— witsandnuts

Sosi Streetfood, Mall of Asia

I am writing this with no offense to the streetfood vendors and patronizers.  Occasional eating of squidballs sold in Ayala Ave. is actually one of my simple pleasures.  The last time I craved about it was last month that I took this photo:

Fronting People Support Building, Ayala Ave.I cooked some at home but it is not at par with those in Ayala’s despite that I matched it with the yummy ready sweet and spicy sauce/s from SM Supermarket.  What’s the secret?  The dust in the street? Hehe. 

I also wanted to try these big guavas but I only eat those which are freshly picked in Laguna:

And this tempting shawarma at the stall near LRT Station.  But no thanks!  I think I’m safe with the one from SM Megamall.

Rarely I also eat “tokneneng” (coated quail eggs) at Balut Eggspress in Ayala MRT Station or in Robinson’s Pioneer.  Lately, I have tried these also from Dr. Kwek Kwek Eggspecialist in Mall of Asia (MOA):

And here’s the heart of this post:  are you fond of eating fried squid/calamares selling for PhP2.50 or less per piece in the streets?  This explains why the vendors can leverage on its cheap pricing which is way different from Tokyo Tokyo’s Nakamura meals and prices by Squidster in Mall of Asia:

Squidster, Mall of Asia.  Haven’t tried these.

For those who didn’t catch the November 17 airing of Imbestigador, they did an expose about the source of these frozen squid being used by the streetfood vendors in coming up with their marketable calamares.  

Calamares sold at Ayala Ave. 

These are imported from Korea, Spain and China by (some authority that we do not know) and are warehoused in VIFEL-2 in Navotas, which is temporarily closed as of the moment.  According to the warehouse personnel, there are several companies who are patronizing these produce/stocks.  Per Fisheries Administrative Order Number 195 , Section 2, retail selling of these is prohibited in the Philippines.

It is not being maarte.  But let us al be cautious.  And it is not all about making a living.  But be a fair entrepreneur – whether you’re a street vendor or not.  How sure are we that some of the establishments are not sourcing from these featured frozen squid?

These imported frozen squid are selling at PhP60/kilo, while squid locally grown in the Philippines are at PhP250/kilo.  A street vendor claimed on national television that they profit at PhP2,500/day on the average.  And the horror of this:  the frozen squid bears Yeast and Mould count of 2,500.  Isn’t that eeeeeew?