A Brand New Salad

CEBU, Philippines — Welcome the “Bring It ‘Chon Salad!” It is made with romaine lettuce, turnip, cherry tomatoes, quinoa, fried garlic and two other ingredients that are proudly Cebuano specialties, lechon and mango. And it is found only in Cebu’s SaladStop!

A salad is a dish made with small pieces of food like vegetables, and it may contain a variety of prepared food items, flavored with a sauce called a salad dressing. There are five basic salad types: green or vegetables, bound (thick sauce like mayonnaise), main course (dinner salads), fruit, and dessert.

In 1975, I was working with the Agrivet Division of Abbott Laboratories and I joined my colleague in the Agrichem Division in visits to vegetables farms in Matalongon, Dalaguete, Cebu. He was marketing a biological insecticide Dipel, made from Bacillus thuringiensesas against the larvae of the diamondback cabbage moth. It was then that I saw the rampant abuse of chemical pesticides that I simply stopped eating cabbages.

In 1985, I worked as veterinarian in a swine farm, and we also planted vegetables on a commercial scale. We were successful with eggplants and “siling espada” (finger peppers). No chemicals were applied to the peppers but the eggplants needed insecticides to stop the fruit and shoot borers. Then I also, excuse me, stopped eating eggplants.

Today, consumers are more mindful about what vegetables are sold in the market and are inclined to the organically produced greens. Saladstop! was founded in 2009 to bring a new facet to salads and a fresh approach to fast food. Its ideology is “Eat Wide Awake” and sources its veggies and ingredients from verified partners to produce salads that are not only delicious but nutritious and healthy as well.

They group their salads into three types, the Classics (Cobb, Greek), Warm Grain Bowl (Odon, Chihuahua), and the Signatures such as the Hail Caesar, Tuna San, Big Bird, Omega 3 Baby, Go Geisha, Oh Crab Lah!, and Iron Woman. Clients have an option to have the Classics and the Signature Salad served either in a bowl or in a wrap.

There are two types of dressings, Western and Asian, with which you can top your salad. The Western Dressings offered are Classic Caesar, Thousand Island, Basil, Ranch, Fresh Lemon & Oil, Honey Dijon, and Raspberry Vinaigrette. If your choice is Asian, you can select the Mango or Thai Lemongrass Vinaigrette, Japanese Miso, Indian Spiced Yogurt, Wasabi Honey Soy and the Singapore Chili Crab.

During the food tasting, The Bring It ‘Chon Salad was served in a salad bowl and in a wrap. It was paired with two smoothies, Green Glow and Aloha Burst. I preferred the salad service in a bowl because I could see and taste the lechon toppings – it was delicious. I had two smoothies to choose, the Green Glow that had spinach, mango, apple, Greek yoghurt, chia Seeds and coconut water, and the Aloha Burst. I tried both and my palate did love the Green Glow.

I asked for an extra salad serving, the Oh Crab Lah! with the Singapore Chili Crab dressing and its lovely taste made it the best seller at the Saladstop!