Those pressed for time can opt for chicken and pork barbecue or inihaw na liempo at Andok’s, which is open 24 hours to accommodate call center agents. Home-cooked meals such as kalderetang baka and nilasing na hipon are the specialties at Kainan ni Aling Cadiang while Trinity Ihaw-Ihaw and Food House is known for its buttered chili crabs and sugpo. SIS Seafood Paluto, on the other hand, takes pride in its crabs in oyster sauce and sinigang sa miso. Quench your thirst with a refreshing glass of fresh fruit shakes from Buko ni Fruitas.
There’s an elevated stage in the middle of the dining area where live bands set the party mood every Friday and Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. Drink and be merry with a barrel of San Miguel Pale and Draft Beer with crispy pata (Amolars), pork kilawin (East Sea 1 & 2), sashimi and California maki (Galpo) for pulutan.
For a truly memorable dampa-licious experience, hit the market to ensure the freshness of your food. That’s what my family did last Sunday.
Well, there’s hardly any discrepancy in prices because Farmers Market is regularly checked by DTI personnel to ensure that the prices remain consistent from stall-to-stall. It also pays to have a suki like Aling Jovita Donez of Edmark seafoods who gives me extra pieces of sugpo or crab as bonus everytime I visit her. At Edmark’s the sugpo goes for P430/kilo, shrimps are P340/kilo, the male and gay crabs go for P380/kilo while the female variety (maaligi) is priced at P400/kilo. Mussels and oysters are a steal at P40 and P60 per kilo, respectively.
“At Farmers Market, the customers are assured that the weighing scales are accurate. Our timbangan ng bayan (a huge weighting scale for the public) gives customers value for their money,” enthuses Aling Jovita.
Farmers Market has color-coded its stalls to make “marketing” tasks of customers even more convenient and exciting. Meat stores are colored red; fish, blue; vegetables, green; fruits, yellow: and fresh flowers, pink.
Tile-coated tabletops and sinks were also provided for meat stalls and aqua-colored tiles for fish stalls. There are hundreds of stalls to choose from: the fresh fruit section has 41 stalls, the vegetable section has 12 stalls, the meat & poultry section has 94 stalls while the rice and grocery has 20 stalls.
After buying the ingredients, it’s now time to choose from any of the accredited paluto restaurants to cook the food the way you want it.
“Each type of food (seafoods and meat) has a specified price per kilo ranging from P100 to P200. Ask the wait staff of any paluto store for the price list to know the cooking charge for a particular dish,” notes Clarina Dris of Araneta Center Food Court.
We brought our loot to Trinity Ihaw-Ihaw and Food House, which is an old-timer in the paluto biz. Their buttered chili prawns and crabs are to dine for. We also ordered sinigang na ulo ng salmon from their a la carte menu.
Those who are just too lazy to go to the market can ask the staff to do the marketing for them.
“The disadvantage is that you don’t know whether the seafoods are fresh off the stalls or if they are merely thawed from the freezer,” cautions Dris.
Dampa sa Farmers Market has four air-conditioned function rooms equipped with videoke machines for private parties and corporate functions.
Open from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, the Executive Room package for 10 to 20 persons is priced at P1,500 consumable of drinks, rice and paluto charges. The room rate is P300 for the first two hours while an extension rate of P250 will be billed for the succeeding hour.
“Dampa sa Farmers Market allows diners to shop for their favorite food items and enjoy a variety of cooking preparations of the day’s fresh catch: fish, crabs, and other seafood,” says Dris. “What more can you ask for?”
* * *
For a satisfying dampa-licious treat, visit Dampa sa Farmers Market at the Araneta Center, Cubao, QC. For inquiries, call 913-28-03 or 911-3101 local 6877.
