Legazpi market: a cultural bazaar

thanks to spot.ph for telling us what to do on a sunday in makati.

Every Sunday at the Legaspi Car Park (Legaspi corner Herrera Streets) is a bustling food haven and product fair where one could find just about everything weird, quirky, organic, delicious, entertaining, and uhhmm cultural!

There are a lot of foreigners selling food and other merchandise native to their own country. There is one particular stall that caught my attention because of their Samba drum beats. I think they were selling authentic leather sandals. Among the fave finds are the himalayan salt, quiche, and schuemli. Thank heavens for free tasting and non-coercive sales talk.

Refreshments of all kinds are sold. Here in this photo is N shelling out for some dalandan and lemonade. There are also stalls selling tea, fruit shakes, and coffee.

Native filipino rice cakes of various shapes and colors!

Dulong is actually Anchovy fry. This particular stall sells a variety of seafood pâté including Bangus (Milkfish) and Dulong.

Kikufuji and Little Tokyo: An Authentic Japanese experience

Situated at Chino Roces corner Amorsolo St. in the back alleys of Makati is a small resto village known as Little Tokyo. Dishing out authentic Jap cuisine, the place is gaining popularity among foodies (I’ve actually read about little tokyo in ourawesomeplanet.com) and has quite a large following. We dined at Kikufuji, very well appreciative of the great filleting skills of the sushi chefs preparing the food before our eyes.

I have been to Kikufuji on two occasions already. If you don’t want to spend much, the restaurant offers set meals for just 220 pesos, without any service charge at that! This meal includes grilled fish (your choice of saba, sanma, etc.), steamed rice, vegetable side dish, tuna sashimi salad, miso soup, cucumber salad, and iced coffee. And typical of a Japanese resto, they serve complimentary house tea. The fish came out perfect! It was grilled just right with the meat still juicy and tender, while the skin has a nice crunch to it. Dipped in Japanese soysauce and calamansi, the fish was divine. The tuna sashimi salad is spicy and the fried batter bits gives the much needed contrast from the tuna’s softness.

What certainly builds the air of authenticity is the set-up of the place. Central to it is the sushi bar where you could very well feast on the view of chefs plating up perfect cuts of fish and other seafood if you’re seated in the counter. Surrounding the bar are family tables where one needs to take off his shoes before sitting. There are also comfy seat cushions in place.

The place is really packed during lunch time so better reserve by calling them if you prefer their family tables. Walk-in diners usually settle by the sushi counter.

In terms of taste, ambiance, value, and authenticity, the resto is a must-try!