Sometimes, when I walk through an underpass along Ayala or see the lights lining up the Makati skyline, I feel like living straight off a scene in the tunnels of Neverwhere, or a segment on Saturday Night Live. The horrors and humors of living in Makati City are characteristic of a concrete jungle in a cosmopolitan era, and can sometimes be better than fiction.

During Sundays, however, the scene shifts to combine elements and actions from The Walking Dead sans zombies and car collisions, and A Moveable Feast sans Hemingway. Anxiety levels drop with only a few buses and cars cruising down the avenue, while the backdrop of silence gets amplified by the towering grave of commercial buildings. If you follow the story, you have to take a turn to Rufino from Dela Rosa* until you reach an intersection (a Starbucks should be in sight at your right), because there awaits a hub for the insatiably curious, subtly hedonistic mind.

The Legaspi Sunday Market

If you don’t live, but work, in Makati, you should come by its weekend markets: The Salcedo Market on Saturdays and the Legaspi Market on Sundays. Both are outdoor markets featuring street-style eating taken several notches up. I remember scrawling it here my plan to scoot to any of these fares one of these days. So, at noon today, I did.

Upon arriving though, it totally escaped me to check out slabs of tuna or salmon in the fish section — my goal of goals. My lack of nourishment then proved to be antagonistic to photo binging: The place was teeming with coffee table snaps, only moving, like on The Daily Prophet.

I just went on stalking couples who were checking out the Arts and Crafts Section. After checking out things myself and making  small talk with a vendor, I politely asked to take a couple shots and left with a P160 desktop basket made by the good people of Bicol.

These scents were lodged somewhere between the artsy stuff and the buffet tables. Look like potions to me.

At a stall called Taqueria El Rey, and so much for alluding to fiction, I found my brunch’s entree and brushed shoulders with Iza Caldo (a Filipina actress) and boyfriend(?).

For another awesome P160, I got two pieces of quesadilla with chips and salsa. The band playing ethnic instruments was still lulling us into self-indulgence but it was getting close to 1:30,  so I just ordered out and scooted back to reality. I promised to return, with so much swelling in the heart for whatever piece of resolution and peace I’ve found from the moveable feast that was the Legaspi Market. Next time, I’ll bring an entire cast of characters and more lenses with me.

Legaspi Market opens Sundays from 7:30 AM to 2 PM. Parking space is available in the area. Other sections include the fresh produce, the organic stuff, and dining.

*There are other routes to check; try Google Maps to be sure.