Puto-maya

Puto-maya is one of the most favorite morning snacks among Filipinos. It is made of sticky rice, coconut milk, strips of ginger (for a nice aroma), salt, and white sugar. This is usually eaten with ripe mangoes and hot chocolate.

Pineapples for sale

A man carrying a big basket full of ripe pineapples selling it house to house.

Between life and death in construction works

See those three tiny dots? They are men working on one of the buildings in Cebu I.T. Park (specifically the Skyrise building). When I saw this view, I couldn't help myself, but stopped out of awe and curiosity. These people who worked in the construction industry doing dangerous tasks such as this are quite exceptional to me. They are the ones who do risky works and yet one of those who received the lowest compensation. One time, when the jeepney where I was on passed by this building, I intently looked to see the safety gears used by these working men. I saw a rope being tied on their waists anchored from the top of the building. These small sticks in parallel (most probably made of bamboo) hold their weight as they are suspended with a rope.

As you can see on the third picture, there were also men working at the bottom part of the building.

Public Utility Jeepneys

Jeepneys are the most common public transportation in PH. Fixed fare is administered for every corresponding distance. PUJ's in big cities like Cebu and Manila have a fair matrix posted inside the vehicle for commuter's reference on how much they have to pay for fare depending on the distance of their destination. By the time I post this, the minimum jeepney fare in Cebu is 8Php.

Spaghetti wires

All sorts of wires. What you see is very common in PH setting. These are wires of telephone lines, internet and cable connections. Electric wires are elevated and separated from the others.

Lumpia wrapper

Lumpia wrappers are made of flour, eggs, salt, water. Aside from using these to make lumpia, we also use the wrappers to make banana toron: saba (plantains) banana wrapped in lumpia wrappers and fried with melted brown sugar.

Crunchy lumpia

Lumpia is a famous dish in Filipino parties. It is usually stuffed with ground pork, veggies (carrots, potatoes, bean sprouts, etc.) and spices. It is served with sweet and sour sauce. It is best eaten when hot and crunchy.

Chorizo

Chorizo is made of ground pork with spices wrapped in pig's intestine. Sold by dozen.

Jackfruit

Popularly known as "langka" or "nangka," this fruit has a sweet smelling odor and very sweet taste when ripe. A popular ingredient for halo-halo.

Fresh veggies!

Fresh veggies are always the best. Most Filipinos prefer to buy veggies and fruits in public markets than in the mall's supermarket because the products in public markets are much fresher and cheaper.

Grated coconuts

Freshly grated coconut is sold by kilo. This man is using a special kind of machine that uses electricity to grate the coconut. Expertise is needed in this operation or someone might get his hands cut without knowledge and mastery on how to do it.

Plantains

"Saba" in tagalog and "kardaba" in Visayan. We cook this kind of banana in different ways: steamed (eaten with bagoong), fried and coated with melted brown sugar or wrapped in a lumpia wrapper, caramelized, and more.

Irresistible Tuyo (Dried Fish)

Wow, the most famous appetizer among Filipinos: dried fish! Called "tuyo" in tagalog and "bulad or buwad" in Visayan. Dried fish comes in a variety of fishes. These are the third class kind and the cheapest.

For sale: native chickens

Alive chickens are quite common in public markets for sale. These ones are native chickens and are costlier than dressed white leghorns.

Tray of eggs

Chicken eggs are priced according to sizes. This one costs 4.50Php a piece. There are smaller sizes which cost 10Php for 3 pieces. Not bad, huh?

Sweet bananas

In Visayan dialect we call this kind of banana "lakatan." The color is light orange and is very sweet. It can be eaten even if the peel is still a little bit of greenish.

World class mangoes

The Philippines is known to have the best mangoes in the world. I have not tried mangoes from other countries yet, but, I would say that my country produced the most delectable mangoes. During mango season, per kilo only costs 40 to 45Php.