Dear friends,
We went to the wet market last night. I was sad a little bit because the result of my pictures are not good during evening as I’m just using my iphone6Splus old model. There was no driver in the evening since he is working during the day. So, at 6 pm, we rode in a car to Langihan, the cheapest and most complete public and night market of Caraga.
Available in Langihan
The public/night market is known for its seafoods and the rare meats of an eel fish, wild pigs, coconut larvae and wild frogs that the local tribe used to hunt in the mountain. Seafoods can be bought are crabs, lobsters, squid, clams, osysters, shrimps, sea snails and of course fish. When we buy fish, vendors are expert to clean the fish. But it’s up to us if we want to clean it at home, however, the cleaning service is free. They can also make a fillet whether we want to make a Kinilaw or just fry the fish slices and coat with breadcrumbs and flour.
They also sell a grated oconut for 0.44$ in each piece, plus the household stuff, used RTWs, rice, eggs, nuts and flowers.
Beside of the wet market are pharmacies, bakeries, grocery stores, meat shops, a van and bus terminal, eateries and food stalls that sell street foods.Speaking of the street foods, these are available with price ranges from 0.35$ to 0.087$:
Kwek-Kwek- It is a hardboiled egg coated with flour. The flour is mixed with a food coloring to achieve an orange color and fried in a pan. It is paired with two different kinds of sauces like vinegar with cucumber, chilli and onion which is really delicious. The other sauce is ketchup with vinegar, sugar and soy sauce.
Chicken Intestine or Tagalogs call it Isaw- It is a chicken intestine that is cut and grilled. Before grilling, the intestine is brushed with soy sauce, cooking oil and ketchup.
Balut- This nutritious food is a deep boiled egg with fetus inside. It’s my favorite even if some people find it disgusting.
Fish Ball and Squidball- There are two kinds of sauces to dip in the fishball and these are the normal sauce and hot sauce. The sauce is made up of vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, all purpose flour, red onion, red chilli (if spicy) and pepper.
Chicken/Pork Blood or they call it in Tagalog Betamax- It is a coagulated cubed chicken/pork blood with a soy sauce made up of vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, onion, chilli papper, salt and black pepper to taste. This savory food is popular in the Philippines that the name comes from a tape Betamax. This is a dried dinuguan version of a Dinuguan recipe where the main ingredient is a pork blood being sautéed in a wok and added with green and red siling labuyo, ginger, onion, garlic, salt and peoper pepper to taste. It is mixed with a pork intestine and pancreas.
Hot Cake- It is popular in Langihan that can be bought for four pieces for 0.30$. This jellylike cake is coated with white sugar and margarine. Simple ingredients but I can’t resist its tasty taste.
Corn- Vendors also sell a steamed corn that costs 0.30$ for four pieces.
Fried Chicken- It costs 0.35$. The chicken is coated with flour, eggs and breadcrumbs and deep fried.
The Transportation
There is what they call Pajak-pajak in Bisaya that costs 0.08$ as fare because it doesn’t need a gasoline. It’s like a bicycle where chairs and roof are installed that loads two passengers and baggages.
Orange tricycle is a trademark of Butuan that also parks at the market to look for passengers. It can load 8 people. The fare is 0.17$ each.
There are also a big parking area for motorbikes. Some of the motorbikes that park are also looking for passengers. The fare costs 0.87$. Because my place needs a double ride, I sometimes pick it up, but it can’t load many baggages. It’s advantage is I don’t always stop knowing I’m the only one passenger unlike when I trike.
There is a spacious parking lot for the trucks and cars. Sometimes, we can park distantly from the market because there’s no space available as the market is very crowded.
What to Expect when we Visit the Langihan Public/Night Market?
You can expect a wet ground on the market. If you’re brave enough to buy there because you’re on a tight budget, wear shoes, boots or wedged sandal so your feet won’t be wet a little bit. The market is crowded, never bring a baby or a toddler. It has a spacious parking lot behind, but smells stinky because the fish vendors are just throwing the fish intestines at the canals after they clean it.
Homeless children and families are every corner of the pavement. I’ve been wondering why the local government has done nothing when it comes to them and the pulubi (a tagalog language that means a person who begs money from strangers). This has always been a problem since ages.
The public/night market is also occupied with cocaine and tobacco smugglers. Young people are one of the victims. Most of them are fearless currently that Duterte was replaced by a current administration.
After you buy, there are groups of teenagers that offer a help to carry your belongings and they’ll also find a vehicle for you, but they ask a payment afterwards.But you can ignore those kids.
Opening and Closing Hours
The public/night market is open from 3 am until 11 pm, but it depends on the vendor what time they close. The best way to buy vegetables is during night time from 6 pm until 11 because they lower the prices. They also lower the prices of Seafoods and meats, but it’s not fresh anymore.
Final Words
If there are fruits, vegetables, household items that cannot be found at the grocery stores and malls, those are available in Langihan as this public and night market is complete. They also sell the traditional brooms, the Pinoy traditional coconut grater, the traditional garden tools, banana leaves and more.
Buying pork, beef and chicken meats here isn’t recommended during afternoon and at night as it is usually not frozen unlike at the meatshoppes and malls.
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Thank you amazing friends 
