Joey Malana has been a feature of organic or weekend markets since the mid-90’s. 
He first worked with another farm that was well known for its lettuces, herbs and other Tagaytay grown vegetables. Today, he manages a stall at the Saturday Salcedo Market and he carries goods from four sources: Organic Vegetables, Isabela Farms, Tagaytay Farms and Mountain Trail. His stall is quite complete and the vegetables always look terrific. A bit on the pricier side, it’s well worth the reliability, selection and quality of his goods. He has the largest vegetable stall in the Salcedo market and many regulars that have come to rely on him for their week’s supply of produce. On a recent weekend, his stall had fantastic tomatoes from Ilocos (vine ripened), small squashes, squash flowers, herbs and large bulbs of Tagaytay grown fennel. He also carries all of the staples such as potatoes, garlic, onions, kangkong, cabbage, etc.
Joey used to go to several markets a week and I forgot to ask him where he transferred to on Sundays. 
I will ask him the next time I see him so others around the city will know where to find him. Joey is another great example of the difference it makes when the owner/manager is present at his or her stall — it exudes a genuine market feel and care for both the stuff being sold and the people who shop there. Joey often has suggestions for how to use some of his more unusual goods and can also bring larger orders if given enough advance warning. Some of his vegetables are organically grown but I am not certain what proportion of everything he sells is actually raised in an organic manner. Although he is a middleman (he doesn’t grow the stuff himself), he serves a tremendous role of selecting what’s best out there and bringing it to the heart of Makati’s highrises.
Joey always has a large crew of staff to help him prep the vegetables and keep 
the produce stand well-stocked and produce attractively displayed. Check out can be a bit crazed as several buyers swarm the cashier but overall this is a really nicely run produce stand. Look for Joey the next time you visit the Salcedo Market on Saturdays.
11 Responses
Wow! your blog/site is awesome! Discovered it just recently and ‘been telling my friends about it. Also, your photos are beautiful! What camera do you use?
One last thing, where EXACTLY is Salcedo market?
Thanks! Please keep doing what you’re doing.
I will be posting an entry on the Salcedo Market soon. It is a Saturday only market held in the parking lot in the center of Salcedo Village in Makati. It is front of the Salcedo I, II and III apartment buildings. It is near the Makati Sports Club. I use a Canon Ixus 430 and I am an amateur with shaky hands.
HI Marketman! Am in UK now, I miss the markets in Athens already!
Organic products are always pricey but think of the work
involved. Organic is a slow process thus take time (which is money) to grow. But there is nothing I can compare the taste.
Is organic meat popular in Philippines too? This is really a great info and happy to know that the organic market is
available there.
We are moving to Norway this week and we have organic coffee, tea, ketchup etc in our luggages.
A warbubg to the public: there are lots of false organic stuff oging around. This guy might even be a dud, if he is that guy that I have been acquainted with. There is a proliferation of fake organic sellers in the metro. When I questioned him before, he said his veggies come from Gourmet Farms. I took the issue up with Gourmet’s owner, who said that they only supply lettuce. Notice that their variation is almost impossible to come up with organically! THis annoys me to no end. I was a buyer of theirs for quite some time (beginning in the parking lot of then-incomplete Market Market), when I realized I was being robbed. They have been inconsistent with questions that I had asked my friends to throw at him.
As I mention in the post, I think only some of his produce is organic (meets the standards of organic farms say in the U.S., one of countries where “organic” is more clearly defined). But even if most is not organic, he still does a great job of assembling the variety needed in the heart of Makati. He has never made claims to me that all of his stuff is organic and I have never thought that either, they just look too good. There are very few purely organic growers selling in the Manila markets today… and even they would have to prove that the land that they tilled had NOT used chemicals or other things for several years BEFORE they started planting their crops, for example. To my knowledge we have no national organic standards board yet that will certify and continually check that farms meet their standards. I mean, don’t you want to be sure that raw manure is not used in the soil more than say 100 days before your lettuce is harvested? Personally, I would take variety first before worrying about only eating purely organic vegetables. We may get there eventually… meanwhile, keeping your own kitchen garden may be the best alternative.
It’s great to know that organic produce is now available in the Philippines. A report from a GMO mfr here in the US mentions that they ran into some problems with the anti-GMO movement in the Philippines, as the anti-GMO told them that Pinoy farmers DON’T want GMO products. Apparently the mfr decided to do their own field research, and after they talked to some Filipino farmers, they were pleasantly surprised to find out that they (the farmers) weren’t even aware of what GMO is. Mfr’s conclusion was that the Philippines (among others) is ripe for more GMO-marketing. I hope that patronizing these vendors of organic food will help to raise public consciousness as well as educate the farmers themselves. If the demand is there, perhaps more farmers will want to meet that demand. Thank you for such an informative website!
i just read the article on you today in the Inquirer.
thanks for coming up with this site. i don’t know if
somebody already informed you but joey has a stand at the
lung center grounds in quezon city on sundays. market hours there are from 7 am to 12 nn.
have sampled his large button mushrooms and were fantastic with fettucine! i’ll try them for a risotto next time.
I find it very interesting. I read in the PDI article about your web: MarketManila and so I did.
hi.i just your articleabout the salcedo weekend market. i would like to ask if u could give me any contact number of the organizer, im interested in joining if they still have available slots.thanks and more power.
Isis, its best to just go on Saturday and look for the organizers table that is on one corner of the market, near the table that sells just softdrinks… the organizers are there… I understand they have a massive waitlist…but give a try anyway.
hi! i want to know if you have these organic vegetables for my husband fighting cancer chemos :
I need – Lacinato Kale, Swiss Red Chard, Dandelion, celery, green apples, broccoli, maitake mushroom, carrots, alfalfa etc? Can you also deliver to our house on a weekly basis? Please email me at julie.esguerra@gmail.com or text me thru my cell – 0905-537-6166 Thsnk you.