Salcedo Market

Allan has asked me to accompany him to the Salcedo Market in Makati last Saturday. Without any lined-up early morning commitments, I agreed provided he accompany me to Divisoria so I can start my shopping for my baby stuff.

We planned to take some brunch at Salcedo Market as it is known to have an assortment of shops selling roast pig, spanish paella, cakes and pastries and various organic fruits and vegetables. We were not disappointed to see the whole Salcedo Park crowded with shoppers and diners. The first shop we saw at the entrance was selling french crepes and we agreed to buy a mango crepe and an apple variety. We walked around, saw several stores selling paella and we got an order of the Valenciana type. We were informed by the stall owner that the Paella Negra was quite popular with the kids because of its pecular black color from the squid ink that's used to darken the paella. Roast calf, roast chicken, roast pork and grilled seafood were all over the place, but we settled for pritchon, it's suckling pig, roasted and dip fried to perfection. It is served in bite slices and wrapped in pita bread with hoisin sauce. Allan wanted to try the lasagna, but the stall he chose ran out of the meat variety and we couldn't wait for another 15 minutes. We went to a french shop that offers several quiches, other french cuisine and baguettes. We bought a cheese quiche and some fresh daladan juice from another staff to complete our brunch feast.

We settled in some corner where the dining area was set-up and had a hearty meal. The paella was not as good as what one can sample from Cocina de Tita Monings or from Senor Alba, but it was tasty nonetheless. The pritchon was tender and crunchy at the same time we came short of our order wanting for more. The crepes were as delectable as what one diner had described it to us while we were placing our orders then. You see, the secret was in the crepes sheet, where it was cooked fresh and sprinkled with some sugar-cinnamon combo before adding the fruit chunks and marmalade. The quiche was good and quite filling to eat. I can't be sure why it is supposed to be eaten as an appetizer.

We had a heavy brunch and we browsed through the shops some more. Allan was about to order some wagyu beef, but stopped himself as he cannot be home until late in the afternoon and the fresh beef will naturally spoil by then. He bought some tortilla, italian panini, some fruits like cherry, bangkok lanzones and langka (jackfruit) which we ate some more along the way to Divisoria.

We must have spent close to Php1,000 or (US$22.22) for that morning trip to the Salcedo Market. It is indeed a glamourized flea market of sorts which boast of organic fruits and vegetables, showcase of some philippine handicrafts, plants, flowers and an international array of food and cuisine. It attracts mostly expatriates and the alta sociedad of the Makati's elite considering that the venue of the market is where some upscale condominiums are situated.

Allan was convinced his not gonna visit Salcedo Market for quite some time.

Azure Cafe

I went to Azure Cafe by my lonesome today. Mimi has been busy and Eric, who was visiting us and processing his clearance, was not also ready to take lunch yet.

I ordered Chicken Relleno, one of the lunch of the day. It's basically, chicken with stuffings where ground pork, and chicken meat are mixed together with bread crumbs, onions, pepper and carrots. When it is served, some mushroom gravy is poured on top to enhance its flavor. The lunch of the day included a cup of rice, sauteed vegetables composed of baguio beans and carrots and a dessert, a banana cake.

The Chicken Relleno was quite good and tasty. Chunks of chicken, the white meat portion remained intact and cooked soft and flavorful. The accompanying vegetables were cooked medium rare thereby keeping the crunchiness of the carrots and beans. While browsing through todays newspaper and having my lunch, Mimi and Eric followed me in Azure. They ordered their lunch and came to sit with me in one corner of the cafe.

The banana cake was not as good as I thought it should be. It was plain and dry. It could be saved if some cream or icing where drizzled on top of it. But, why should I complain, it was a freebie with the lunch menu.

Mimi talked about her bitchiness with Jimmy, our company driver, last Friday when Jimmy failed to give back to Mimi her car keys. Jimmy was already in Bulacan when he realized he got Mimi's car key with him. He called to tell Mimi and if its possible to drive her car to her place the following day instead. Mimi refused to take Jimmy's offer and asked Jimmy to come back to the office right away to return her key. Poor Jimmy!

Eric talked about his new job and its new challenges which he found quite interesting. He also related to us, which of our employees are currently active in searching for opportunities outside so we have a good heads up who are in danger of giving their resignation letters soon.

We ended our lunch while I pay Php210.00 or US$4.66, with a can of soda to accompany my lunch meal.

Kaya

Nobody seemed to ask where's lunch today not until it was close to 1pm when Mimi finally came to my room. I was talking to my sister, Grace, on the phone as we tried to catch up on news about what's happening with our families. Grace finally hung up and I called up Rene to join Mimi and meet up with Jimmy at the back entrance of our building.

We asked Rene on what he feels like eating today. He suggested Yoshinoya, a Japanese fastfood joint at Parksquare. Mimi wasn't too excited about eating at Yoshinoya. Rene was restricted into thinking that Mimi would insist on a foodie place with salad on their menu for which Mimi promptly disputed. Rene suggested Marina but I told him, we would be paying more since, there were only 3 of us whose gonna share the bill. We ended up picking Kaya, a korean resto at G4 at the suggestion of Mimi.

We ordered the spicy squid, japchae and kalbi jim. We also had a side order for a kimchi. Spicy squid has been the group's favorite, though this was Rene's first brush with Kaya. The squid was always cooked to perfection and it's neither too hot nor too bland in its taste. Japchae or potato noodles was crystal in color with sprinkling of sesame seeds on top and chicken bits and shallots. I loved Kaya's japchae as its neither sweet nor too salty in its taste. Kalbi jim or beef stew is also another winner from Kaya. Its presentation was enhanced by the scrambled egg strips on top while its taste and texture have remained immaculately consistent every time we order this dish. The beef was so tender the meat literally separate from its bone and the stew was so good, I could soak my rice in it.

I had a fix of mountain dew to accompany my meal and I paid Php266.00 or (US$5.91) for this lunch escapade.

We went on our separate ways as Mimi went to the money changer and quick stop by Rustan's for some shopping. Me and Rene went around the mall, browsed through marked-down books on display and window-shopped for a new car model from Mitsubishi. This model was named Fuzion, Mitsubishi's answer to Toyota's family car Innova. Fuzion came in two variants, the jazzed up model with dashboard TV screen, eletronic gauges for tire pressure, climate temperature and such and the provision of the much needed safety feature, air bags. Can you imagine, the low end model does not have a single air bag at all? I really thought car airbags are a standard feature of todays cars, apparently not. Rene related that his new car does not have the airbag feature as well. He said, the next model from his newly purchased Honda City car was prized at Php100,000 more for an additional car feature of airbags and a bigger car engine difference of about 0.2 in displacement.

Well, Fuzion looked better than the Innova. It resembled a lot like the Pajero when seen from the front and it features bucket seating for its first two rows of seats. The high end model costs Php1.15 million, while the other model costs Php950,000. Rene joked that the Fuzion was more of a Daddy's car as opposed to the Innova, that's more known to be a mom mobile.

Jimmy drove us back to the office thereafter.