Salcedo Saturday Market

After hearing so much rave reviews about the Salcedo Saturday market, I finally found myself with enough free time last June 12 to drop by and discover its hidden treasures.

The Salcedo Saturday market, located in Salcedo Village, Makati, was originally designed so that neighbors from the surrounding condominiums could socialize and get together even for a day.

This market, albeit a very high-end and expensive one, offers a lot of the usual market finds.  Fruits and vegetables very well represented.  Flowers in abundance.  But personally, what makes this market so unique is the unusual, or in my case, some special childhood treats being sold there.

Here are some snapshots I took. 

My breakfast: a frankfurter with the works (in my case, the works mean mayonnaise, mustard, pickles and onions. No ketchup for this gal!). Selling in one of the stalls for Php125.

My dad's breakfast: a combination of fish kilawin and beef caldereta.  Doesn't look that appetizing, but he swears it tasted great.  =)

Fruits and vegetables are well represented.

I would not advise you to buy your produce here since its way expensive than those being sold in local markets and some groceries stores.  Although you can find a lot those unusual produce finds and organic items here.

Fresh flowers are also in abundance.

A patriotic orchid?

A row of vinegar bottles

Home made ham.  Yum!

Pritchon!  (Just like lechon but not roasted...hmmmm...) 
Wrapped and served similar to Peking duck.

Handicrafts were also being sold.

Wind chimes

Ceramics for as low as Php50

Colorful string balls

At the end of our 2 hour exploration, I present the spoils of our short venture:

Gatas ng kalabaw in chocolate flavor for Php145

I am ashamed to admit that this was my first time to taste carabao's milk, considering we have quite an abundance of it here in the Philippines.  And let me tell you, it tastes so different from cow's milk. 

The liquid just flows down your throat, with no grainy residues.  Haven't discovered a "lite" version of this there though.  There's also a smaller bottle selling for Php80.

Kristal Riviera olive oil for Php75

My family's in a health kick because of my dad's heart attack scare a few years back.  Ever since then, we've incorporated a few changes into our way of cooking.  And one of those would be the use of olive oil.  This bottle of Kristal Riviera was just what we needed.

Popular puto and cochinta; 3 bags for Php100

Now this was one great find for me and my family since this brand of puto and cochinta takes us waaaayyyy back into my childhood days when we would purchase these in a small stall beside Our Lady of Sorrows Parish church in Pasay City after every Sunday mass.  I even remember the 2 old ladies who sold these every Sunday without fail.

Their cochinta was so good, it has become my ideal in anything cochinta.  Anything else that doesn't taste similar to this are, in my mind, "fakes".  =D 

Relyenong bangus for Php160. 

Didn't really like this though, as compared to the ones our "suki" sold here in Cavite.  I've tasted better ones.

Tamales selling for Php90 (pack of 3)

Admittedly, I've had a childhood fascination of knowing what tamales taste like, and all because of a Porky Pig cartoon episode I watched as a kid.  So I was kinda excited tasting this for the first time. 

I'm not exactly sure if I tasted an authentic tamale, but this one tasted weird to me.  The corn-based dough was a little starchy and I couldn't quite pinpoint what type of filling they used inside.

Vigan longanisa selling for Php100 per pack.  Yum!

Pinipig suman; Php75 for a pack of 5

There have been an influx of varied flavored suman nowadays.  This is, I guess, sort of riding the trend.  I wasn't able to taste this but my dad absolutely loves this enough to have finished the whole pack in a day.  My brother, on the other hand, sang a different tune.  All depends on preferences, I guess.  =)

Cebu lechon; half a kilo selling for Php300

Cebu lechon never fails to amaze me.  Personally, eating it bare (without the sauce) is bland.  Doesn't taste all that spectacular.  However, with the right condiment... heart attack heaven!

We also bought pritchon (picture above) selling for Php50 a piece, which is pig fried in oil, as opposed to lechon which is slowly roasted over a batch of hot coals.  This pritchon was served in the same way as a peking duck is prepared, wrapped in a lumpia wrapper with a few veggies slathered with a special sweet sauce. 

Didn't like it.  For one thing, the lumpia wrapper tasted more like a thick crepe wrapper.  The sauce was mushy and tasted bland.  The pork?  Nothing special.  I suggest you skip this altogether.

All in all, I'd say a very nice excursion.

The Salcedo Saturday market is open from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m and is located in the tree shaded parking lot directly across the Three Salcedo apartment building, near the Makati Sports Club.

Map taken from Google maps