Michell later hit me in the head with this eggplant.
You may have heard me whining and moaning about how bad my diet is here. After over seven months in what is basically one of the fruit and vegetable capitals of the world, there is basically no excuse for not taking advantage of what is available here. To rectify this totally unacceptable situation, Michell and I headed down to the produce market in Daro, a barangay that is adjacent to ours and only a short ride down the north road. Being the nitwit that I am, we went on a Saturday afternoon, not realizing that the market had opened the previous day at 1 PM. (The freshest produce is available at that time on Tuesdays and Fridays.) I should have know I got the days wrong when we pulled in on Michell’s scooter and noticed that we were basically the only customers. Ah, well – ya live and ya learn, di ba?
Sayote, green onions, and eggplant.
Okra!
Not letting any type of opportunity get by, I whipped out my trusty GoPro and commenced to get some footage. Michell wasn’t all that enthused as it was hot as blazes and she wasn’t feeling well, but with some urging (begging), she finally acquiesced to give us a tour of the local vegetables, which appear a bit alien to a Westerner who is not familiar with them. A good number of the merchants there were crashed out on the tables (it was, after all, a very hot afternoon and they had no customers before we showed up to disturb them), and they came to an unsteady consciousness as we went from stall to stall. The veggies and fruits were in OK condition for having been sitting out for over a day in the heat, but some (the broccoli and cauliflower) were looking downright rough. The flies didn’t seem to be bothered by this fact (nor the heat) and were having a field day – each of the produce piles were topped by clouds of the annoying little things.
Tomatoes and green peppers.
Hot peppers.
Undeterred, Michell utilized her food shopping expertise and piled up some okra, eggplant, squash, and string beans as she was going to make some pinkbutt. OK, she actually said “pinakbet,” and it just got lost in translation along the way. We also picked up some yellow bananas for snacks and two big avocados. My plan is to snack on bananas in the middle of the night instead of pulling out a tub of ice cream and eating half of it in a sitting. 🙁 So we ended up with two big bags of produce which cost us around 145 pesos ($3.37). Not too shabby. And when Michell later cooked up the pinkabet later on that afternoon, we realized we got at least two meals out of it – it was a LOT off food.
Avocado, bananas and mangoes.
Next time we will actually go to the market on the right day – Tuesday at 1 PM. Michell is a fantastic cook and I would be a complete (instead of mostly partial) fool not to avail myself of her culinary skills.
Green beans and sayote.
No bloody idea what this is…..
Check out the video on our Youtube channel:
Till next time, loyal readers!
Awesome videos. I search constantly for useful videos on YouTube, and must say yours is some of my favorites. Yours and Henry’s compliment each others well. Yours is a good example of real life there while Henry’s is very informative short videos in other ways. I’ll be moving there long term after retiring later this year. You seem like a great guy, and I’m sure your channel will continue to grow as you are more known, We need all the information back here in the west, to live vicariously through you, as you said you did before arriving, and to escape the over regulated, anti social, and craziness that we here in the US have become. Anyway, looking forward to more videos, and good luck with everything there.
Thanks so much and back atcha!
Is this vegetable market the only place to get somewhat fresh leafy produce in Dumaguete? It is good to know this place exists. I guess the key is to come early for the best selection.
There is a big public market in the center of town, and some barangays like Daro have their own a few times a week.
When I was there almost 2 years ago during November, I checked out several open markets in Manila, Bulacan, and Ifugaio. I was absolutely amazed at the freshness, quality, and low cost of an incredible array of fruits and vegetables. A veritable paradise for vegetarians or anyone interested in healthy eating. Although, I am afraid that this doesn’t necessarily fit well into many phil recipes that call for large quantities of fat, sugar, and vinegar – AHAHAHA! However, for just a few dollars, I was able to get more fruits and veggies than my gf and I could eat in several days. I was, however, very disappointed at what I saw in the Supermarkets – produce was lower in quality and much more expensive.
Forgot to add that as an avid gardener for many years here in the midwest ( NOT ALL OF US ARE LIKE YOUR RESTAURANT “FRIEND” FROM MISSOURI), I can truly appreciate the quality and variety of the produce that I encountered there, especially in the larger markets. The selection seems to be very limited in the market there in Daro. But a trip to a larger open market can really be very interesting.