Buy small, save a bit

For years we had this "kilo" or "bulk" mentality–we would always buy everything by the kilo or big packs–a kilo of meat, a kilo of fish, a big bag of onions, large bunches of leeks and celery, etc. There was, of course, a practical side to this, but in this time of decreased income, rising prices, smaller families, we just discovered the logic of vendors in wet markets, particularly on the sidewalks, of putting the price of their merchandize by the fourth or half kilo.

A recent visit to the Muntinlupa wet market proved this point. While we would need more or less about P1,500 for fish alone during one swing through what was our favorite market, that weekend we brought with us only P800 and we went home happy. We bought small and saved quite a bit. That amount gave us half a kilo of small kandule, delectable cooked daing sa toyo, bawang at suka; half kilo of maya-maya posta (sliced for frying or grilling), a bigger kandule for dinilawan, half kilo of sapsap (cooked as pinangat with the juice of four calamansi, salt and pepper); maya-maya head for sinigang, half a kilo of giant prawns for tempura, a bangus made into daing, two precious biya (cooked with thick coconut milk), half a kilo of dulong (perfect for omelet), vegetables from our suki Laura, daing na biya (small) and danggit and even some kakanins like ube kalamay and bibingkang malagkit, (a bit bland). Our new sukis are Aling Nining, Zeny, Ruby and Fannie.

We brought the wrong card one day to Makro and discovered this only after we loaded our cart and was ready to pay. No way to solve this predicament but to abandon the purchases, go back home and get the right card. We dreaded the thought of having to go around the huge outlet once again to pick up the things we initially chose before presenting the proper card to the cashier. Per chance, we asked the young man behind the cash register if he could just watch over our loaded cart while we rush back home. The very accommodating guy named Silver obliged us and everything went well. Thanks, Silver.

An in-law of a sister served her a very innovative dish recently: tinapa rolls in coco cream. You can use any tinapa. Flake (not too fine), make rolls of them, using pechay leaves as wrappers. Simmer in thick coconut milk with slivers of root ginger. Super! Boiled eggs (if you can take a more salty dish, use red eggs) may be added to the tinapa and the rolls can be fried.

The ncr (National Capital Region), which is Metropolitan Manila (the old city and 13 other municipalities bordering it), is the focus of this month’s "Wow! Philippines" series organized by the Department of Tourism. The Walled City is now referred to as History Town Philippines, Intramuros in Manila. "Wow NCR" is on until the end of the month and we were told it could be extended. Needless to say, as with all such events, products of participating municipalities are sold, sometimes at reduced prices.

Most of the vendors are small operators, working out of their own homes. A lot are permanent bazaar/tiangge participants. Some are selling their wares by lako (peddling), visiting offices such as the dot where presumably they were discovered by the organizers. One of them is a couple whose products come under the label Betchay’s. They are based in Pilar Village, Parañaque and they make yemas, pastillas and polvoron in different flavors. A pack of 15 pieces costs from P20 to P30. Other offerings include Aquino tablia (chocolate blocks) at P30 a pack, The Sister’s so-called Royal Bibingka, (not too regal in taste and texture) and Vigan longganisa, savored at breakfast by our brood the day after, at P100 a dozen. We observed that every stall owner gives official receipts. Very good, indeed.

PS to our Subic weekend–should you be swimming on the beach, watch out for fishermen and their catch. We were lucky to have been approached by one with a giant talakitok, weighing nearly three kilos. An in-law bought it and had it grilled. It was soooooo good, sweetish and excellent with the tomato-onion dip that he prepared. In the market, talakitok would go for P60 a kilo. What a bargain!