Not even the rain could dampen the pop-up market held at The Migrant coffee shop, where the last Filipino pop market was also held. This time, it was more crowded as the stalls started from the entrance. Even from the outside, peering through the window, one could see the beautifully decorated sections inviting the passers-by to stop and check what was happening. Myself included.
And the best part? I came in half expecting it would have the stalls as the previous event, offering the same food choices; I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t.
The first thing that caught my attention was the beautiful photograph displayed near the counter. I then learned it was a picture of all the vendors who participated in the Merkado Market. The sense of community is so strong and shiny. Not to sound too cheesy, but these things delight me and make me grateful to live in the West.
Also equally interesting were the three blackboards stuck on the opposite side of the wall – with three questions:
“What are you grateful for?”, “What have you realized?”, “What is a question you ask yourself?”
I also spent too long at the Filipino cuisine and culture books corner. I was so tempted to get the one titled Tikim: Essays on Philippine Food and Culture by Doreen Fernandez, but I couldn’t justify paying $70 when I have more than ten books waiting to be read at home. Maybe next time.
Then there were vajajay-shaped incense holders and a small display of beautiful Filipino heritage jewellery by a brand called Amami. On the other side of the table was colourful food, from boxes of Filipino sweets to jars of preserved food.
Another thing that I wanted to get but genuinely forgot was another pin by Justine Gilbuena. I got the first one months ago at the previous Filipino pop-up market. Oh well, maybe next time too.
When the front got a bit too crowded, We ventured out to the backyard, where the food and booze were located. Our first stop was the main food stall, where mouth-watering skewers and corn were grilled, inviting us to get them. So we did.
We had the beef skewers accompanied by a box of rice. Yes, the skewers met the expectation; it was good ━ but let me tell you about the rice. It was drizzled with shredded peanuts and a side of pickles. It could easily be one of the finest mostly-just-rice dishes I have ever eaten. It reminded me of eating freshly cooked white rice with bird-eye chilli and fried onion as the toppings when I was doing a live-in program in a village in East Java more than two decades ago. It was also absolutely delicious. Simple food can be the best food at times, especially rice. #ricekween.
Then we continued. I must say, for a considerably small space, they have done so well to cater for the pop-up market. Most of the backyard was covered with a transparent tent, a DJ, a seating area near the DJ booth and a portable toilet.
The most interesting store in this section was the Tagalog Mythology prints stall – from posters to clothes and stickers. Then there was a stall selling framed pictures of scenes from the Philipines.
The rest of the non-food stalls failed compared to the ones I mentioned before (especially the tax return service stall). Meanwhile, back to the food route: –
We skipped the tofu dessert stall. I bossily told Fafa he wouldn’t like it (the man refused to eat fried tofu, for God’s sake). Instead, we stopped and tried the mini Ube dessert sandwich; it was good. Then we moved on to mulled margarita. It was my first mulled margarita ━ it was so good but not worth the price for a top-up.
The last food stall was the taco stall. After taking thousands of pictures of the taco being made, which was not an easy task in such a tight space, I ordered a box of tacos. Unfortunately, the taco, made with lots of flares, lacked flavour.
With that and the continuing rain, we decided to call it a day.
Until another time and another pop-up.
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