Observations on Philippine Dining

[BrettGC]

17 minutes ago, Kingpin said:

Bars can have filtration systems. To me one of the basic rules of life is never drink third-world tap water.

 

 

Even as a young 19yo sailor we were told by the medics prior to deployment don't drink the water or trust the ice cubes.  I hold that as a general rule still, it may be better now than it was in the 80's but I'm not going to test the theory.  Having said that, I do eat all types of street food from fried grasshoppers and monkey brains in Thailand to balut here 

[Kingpin]

50 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

 balut

What makes balut questionable isn't contamination, it's the embryonic thing itself.

But the fish sold on the street markets here are bacteria bags, slowly rotting away in bloody water buckets all day.  The locals don't get sick because they know how to cook them: thoroughly, a really long time, either on the grill or in the frying pan. 

 

 

[mountainside]

3 hours ago, Kingpin said:

But the fish sold on the street markets here are bacteria bags, slowly rotting away in bloody water buckets all day.

We're picky to the point of near obsession.  Crystal clear eyes, deep red gills, immaculate appearance.  Back in the day in SBFZ and Olongapo, the vendors came to know us and would guide us to the best of the best, usually brought to shore that morning and held on ice in a container below the public display.  We paid top dollar, of course.  All concerned were happy with the arrangement.  In Asia I missed US supermarkets -- in the US I miss Asian wet markets.  I guess I'm lucky to have experienced both.

Edited February 26, 2023 by mountainside

[JJReyes]

1 hour ago, mountainside said:

Back in the day in SBFZ and Olongapo, the vendors came to know us and would guide us to the best of the best, usually brought to shore that morning and held on ice in a container below the public display.

This practice is known in the Philippines as, "suki" which roughly translates as "regular customer."   Relationships develop between vendors and customers wherein vendors hide from public view their best produce while waiting for their regular, loyal customers to show up.  Usually, you don't have to pay premium prices.  Without even asking, they will discount the price or add a little more to the total weight.  Some in the wet market will even tell you if today's harvest is below premium in quality.

[mountainside]

5 minutes ago, JJReyes said:

This practice is known in the Philippines as, "suki" which roughly translates as "regular customer."   Relationships develop between vendors and customers wherein vendors hide from public view their best produce while waiting for their regular, loyal customers to show up.  Usually, you don't have to pay premium prices.  Without even asking, they will discount the price or add a little more to the total weight.  Some in the wet market will even tell you if today's harvest is below premium in quality.

Thanks for explaining what I was stumbling at.  I've just read your post to my wife: She said "Yes!  Of course!  Suki! ".  Too bad our local US supermarket folks don't understand the Tagalog word, or perhaps the concept.  Life, at least in certain ways, is truly better in the Philippines. 

[BrettGC]

1 hour ago, JJReyes said:

This practice is known in the Philippines as, "suki" which roughly translates as "regular customer."   Relationships develop between vendors and customers wherein vendors hide from public view their best produce while waiting for their regular, loyal customers to show up.  Usually, you don't have to pay premium prices.  Without even asking, they will discount the price or add a little more to the total weight.  Some in the wet market will even tell you if today's harvest is below premium in quality.

 

30 minutes ago, mountainside said:

Thanks for explaining what I was stumbling at.  I've just read your post to my wife: She said "Yes!  Of course!  Suki! ".  Too bad our local US supermarket folks don't understand the Tagalog word, or perhaps the concept.  Life, at least in certain ways, is truly better in the Philippines. 

The practice wasn't unheard of in Australia when I wàs a kid.  We lived in a resort town for a couple of years and come holiday season the prices would rise a lot.  The local shop owners, the butcher, fruit and veg shop etc, would keep prices low for their regulars.

A couple of years ago when I was still living in Cairns if you produced an ID with a local address many of the vendors would discount the price.  In both cases it was done very quietly.

[Joey G]

Maybe things are better in other parts.... but the way prices have gone up, and salaries have gone up, coupled with supply chain issues... the wiggle room for local discount has all but disappeared in our neighborhood... 

[Mike J]

17 hours ago, mountainside said:

We're picky to the point of near obsession.  Crystal clear eyes, deep red gills, immaculate appearance.  Back in the day in SBFZ and Olongapo, the vendors came to know us and would guide us to the best of the best, usually brought to shore that morning and held on ice in a container below the public display.  We paid top dollar, of course.  All concerned were happy with the arrangement.  In Asia I missed US supermarkets -- in the US I miss Asian wet markets.  I guess I'm lucky to have experienced both.

Our neighbor is a fisherman and he sells to us when he come to shore in his banka.  Fish doesn't get much fresher than that. 

[mountainside]

4 minutes ago, Mike J said:

Our neighbor is a fisherman and he sells to us when he come to shore in his banka.  Fish doesn't get much fresher than that. 

Lucky man!  When I first brought my wife to the US we had a small RV.  I taught her to fish for trout with a spinning rig.  She picked it up quickly.  We hit lots of mountain lakes and caught lots of trout.  So now I have a wife who happily baits a hook (or ties on a lure), catches fish, cleans them, and cooks them very nicely.  So my new hobby became catching a few fish just to show I was a true breadwinner, and then drinking cold beers while listening to my wife singing in the kitchen.  I still may have a photo of the time she caught a Northern Pike with a long mouth full of sharp teeth -- she thought it was a crocodile.

[BrettGC]

1 hour ago, Mike J said:

Our neighbor is a fisherman and he sells to us when he come to shore in his banka.  Fish doesn't get much fresher than that. 

We're lucky here as well; the locals catch the fish then walk the barangay selling them basically straight out of the ocean or you can meet them as they land.  Yeah, inclement weather does mess with the supply but I can't remember last time we bought fish at a wet market.  

It's a similar situation with the pork, they slaughter early in the morning for the AM rush, then again in the early PM for the people looking for dinner. 

Edited February 27, 2023 by BrettGC