When you’re in Negros Oriental in the Philippines, and have already gone diving in Apo Island or eaten the yummy silvanas of Dumaguete, what else is there to do?
Plenty, as it turns out, without having to leave the island. (If you do want to leave the island, you can easily take the hour-long ferry to Siquijor and enjoy the lovely beaches there!)
My friend A. insisted that we go to Malatapay Market in the town of Zamboanguita, around 40 minutes from Dumaguete City. I was initially unenthusiastic; as a local, I’ve seen my share of local markets.
In Tandag City, my hometown, for example, we have a Saturday farmers’ market called tabo, which means “gathering.” Farmers bring their produce to the town plaza and sell them, sans the middlemen, at much lower prices.
It’s much the same thing in Malatapay, although they only open on Wednesday, not Saturday. Sellers are concentrated on one long road leading to the beach where you can take the boat to Apo Island.
There are the usual fruits and vegetables…
…dried fish…
…and clothes at bargain prices. Kids’ pants are at P10 (roughly $0.25) per pair while two pairs of bra cost P25 (around $0.60). How much cheaper can you get?
And of course, there are household items and construction materials on sale, too.
And as always, there will always be one or two vendors selling local herbal concoctions.
In Tandag, for example, the indigenous people would be at the market too, selling “magic potions” for all sorts of things, from attracting wealth, fertility, or for protection. The guy below is just selling something for body aches and pains.
Malatapay (which A. kept calling “Malapatay,” much to the hilarity of the locals there who overheard him) had one thing that made it stand out though: its big livestock market.
We didn’t even know it was there. We were having breakfast (fish tinola is uber delicious if the fish is fresh!) when we heard squealing pigs. We followed the noise, and we came to a fenced in area with a lot of people milling around (entrance fee: P5).
There were a number of carabaos (water buffalos), cattle, pigs, and goats. I was in the pen with the carabaos and their handlers, not knowing what they were doing there. Some of the animals had numbers written on their back, others didn’t.
Buyers and sellers of livestock.
A local then told me that they were waiting for people to bid on/buy the carabaos. When a price is agreed upon, they would have the animal weighed, the weight would be written in chalk on the animal’s back, and the animal would be taken home.
There were only a few carabaos that were sold, and it’s no wonder. One carabao (below) was bought for P22,000! They’re used for farm work, not for food, though, so they’re understandably less popular.
The cattle sold more; the younger ones were friskier and would fight their handler. The pigs were the bestsellers and were the noisiest. You can hear them screaming halfway to the main road.
Want to buy a live pig? It will cost you a minimum of P100 (~$2.50) a kilo.
This baby doesn’t want to leave the market!
While this one is definitely leaving, whether it wants to or not.
There are a lot of small eateries in Malatapay Market. We chose one where they kept the dishes warm with coals. My order of fish tinola and rice cost P50.
A tip: the rice servings are huge, so if you’re not a big eater, split it with a friend.
Delicious halo-halo!
We also had halo-halo (Filipino dessert made of mixed fruits and milk on ice) at the open restaurant just before the building with the toilets, right at the end of the road by the bay. At P25 ($0.60) per glass, it was more than worth it!
From anywhere in Dumaguete City, take a tricycle and ask the driver to drop you off at the terminal for Zamboanguita. The roughly 40-minute jeepney ride costs P20 and the driver will drop you off at the junction. You won’t miss it.
Arrive early in the morning, as they pack up by lunch time.
Have you been to any local farmers’ market? Where’s your favorite?
12 Comments. Leave new
Thank you for the amazing article. Do you know what time the livestock auction finishes? I understand that everyone mentions that this is a morning market. But we wouldn’t be there until 11 am or so. Is it still something going on there?
The silvanas look so tasty Aleah! Noted for when I visit this awesome nation. Big sweets and breakfast guy here.
Ryan
Hi, can i use your fruit photo in the National Museum of Natural History?
I love local markets. So nice to see this one. I haven’t been to a market in the Phils with livestock auction. I’ve seen one in Northern Vietnam and I thought it was interesting. I’m so delighted to see those tropical fruits; make me miss them. You know, we also have farmer’s markets here in New York. Same concept, farmers in the country side bring their produce in the city and cutting awat middlemen. You just inspire me to make a post about it someday. Would be nice to compare farmer’s market in different parts of the world.
Hey Marisol. That’s a nice idea for a collab post. Would love to do that one of these days 🙂
I love local farmers markets although ours aren’t nearly as colorful as this one. The halo-halo looks delicious!
I love farmers markets for the colors alone!
I am not a big market person in general, but I wouldn’t mind going with someone who knew where to go. That halo-halo looks delicious-delicious 🙂
It tastes more delicious than it looks, Ted. When you visit the Philippines, try one of these. 😀
Markets are always a destination spot for me. I want to see what they’re selling and what people are eating. The livestock area is a surprise addition I might add.
Fish tinola is a new concept for me. It’s hard for me to wrap my brains around that concept because tinola has always been chicken for my household growing up. Although my husband thought it would be fun to try.
In Manila, tinola is automatically chicken. But in Mindanao (and it seems in the Visayas too) it’s always fish 😀 Probably because the seafood there is fresher than in Manila.