MANILA, Philippines -- On an early morning trip to the Guadalupe wet market in Makati City Friday, Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was greeted by a scene so familiar it was like he was back home in Bangkok.

"Just like home," he said after his hour-long visit to the crowded and busy public market, where he purchased fresh vegetables, chicken breasts, pork tenderloin and shrimp.

"I'm going to cook fried noodles with pork, shrimp and five vegetables," said Samak, a celebrity chef in his native country. He said he was going to prepare his specialty, Pad Thai, for his hosts in the Thai embassy later in the day.

Unlike local market-goers, the Thai head-of-government did not bother to haggle with vendors for lower prices and ended up spending a little over P1,000.

No matter, Samak said the prices of the produce -- including rice -- were very similar to those in Thailand.

"He was very happy that the prices were all the same, including rice," said Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, who accompanied Samak, along with local and Thai officials, security escorts and journalists.

"Considering that Thailand is a rice-exporting country, and the Philippines is a rice-importing country, this is a good thing," Yap told reporters.

Asked if Samak had made any promises to supply the Philippines with rice should the need arise, the agriculture secretary said: "Yes, yes. He will help. He will assist us."

Samak became prime minister in January this year. Apart from his political life, he is a well-known television chef in Thailand, having hosted a cooking show on a local network.

His trip to the market began at a little past 7 a.m.

Surrounded by officials and bodyguards, he checked out the stalls, starting at a rice booth, where he commented on the similar prices. He bought no rice, however.

The market was abuzz with the media attention on the 72-year-old Samak, who wore a gray long-sleeved shirt. Many were curious about the identity of the man who caused such fanfare.

"Yan daw yung prime minister ng [that's the prime minister of] Taiwan," an elderly woman was overheard saying, drawing some chuckles for the mistake.

Samak proved a tough customer, handling the produce with his hands, smelling and checking it before making his picks.

He bought a kilo of pork tenderloin from a meat stall, a kilo of native tomatoes, and half-a-kilo of green chili peppers from a vegetable stand.

At another stand, he bought 1.2 kilos each of broccoli and American tomatoes, and another kilo of white onions. "He did not haggle but I gave him a discount anyway," said vendor Ine Lansang.

Samak also bought a kilo of shrimp for P400, asking the vendor, Paz Gabriel, to remove the heads, tails and shells before packing them in a plastic bag.

He stopped for a moment at a stall selling different kinds of the Filipino delicacy, "bagoong," a paste made either of salt-preserved shrimp or fish. He held up a ladle of the shrimp paste to his nose and decided he did not like it.

"Maybe he thought your bagoong stinks," a neighbor told the vendor, laughing.

Samak said the market looked very similar to the ones in Thailand.

But he said the Guadalupe market had at least one advantage: fresher seafood. He commented that much of the Philippines is close to the coast, so fresh catch is more available.

True enough, Samak saw catfish, tilapia, and other seafood so fresh they were still wriggling on the tiles.

He said that in Thailand and the Philippines, the people could still buy fresh meat, vegetables and seafood in wet markets. Almost everywhere else, Samak said, "people are buying everything in supermarkets."