It’s hard to fathom, but over the last 5 years with an active polling feature, I have asked 160 poll questions and with an average of say 700-800 reader votes cast per question, that is some 120,000 “votes” cast. And yet, less than 5% of Marketmanila’s regular readers seem to have EVER cast a poll vote. I think a hardcore group of readers cast votes on almost every poll, while others simply like to view the results. Statistically, when over 500 respondents respond, it is usually a pretty good gauge of viewer sentiment, unless the questions are absurd and the answer choices equally biased… Of course, the viewership of this blog is probably NOT representative of the population as a whole… but I still find the results from previous polls to be incredibly interesting.
Once in a while, I draw a blank when thinking up a new poll question. So I figured I would ask you guys. What poll question(s) would you ask of the other regulars on the blog? Leave a comment and maybe I will get to ask a few of the more interesting (and not previously asked) poll question suggestions. Let’s please keep the poll questions relevant to the theme of the blog, though I will admit I have occasionally asked totally unrelated questions that include demographics, politics, birth control, etc. :) For those reticent readers who rarely or never participate in any of the polls, I would encourage you to do so because more votes always makes things more interesting. I will assure you that by voting you do NOT leave any trace of your identity, location, internet address, etc.
Meanwhile, comments from readers on each of the posts often brings new intelligence, insight, tips, etc. to the discussion, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all regular commenters for their active participation in making this blog a better place… the collective wisdom and information on this blog with nearly 2,900 posts and almost 96,000 comments (excluding all of my own comments) is simply quite amazing. Maraming salamat! :)
33 Responses
Let me think first. I’ll come back and post my poll question later. It’s just hard to pass up on a comment when you become the first commenter.
When ever I plan to cook something and had to follow certain recipe, I always go to your blog and find out what would Mr. Market Manila do. I always used your blog as a great reference for whatever I need to do or how to improve on a certain recipe.
This may have already been asked, but. . .
What do you think the average family in the Philippines spends on food? (with the answers expressed as percentage of income? Or as a range of amounts in pesos?)
Really, I want to know what people think about Noynoy Aquino’s crackdown on corruption in the government, but that’s not following the theme of the blog. . . :-)
But another question. . .
Should MM start a political/social-issues blog?
My answer would be “Yes, of course!”
I can likely count with my fingers the number of times I followed an actual recipe of yours to the letter but I would have lost count of the number of times I was inspired, goaded, challenged to cook a similar recipe from my own tiny repertoire by your blog post. It would be likewise taxing to memory to recall the number of techniques and improvements I have adopted due to a suggestion in a post or in comments of readers about the subject. A recent example is your post on Lumpiang Ubod. I lost no time in going out to pick some garlic, onion, carrots, French cut green beans, pork, shrimps and red leaf lettuce. No ubod, no problem, I picked out a celery root. At home, I made the sauce adding a bit of Hoisin and sesame oil to the basic sweet-salty potato starch suspension, let it cooled, funneled it into a squeeze bottle and I was set up for a week of breath-defying garlicky delight.
I would ask this question: If you were NOT to eat something for the rest of your life, it would most probably be a type of:
a. Meat
b. Seafood
c. Vegetable
d. Fruit
e. Grain
since this is a food blog and dirty pots and plates are inevitable and doing the dishes isn’t my favorite chore, i’d like to ask,
how do you clean up after you cook and/or eat?
– i clean up after myself
– i have helpers to clean up
– there’s a designated family member for dish cleaning
– i wait for the plates to pile up and clean when i don’t have any more to use
– i buy disposable plates and utensils to eat off of
or throw in other options MM :)
My poll question would be:
aside from adobo, do you think the filipino cuisine has earned enough merits to say that it has arrived in the international scene? yes or no?
MM, I should thank you–i have learned many things from your blog. think of me when you hear “old dog–new tricks”. now, I’m going over your posts on Spain and Italy since I’ll be vacationing there in a few weeks. looking forward to the FOOD!
My poll question: What is your least favorite Filipino food?
1) Balut/Penoy
2) Dinuguan
3) Isaw
4) Other: ___________
Will you purchase a recipe book by MM?
1. yes (___)
2. no (___)
@K.Ramos – Maybe meat, but this is because I have gone pescatarian for a year before, and I survived. In the same line, you can do, what would you choose if you ONLY can eat one of the above (same choices) for the rest of your life. :) I’ll go with fruits :)
If you are going to give up one flavor forever, what would it be? Salty, sweet, sour, bitter (does umami count?) :) Bitter wins :D
Poll Question: In your home, who cooks/prepares the daily meals?
A.) myself
B.) another family member, ________ specify relationship
C.) household helper/ cook
D.) no one cooks, we buy cooked food or eat out.
Hmm~ maybe I’d ask how people choose to eat healthier meals? or what they can do to make the Filipino diet healthier? And also what they think about Filipino’s life expectancy rate.
Good day everyone!
Ahm, I think I am into this melancholy recently. But this question targets only the male of the specie. It’s gonna be like:
“Who cooks better, your Mom or your Wife?”
Hahahahahahaha!
My husband George should be quiet this time. Or else. “,)
I like how you challenge and keep your readers interested, MM . Some of the recipes I have adapted from your blog, some from betty Q and sister have been keepers. Like Footloose, I did the ubod lumpia recently, except I must have gotten the tougher part of the ubod and it did not turn out as well as I expected.
For me, with self imposed discipline while surfing the net , I usually zone in on the meat and anything in the periphery, as in ads are considered distractions, so the survey questions to the side of the post tend to be ignored. I do however peek at the results at times when my curiosity gets piqued.
Some things I am curious about:
How concerned are you about the source of your food, locally sourced, overseas, farmed as opposed to wild?
Do you ever read food labels?
How concerned are you about the degree of processing that the foods worthy of being in your pantry go through?
Are you ever worried about pesticide contamination, food additives or food stabilizers, artificial sweeteners?
ex. aspartame, carageenan, MSG, etc. enough to change your shopping preferences?
Would you be proactive enough to ask your grocer to stock healthier food choices?
If you like to fry and save and reuse the oil, when do you decide to discard and how?
Do you believe virgin coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils in the planet?
How concerned are you about your carbon imprint and if you are, do you do anything about it?
BearHug127 has a good start. But, isn’t quite right:
Q: Will you purchase a cookbook my MM?
A. Yes.
B. Of course, yes.
C. Is there a limit to the number of copies I may purchase?
On the cookbook topic, “How much would you spend on a cook book”? and as a follow up, “Will you buy MM’s cookbook if it’s priced at the PhpX,XXX” range?
“What are the factors that influence you in buying a cookbook” [Price, Pictures, Recipes, Ingredients, Famous Chef/Author, etc.]
It would be interesting to know:
What about cooking don’t people like and what they like about it?
What do people like and don’t like about local cooking magazines?
What makes a cookbook attractive to a foodie? Author, pictures, price, recommendation, etc.
Who are your local and foreign food icons?
How many readers attend cooking classes? Where and why?
If you had one last meal…. What would it be?
For me, I want to know about:
What is the price range of a good (not best) wine that you have served? (Example of ranges: below P300, below P1000, below P2500, Below P5,000, P5000 & up). I just want to see if there are wines out there that are good, without costing an arm and a leg.
I think you have asked along this line but if not: Where do you regularly buy your vegetables? (supermarket, palengke, talipapa, own garden, bangketa, etc)
How often do you eat dinner that is cooked at home (as opposed to eating out or take out) in a month’s/week’s time?
Do you avail of seat sale promos of airlines? Y/N
If yes, mostly overseas or local?
How often do you go on an out of town/out of of the country vacation in a year? (never, once a year, 2 to 3 times a year, 4-6 times a year, every month, more than once a month)
Do you usually book in a hotel, bed & breakfast, inn, stay with relatives, pension houses, etc. Or asked like this: do you prefer backpacking style (pension houses), book in standard hotels (1 or 2 stars), stay in mid-range (3 stars or bed and brekafast) or the best possible accommodation (5 stars, boutique hotels) most/all the time?
@James – I stand corrected.
MM, I’ve been an avid reader of your blog for many years now and I always find your poll questions interesting and entertaining. Though I admit I seldom leave a comment, I always participate in your polls. For me, this would be an interesting poll question.
When travelling out of the country, you are inclined to spend more on:
a) food
b) shopping
c) sightseeing
d) accommodations
Assuming you are in another country and a friend/family is visiting from the Philippines, what would you have him/her bring as pasalubong for you:
a. Knorr Sinigang/ Kare Kare Mix
b. Polvoron / Pastillas/ Peanut Brittle
c. Shirt of Manny Pacquiao
d. Walis tambo
e. Papaya soap or tawas deodorant
I am a marketmanila neophyte as compared to most of the commenters here but please allow me the pleasure of sharing my own question(s) as well!
1. What do you think of the Philippines’ culinary scene as it stands?
a.) Excellent and is still growing!
b.) Too international for my taste…
c.) Bring in the fusion!
2. What other efforts can we take as a cyber community to help our sisters and bretheren (both young and old) for the long run!
3. When and where would you like the next Marketmanila Eyeball to be? Would you go?
Following the footsteps of both james and bearhug…
4. If the fabled marketman book were to be released, would you buy it?
a.) Yes
b.) Certainly
c.) ummm…. of course!
d.) no… question there!
of course, you’re free to add any other choices to my questions MM! :)
Everything Connie C said. Those are all questions I would love to see the answer to!
Not a foodie question, but seeing as MM has some non-foodie posts:
This has been making rounds the past few days and though it is clearly a hoax, a columnist still fell for it?
“Harvard” study finding pinoys are the world’s most gullible people
[https://mosquitopress.net/post/3854901510/harvard-study-finds-that-filipinos-are-the-worlds-most]
‘Gullible’ columnist falls for satirical blog post
[https://www.gmanews.tv/story/216263/technology/gullible-journalist-falls-for-satirical-blog-post]
I’d like to know:
Do you find (us) Filipinos gullible?
a.) Yes
b.) No
c.) Maybe
d.) WTH #$!*&%^!!
Hey Marketman,
As for me, I must have only requested for a lechon recipe perhaps 1/2 a dozen times and to my surprise, I think not only you’ve answered back but to be included in one my favorite TV show with Mr. Bourdain..”WOW”. That completey blew me away. You’re the MAN Marketman. I don’t know you but, I Love You Man. After I’m done doing all my morning chores, 1st thing I do as soon as I open my lapatop and go to your website to get an idea what to cook for my family. Now, how about a “Burong Dalag Recipe”? :>)
I have gained friends through your blog, i.e. BettyQ and ECC, and had also tried and experimented on many of the recipes you’ve had posted. Whenever I see a recipe on other sites, I always compared it to yours.
My question would be:
What are the food/dishes that your parents serves/makes you eat when you were young that you dislike, but now as an adult clamors for, and why?
I’m recently concerned about how we eat. When urbanization boomed, the lifestyle of employees changed. Now, there are graveyard shifts and people are living further and further from their work place. I guess, my poll question would be surrounded around on how far have we changed in our eating habits, cooking choices, and buying power? So, the the first poll question would be: Do you keep a food diary? Do you plan meals weekly for you or your family?
I can’t think of anything off the top of my head right now but I can’t wait to vote on all the questions above! Guess I’m one of your more industrious poll responders, MM, as I click on that thing as soon as a new question comes out. Keep ’em coming!
answering the polls is one of the first things i do when i log in your site hehe. my poll question would be: how much time do you spend cooking a typical meal at home, not including the prep time? a. 30 mins b.1 hour c. more than 1 hour.
Are you happy with your weight? (Would be interested to know if there’s a significant difference in responses by men/women)
MM, am not sure if you have tackled this topic already. But it may be interesting to know Filipinos’ top choice in terms of comfort food.