Sta. Ana, early morning

Our dietary regimen dictates that longganisa is a no-no. We resisted it for a long time until we got an invitation from two gracious ladies, Chunie and Gigi, to check prices at the Sta. Ana market on New Panaderos Street and to have breakfast of Baguio longganisa, fried eggs, sinangag and a salad of tomatoes and itlog na maalat, prepared by no less than the master of the house, Ed. In the course of the meal, he told us about the pork sausages called Little Flowers, produced in Baguio in an outlet very near the Mansion House. We promised we would look this up whenever we go up there.

It was raining, but the market is a covered two-storey structure, very neat and dry with hardly any flies buzzing around. Later we were told that practically every wet market in Manila has been given a once-over. Apparently Mayor Lito Atienza has served his constituents well.

Anyway, we made our way up the stairs leading to two sections of the market. Cristy is the suki who sells pork at P145 a kilo (we bargained and she gave it to us for P140), liempo at the same price and sirloin at P195. Tenderloin has to be ordered in advance. We waited for the kenchi and got a fresh cut. Moving on, we noted chicken was not cheaper at between P110 and P120 a kilo (Magnolia). Dante is a reliable fishmonger and guaranteed hat his sapsap (P100 a kilo) are fresh because they still had laway. True enough, they were perfect for our pinangat sa calamansi laced with canola oil and spiced with finger chilis. His giant tiger prawns were at P400 a kilo (a good buy) while bangus was at P90 and lapu-lapu at P180.

Mangoes have become expensive because it’s off-season. Tagged at P70 a kilo, they come from Davao. Tomatoes are also a bit pricey at P40 a kilo but cabbage is selling for only P20. We were fascinated by the finger-size eggplants (P40) and when we asked, "Ano ang ginagawa dito?" the answer came back, "Eh niluluto po!"

Caring is the kakanin lady who has Laguna espasol at P15 for a pack of two, suman sa ibos at P15 for five pieces, maja and buko pandan salad (P25 a tub), among others. We were told that residents do not leave the market without buying Pancit Palabok from the cooked food section on the street level. Baby is the favorite for this and we got two servings at P20 each. Rather tasty, indeed. That was a good early morning in Sta Ana.

Over at the Greenhills tiangge, there is a food area with mostly products from the North, especially Pangasinan. Again we encountered Max’s Deli that professes to sell schublig and other sausages (P260 a kilo) from The Peninsula hotel. Another store called Chilchiz has batute sausages (half a foot long and more than an inch in diameter) at P65 each. There is a choice between chicken and pork with garlic. Other items are bangus belly or fillet at P180 a kilo. Of the snack food available, Ilocano cornicks is now priced at P40 a pack.

It seems there is an invasion of Korean products in Greenhills. We have not seen so much kimchi on sale in one place–either fresh, tetra-packed or even omelet (!), from P50 each. Japchae noodles go for P50 (small pack) and P100 (three in one plastic bag). We got the beef marinade on the word of the Korean gentleman manning the booth, because everything on the bottle was written in Korean. We were not disappointed. We had good stir-fried slices of sirloin, after marinating overnight. Also flavorful are the udon noodles (three in one pack) at P100. Two or even three small eaters can share one.

Costs of prime commodities continue to go up. And because pork is among the items that have gone up, we now get our tub of dinuguan (about l75 ml) at P100 instead of P70. Brace for more price increases.

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