Honest market lady

We have been in such a mad rush these last few days, we have become a bit absent-minded. We re-visited Market! Market! at The Fort and there was this young lady who was the only one selling mangosteen. They were small and rather pricey (P450). But we did get some (five small fruits at P150) anyway. We were sure we brought the mangosteen and mangoes home with the rest of our purchases, but alas! we did not have them when we got home.  Because we made more stops enroute to the car park, we thought that we must have left them somewhere.

Anyway, we decided to make the long trip back and trace our steps to the particular store. Pardon us, but considering how some Pinoys are, we had apprehensions about recovering the mangosteen and the mangoes. But lo and behold! we had not even finished asking about them  when this young sales staff pulled the bag from under a table and graciously said, "Naiwan n’yo po ito." That is certainly commendable. Unfortunately, we failed to get her name, but we will when we go back there. It is very gratifying to discover that there still exists some honest Filipinos. We need more of this kind.

That time, Market! Market! had a tiangge set up in the activity area. Rather too crowded for comfort. So we concentrated on the food section, where from the air-conditioned store of RDEX we found frozen seafood. We got a pack of jumbo prawns, weighing more than a kilo at P610. A kilo was tagged at P480, a very good price.  Then we chose a bag of Cream Dory and tuna cubes. The former we seasoned with lemon juice, salt and pepper, coated with flour and egg and pan fried. The latter will be cooked with curry and some Indian spices. Dizon’s Farms always has something new for their sukis, the latest being the Flavored Sweet Corn (P20 a cup), either with parmesan, ordinary cheese or barbecue flavor. They have introduced a line of fresh fruit drinks called Tropical Shakes, which encourages customers to create their own blends. There’s the collection tagged as The Extras, which includes Splenda (P15), Creamy Yogurt (P18) and Protein Boost (P45). Have your fill, fruits won’t harm you.

The line to Ineng’s barbecue has abated. We had to have our visiting sibling from Cebu sample this.This spiced up our bonding time, just as we discovered that a store away is Lola Henie of Ineng, the Lola being the grandmother of Ineng. This one offers Lutong Bahay food. By the way, Ineng should be proud not only of her barbecue but of her grilled (butterflied) tilapia, the freshest we have ever tasted.   

Upon entering Market! Market! from the parking area, the first of the small stalls one encounters  is that of Tita Leny’s Flavored Suman. Each of the delicacy is  neatly wrapped and labelled at P25 per. We particularly like the macapuno and ube. Other blends are chocolate and vanilla. 

One of the many meals we shared with family recently was that hosted by our doctor Niece and doctor nephew-in-law. They had a perfectly laid out table for a sit-down lunch with beautiful blue and white crochery (on wooden chargers) with lovely spoons etc. What impressed us was that the young couple ‘knew’ how to entertain properly, which may not be typical of today’s younger generation. I am adopting her recipe for the humba-type beef casserole which she made, so delicious with baby kenchi, pineapple chunks and soy sauce and laurel leaves.

Le Four Bake Shop recently opened on Elizalde Street in BF Homes Parañaque. I asked the attendant what the name means, but she could not explain the name. Anyway, we feel they still have along way to go to catch up with the more established cake shops in the area.

We have moved and therefore we have a new e-mail address. Please take note: [email protected].  We are always happy to get any feedback/enquiries from our readers.

Happy cooking.    

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