Filipino market finds

There are wonderful, unfamiliar to many, goodies to discover at Filipino markets.

Glazed pili nuts are a Filipino specialty that are worth seeking out any any of the markets below. They've an odd texture, surprisingly light in the mouth with a short bite like a pine nut. But they're also incredibly rich, not unlike crunching into pork rinds - another popular Filipino snack - only sweet, of course.

Quarts of Filipino ice cream made from coconut, purple yam, maize, baby bananas, jackfruit and more, are sold, along with coconut desserts, at Manila Oriental, 5509 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, 703 379 0595.

Salinas Oriental Store, 9205 Oxon Hill Rd, Fort Washington, 301 567 2733, sells Philippine drinks made from soursop, mango, guava, and the citrus fruit, calamansi. Their roasted deep fried pork skins with a spicy vinegar and garlic dipping sauce are worth trying.

Danny's Tindahan, 4115 Wisconsin Ave NW, 202 244 7221, is a small grocery filled with interesting Filipino dried and canned goods.

On Saturday mornings at Mabuhay Oriental Store, 6615 Backlick Rd, Springfield, 703 451 8986, a well-stocked Philippine supermarket, Sylvia and Willie Rodriguez, sell ready-made menudo, a Philippine stew of pork, liver, raisins, potatoes, green pepper and spices, binuguan with puto, a beef stew with intestine, pigs ears, pork blood and garlic served with a sticky rice cake, bibinka, a rice-flour and white cheese bun cooked in a banana leaf, pancit (noodles) and lechon (roast pork).

Grace, a Filipina who knows, recommends Old Town International, N. Summit Ave, Gaithersburg, Celino's on Cady Drive and the North Star Bakery on Livingston Rd, both in Fort Washington as good sources for Philippine goodies.

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