When my husband and I wake up early on a Sunday, with nothing much on the day’s agenda beyond a strong urge to get out of the house, we find a taxi and potter down to the Legazpi Market. Like the old Bisto ad, the tempting scents of barbecuing meat waft through the air to greet us as we clamber from the taxi.
Open from 7.30 a.m. until 2p.m., you will find Legazpi Market on the corner of Rufino and Legazpi streets in the middle of Legazpi Village. There is a good-sized car park available, as well as plenty of convenient street parking. Or do as we do, save the hassle and grab a taxi.
While some of the stallholders are familiar from the neighbouring Salcedo Market on a Saturday morning, Legazpi has a subtly different feel. This small community market is like a village fair: friendly and social, it is wonderfully different to shopping in a large, impersonal city supermarket or mall. Stalls can vary a little from week to week, so it’s fun to visit regularly and see who shows up. And don’t worry if it looks like rain, because the whole area is draped in canvas. While it can get a bit steamy, at least you stay dry!
When we first arrive, we wind our way through the stalls for an initial overview. There are usually three or four well-stocked fruit and vegetable stalls. The quality here is generally excellent, and compares favourably to Rustans’ somewhat tired offerings and exhorbitant prices. Customers pile up, but the service is quick and efficient. Our bags are loaded up and we move off to explore the food stalls.
There is plenty of ready-made food here, and it is obviously a popular spot for an al fresco Sunday brunch, with family and friends. We check out the traditional Filipino dishes and buy a large serve of banana bolognaise to try at home. OK, it isn’t officially bolognaise sauce, but it looks very like the sauces my husband makes with ground (minced) beef and peas – although the raisins and fried bananas were an interesting and unexpected addition! I dream of filling the freezer with portions of lasagna, moussaka, sinigang and mini quiches, and not having to cook for weeks.
We always try to taste something local, but when we found the stand selling Aussie pies, sausage rolls and crumpets, we couldn’t resist. They were pretty good too, and can be ordered online for home delivery. And the boys have been eating crumpets with every meal since: under scrambled egg or pepperonata; spread with lashings of honey, or my favourite jams from The Fruit Garden that are available here too. Nor can we resist a bag of the pain au chocolat and a small box of pistachio baklava, surprisingly light and moreish and far less sugary than usual. Next week, I am going back to buy some local, fresh coffee beans from TonG.
And there are Korean pickled vegetables and Japanese curries, Chinese noodles and an innovative range of Filipino specialities in pretty jars: milkfish pâté, bagoong in olive oil and malunggay pesto.
For those with small kids in tow, there are ice cones and cotton candy to keep them happy and hyperactive. Also, scattered amongst the food stalls, there are plenty of tables and plastic chairs to collapse into when bags get too heavy and energy levels are diminished. We have snacked on dried fish, sio pao and suman, or collect a couple of fresh, cool coconuts to sip on as we walk. I love watching the guy with his machete slicing away the husk and expertly taking the top off like a boiled egg, leaving just a thin membrane of coconut jelly to stick the straw through.
(I recently heard a rumour that buko juice is really good for dehydration, and in an emergency, thanks to its naturally hygienic casing, it can be injected straight into a vein. But don’t quote me on that last part!)
There is also a broad selection of craft and handmade jewelry. I went mad for a stall of pretty little shells, glammed up with gold paint and hanging on a leather string that I thought would make perfect stocking fillers at Christmas, or easy gifts to squeeze into corners of suitcase or hand luggage. If you are in need of a solid wooden chopping board or salad bowl, look no further. Handbags and baskets, bed spreads and linens, organic lotions and potions, handmade jewelry and pot plants, pretty white cotton night dresses, and a toy stall. One vertically challenged friend decided he required $350 from his father to buy toys, but most come much cheaper than that! And my mother found some amusing aprons from Amuse Bouche to take home for friends and family.
It’s a pleasant hour or so on a Sunday morning, with the added bonus of bumping into friends. I suddenly find myself feeling part of the neighbourhood, and it’s a lovely feeling.