In my Dongdaemun neighborhood in Seoul, I was lucky that the biggest fruit and vegetable market in northern Seoul was just five minutes from my apartment building.
I always felt like a tourist when I walked around its interesting alleys. Not only could I buy the cheapest strawberries and bananas, which I turned into smoothies, their watermelons were sweet and seedless, too! How I always wanted to buy two watermelons every time but they were heavy! (Read blog here).
I had to share my discoveries with my friends, so I toured them around the market and my neighborhood , and they shopped and enjoyed themselves as well. (Read blog here).
And in my hometown of Victorias City, we also have a bulantihan, our own traditional market where you can find the cheapest variety of produce. This is where I usually go to buy papayas, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables (read blog here).
It is always full of people during weekends when the vendors bring in produce from the north and south of the Negros island. This is why I patronize these vendors: to support the local farmers. This is what the Slow Food Movement also believes -- that food should be grown and bought locally (read blog here).
And all these years of going to the bulantihan, I was able to write my story in an essay that won at the 2022 Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Awards (read blog here).
On Fermin Street in Barangay 5 of Victorias City, Negros Occidental, we found a restaurant where the owner uses ingredients that she grows herself.
One day, an hour before noon, we ventured into that part of the town to try the dishes of Missy's Restaurant Herbs and Spices whose menu includes Middle Eastern cuisine, pastas, fresh fruit juices, and vegetable dishes, and where ingredients used are grown at a farm in the highlands of Victorias City.
We tried her chicken biryani and white pasta, which were perfect to satisfy the curiosity of her customers -- curious as to what makes Missy's Restaurant Herbs and Spices unique and what sets it apart from other restaurants in Victorias City.
I, being a pasta-person, ordered White Pasta which was al dente and creamy, and herbs used were organic. I paired it with Purple Lemonade made from blue ternate and sweetened with pure honey from the highlands of Gawahon of Victorias City.
Other than the White Pasta and Chicken Biryani, we also enjoyed the Fresh Vegetable with Croutons.😍
And to prove to the customers that Missy indeed grows her own herbs and spices, pots of young herbs sat on the tables, not only as displays, but could be picked and chewed on by curious customers like we did.
On our table was a pot of stevia rebaudiana, or commonly called stevia. It's also called candyleaf, sugarleaf, or sweetleaf because...it's sweet! It was my first time to chew on this leaf and was surprised it was indeed sweet!
A menu of healthy, yummy food and a variety of homegrown, organic herbs and spices -- these make Missy's Restaurant Herbs and Spices unique and a must-visit restaurant. For me, it's a must-return!😎
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This is the Facebook page of Missy's Restaurant Herbs and Spices:
https://www.facebook.com/Missykitchen01
#missystable #restaurant #middleeasternmenu #slowfood #slowfoodnegros #foodwriter
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