Black paella in Westgrove

Weekend markets are thriving. Considering the Yuletide season is at hand, these are now combined with Christmas sales, offering gifts, food and even tree decorations. We were at such a market in the Westgrove community in Silang, Cavite one weekend and found regular tiangge sellers who we have met in other places such as in Alabang village. The paella lady, Margarita, was there, scooping from her two giant paelleras, two types of the Spanish fiesta rice, the traditional and the black paella which is becoming popular. We got a serving of the latter (for P280), which was done well with squid (including the ink, hence the name) and medium-size prawns. We heated it in an oven toaster later and it was good for dinner that evening.

Moving  on, we bought a kilo of Australian oranges (they are the best in the market these days, at P25 per, three pesos cheaper than those in the big stores). We also got the Crimson grapes, very sweet. There are lots of baked products, mainly cookies. One such goes by the brand Kristen (after the lady who does them). She has different variants – oatmeal-raisin, apricot and almond, chocolate chip, cranberry and white chocolate and mango. Her card says her mango and apricot can be refrigerated up to a week. She has lovely packaging in aqua blue boxes tied with white ribbons. She takes pride in her gourmet truffles which are hand-made with truffles from the south and using Swiss dark chocolate and premium liqueurs. Call her for orders at 749-1742 or log on to [email protected].

We were looking for a good wood chopping board but we found none. Instead there is a selection of thick wood servers, which are ideal for canapes, from P400 each. As usual garments dominate the items sold. There are some toys for children, too.     

Sunday breakfast time found us at Refreshers in Gourmet Farms in Silang, Cavite. This place has expanded so much from its small beginning years ago, in the early 80s when it was called the Gourmet’s Café on Aguinaldo highway, where they introduced the farm-to-table dining experience. But for a coffee grower, roaster and seller, the beverage served us on that day was not as robust as we expected. We chose beef tapa for our breakfast. The cook can do the two eggs that go with the plate in two ways – sunny side up or scrambled. While waiting to be served we went around the store. They have a big selection of products, ranging, of course, from bags of coffee beans, which now include the Philippine Civet,  to sauces and chips. One has a choice of coffee varieties – among them Maynila, Mountain Grown Arabica, Reserve Blend, even Decaffainated. We picked the Batangas Barako Blend.  Pesto chips are new and  sell for P70. Of the bottled sauces, grouped in a section labelled Kitchen Exclusives,  we spotted the mango vinaigrette and bolognaise. Of course one can buy fresh greens – lettuce in different varieties – the Red Sails, Lollo Rossa and Romaine plus our fave arugula.

Price Watch. Imported queso de bola comes in two sizes, the big one for P900 plus and the small ball for less than P500. We found Spanish-made chorizo at Shopwise Alabang. The pack contains a single sausage that is more than a foot long, folded so that it appears like there are two. They are either mild or spicy, tagged at P288. While homemakers are still going for the El Rey brand, this might be an alternative. We need to do our beef pochero soon to find out. Dressed chicken still goes for more than P135 a kilo. Hopefully, this will no longer increase as December comes around. 

Have a delicious Sunday meal with great family bonding.

E-mail me at [email protected].