Palengke

Philippine-Style Cottagecore

 Participate in life instead of just watching it pass you by. - Lindsey Wonderson

There was a small Cherry grocery on the Sta. Mesa rotunda that Mum went to on especial occasions for butter and Amrikan-brand cookies. Other than that, there weren't really an abundance of shops the likes of Kroger and Costco where I grew up in.

What we had were sari-sari variety stores and the grand bazaar of all-things-edible-and-perishable, the palengke wet market. 

On Saturdays when school was out, Mum would sometimes ask me to do the marketing. The closest palengke was just a straight-shot through the back eskinitas of our home on Fountain Street.

She'd give me a basket, a list, and money rolled up in a handkerchief. From my list, I could guess that we were having fish sinigang at lunch.

Along the way on the narrow street, vendors were already busily gutting fish. Between rows of open stalls, I could see the dirt floor muddied from the melting of ice used to ensure the freshness of seafood sold, and by booth holders who routinely sprayed their area with water.

Walking through the marketplace always made me feel alive.

Everything felt so raw and real.

Literally.

There were piles of yellow mangoes, mounds of vine-ripened watermelon in baskets, stacks of dried squid, malunggay clusters spilled over baskets, and a few live chickens awaiting slaughter.

The air was vibrant with the sharp smell of smoked tuyo fish and the buzz of conversation from jostling shoppers.

I headed toward Aling Daling's open stall. Mum who was her suki (regular customer) had instructed me to buy everything from her.

Bangus: should smell fresh and mild, not fishy, eyes clear and shiny, flesh firm and gills red. Check.

Tomatoes: neither too firm nor too squishy, supple, slightly soft, shiny and glossy. Check.

Kangkong (extra bunch to add to dog's cooked food): bright green color. Check.

Kamias (only a small handful for humans' sinigang, none for the dogs, Voltaire was allergic to anything sour): crisp and free of soft spots. Check.

For me, that was a wrap up. CHECK.