All roads led to the three day weekend Saint James the Great Christmas Bazaar on Cuenca in Ayala Alabang that has been a fixture for the past twenty one years and has been a traditional Christmas shopping destination for us Southerners. Most often, the Saint James Bazaar is often referred to as the one that replaced Big Bang sa Alabang Christmas Carnival of the 80's and early 90's as a meeting place of residents of nearby villages to meet up with friends, to round up the barkada and to just have fun.
As years progress, the number of concessionaires grow with this year's number totaling at least 400. I remember during the Bazaar's first years, it only occupied the gym. Now, it occupies the empty lot beside the church, the driveway of the gym (where the food concessionaires are), the gym, the back of the gym plus the perimeter of the football field.
With it's twisted maze of of stalls selling anything and everything from antiques, home decor, plants, jewelry, knick-knacks, office needs such as portfolios, sports equipment, bed and bath needs and clothes and leather goods where the branded ones sell for a fraction less compared to the ones being sold in their flagship boutiques in Greenbelt and Rockwell, ( I heard the ladies went crazy over one stall selling Zara bags for 100 bucks) I can say it's similar to other world famous markets such as the Camden and Portobello Market in London and the San Jose Flea Market.
But being the foodie that I am, I skip all those and avoid being squeezed by the sea of Christmas shoppers and hagglers and go straight to my main purpose of visiting this bazaar- getting a bite of all those food ! (Later on, I find out that being in the food area also means being squished by a sea of humanity!). Nevertheless, just tasting all these gastronomic delights makes the trip worth it.
I head first to the back of the gym where bottled goods and baked products are sold. With their little bowls containing dips,spreads and bits of cookies, cupcakes and bon bons, I begin my free taste stall hopping.
First stop- The Denim Kitchen which I know very well since they were right beside me when I had a stall at the Saturday Food Market at the Ayala Alabang Country Club. With crackers in hand, I began sampling their gourmet tuyo, bangus sardines, smoked mackarel and taba ng talangka. Not far from them is another stall selling gourmet bottled products, Gustazo, where I chanced upon there Pomodoro Tinapa and Bacalao.
Wagyu anything and everything is clearly visible in this year's bazaar. I was not able to sample the Wagyu beef since most were not offering free taste tests but some that caught my attention was a stall selling Wagyu Burgers and a product called Kinulob na Itik where the owners were explaining that it was steamed baby duck. I was not able to get the name of the stall, since they were also selling an item that caught my attention but seemed out of place- Hopia stuffed with Pili nuts. Right beside them was The Food Factory which was selling Bacolod, Baliwag, Lucban, Tuguegerao, Vigan and Chicken Longaniza. Not far from them was The Steak Lady which was selling Spanish Chorizo, Wagyu Tenderloin and something I saw for the first time locally but was already familiar with- Kurobuta Pork Slabs- a highly prized Japanese meat from the rare breed of pigs known as Berkshire from England.
I then realized it was already 11:30 a.m-time for lunch and time to head to the driveway of the gym where rice meals and sandwiches were sold. I bought an authentic Doner Kebab Shawarma care of Bizhan Persian Express, and a 7 inch Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich from the Cheesesteak Shop. Speaking of Middle Eastern Cuisine, I was able to discover a stall selling an authentic Moroccan Chicken Tagine cooking vessel for 199 bucks ! Dimsum and Congee? how about Siopao and Congee that had duck meat in it? I could not resist Denise and Polly's The Classic Roast which was offering Duck Adobo Flakes Siopao and Duck Congee. Still not satisfied, I then went straight to Gabby Roa's stall who has been a fixture at the SJTG Bazaar for her Chinese food and melted Toblerone filled Buchi. She was not offering those items this year but her Hainanese Chicken rice did not disappont. Still having room in my tummy, I then bought a Roast Turkey rice meal from Neil's Kitchen and Roast Calf rice meal from Ellie's. By the way, lessons learned from the past- I remembered to buy a soda from outside since canned soda at the bazaar will cost you 40 bucks.
Lastly, time for some last minute munchies care of Dees Popcorn which was offering free samples of their savory flavors such as bacon and cheese as well as their sweet ones like mocha, coffee and almond, and salted caramel.
While I did sample numerous cookies, bars, pies, cupcakes, cakes, confectionery, ice cream, pastries and other desserts, I decided not to include them since...well...that's what I specialize in. It is best for me not to compare my products to the products of my competitors. I leave that to the people who actually had the chance to buy my products. Whatever it is, visiting the bazaar always serves as a source of inspiration to come up with new food ideas ( I am already thinking of coming up with new quiche flavors and doing my own marinated frozen bangus) or to improve what I already have.
NEXT POST- FOOD FINDS AT THE ALABANG HILLS TOYS AND GIFTS CHRISTMAS BAZAAR HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND
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