Food, Glorious Food

Food is always a highlight of visiting new places, and this part of my trip was no exception. We explored food in open-air markets, modern grocery stores, restaurants specializing in Filipino cuisine and other Asian sources, such as a whole neighborhood of Japanese restaurants catering to the Japanese business executives who worked in that area. Here are a few images reflecting my experiences.

"Bonding over food" with new friends

Food just grows on trees in the tropics! These are a few examples from Crissan's neighborhood streets.

Cacao pods

Mature papaya

Young papaya blossom and tiny fruit starts

And some fields in higher elevations, where pineapple is cultivated:

pineapples ripening

rows of pineapple plants in the field

In the markets:

Jackfruit on the left, with mangoes and pineapples

The purple fruit hanging on the right is something called "langostines"

 "Langostine" that tastes like a cross between plums, peaches and mandarin oranges. My favorite!

Find the proprietor!

The roots are tamarind (rear), ginger, and turmeric (front).

Quail's eggs

Brined chicken eggs

A delicate translucent dried fish up close; lots of different kinds of dried fish available.

Green-lipped mussels

Dried fish in oil to make them look attractive (!)

And the ever-present rice!

And now the magic of grocery store aisles:

Oh yes - the rice aisle

And the hot dog selection - this whole case!

And the rest of those pigs we saw earlier.

The meat selection contained many interesting examples of imaginative protein sources, such as beef face, frog legs, ox tongue, goat meat, salmon head, rabbit’s carcass, young pigeon, knee cap, pork mask, pork eardrum, and other unnameable things. Here are some chicken feet, which, when fried and sold on the street as a snack, are called "Adidas."

"Adidas"

Here are a few other oddities that caught my eye:

I guess this is jello, or lab supplies.

I've used it for lotion, but as a beverage?

Ice cream, in cheese flavor (Keso), purple sweet potato (Ube), Mango, and Halo-Halo, which means "Mix-Mix" or "your guess is as good as mine!"

A real hold-over from WWII and post-war days - Spam is a delicacy here! Arggh!

Note the "Sun Whitening" lotion. We want tans, they want whitening. What's wrong with us?!? Or, as Dave suggests, perhaps there's an optimal shade of brown that we're all reaching for from the opposite ends of the scale? What's your take?