I call this the upland veggie section because the vegetables sold here are usually those that survive in the cooler climes of the central highlands of Luzon: trinidad valley, baguio, etc.
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martes, 11 de noviembre de 2008
martes, 1 de abril de 2008
Bananas and Avocadoes
The variety of banana shown here is traditionally fed to infants and toddlers. The local belief is, unlike the other variety (I forget if it's LATUNDAN or LAKATAN) , this one is easily digested. (Plantanos y aguacates vendido en el mercado de FTI en Taguig, un habitacion de Metropolitan Manila, Filipinas.)
Chatuchak Fruitshakes
The Thai penchance for aesthetic presentation, meticulous attention to detail (have you ever gone up close to the finishing work on their temples?) and orderliness fascinates me. (Ensaladas frutas en Tailandes.)
With the Thais, the beauty of the food is sometimes so extreme you wonder if the food is actually edible. Case in point is one of their sweets made of bean paste then shaped into miniature vegetables. So pretty, so authentic, so realistic. How can I eat such a work of art? Another wonder I beheld was the "hotcake" man located in back of a school in a narrow street at the end of Silom which led to the river ferry wharf (whew!). Anyway, this fellow made a living out of forming hotcake batter into fanciful shapes while the school children (me included) customers watched. It took time and was (to city-bred me anyway) a slow and painstaking effort. I was awed and not a little chagrined for my rush-rush perspective.
Another perspective of edibility (is there such a word?). When I travel, I often encounter fresh foods that have been on display for an indeterminate period of time in temperatures that no sane westerner food nutritionist would deem safe. (No, I am not a westerner.) The funny thing is, I also know that the same conditions also probably apply to many of the foods that I myself regularly eat: meat sources in the wet markets, fish, etc. The mystery of it is, while I know I won't come to grief when it comes to my native foods, the same margin of safety does not apply when it comes my eating of foods of other lands. That said, my perspective of food remains "I live to eat, not eat to live."
With the Thais, the beauty of the food is sometimes so extreme you wonder if the food is actually edible. Case in point is one of their sweets made of bean paste then shaped into miniature vegetables. So pretty, so authentic, so realistic. How can I eat such a work of art? Another wonder I beheld was the "hotcake" man located in back of a school in a narrow street at the end of Silom which led to the river ferry wharf (whew!). Anyway, this fellow made a living out of forming hotcake batter into fanciful shapes while the school children (me included) customers watched. It took time and was (to city-bred me anyway) a slow and painstaking effort. I was awed and not a little chagrined for my rush-rush perspective.
Another perspective of edibility (is there such a word?). When I travel, I often encounter fresh foods that have been on display for an indeterminate period of time in temperatures that no sane westerner food nutritionist would deem safe. (No, I am not a westerner.) The funny thing is, I also know that the same conditions also probably apply to many of the foods that I myself regularly eat: meat sources in the wet markets, fish, etc. The mystery of it is, while I know I won't come to grief when it comes to my native foods, the same margin of safety does not apply when it comes my eating of foods of other lands. That said, my perspective of food remains "I live to eat, not eat to live."
Banana Republic 2
Plantains, locally called /saba/. Why so many you ask? Plantains, boiled, fried with caramel, or wrapped with spring roll wrappers are immensely popular snackfoods in the Philippines. We call these "nilagang saging", "banana cue" and "turon" respectively.
Guyabano and Chicos
Both fruit are not natives of the Philippines and got here around the time of the Galleon Trade between Manila and Acapulco during the Spanish colonialization of the Philippines. The ones on the left are Guyabano (Soursop) and the ones in the box are called Chico.. Incidentally, I just discovered that eating too much of the one on the left has been found to have some association with Parkinsons? Follow the like to Wiki. Uh oh!
Pineapples (Pina)
The painstaking crosshatch pattern that's followed for peeling pineapples is an art that not many Filipinos can or are willing to learn or do. Still, if you want to enjoy this fruit to its fullest, you can't beat selecting and buying your own pineapple and preparing it at home. It's a prickly exercise, mind you. Oh, a warning: pineapple peel, like crab and shrimp shells, attracts flies and bluebottles like crazy.
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