Merry Munching at Mercato Centrale

It's always a nice and satisfying thing to eat comforting food at a delicious food place. You probably have experienced those moments when you just crave for something good that you won't stop until you get the food you want so bad. Sometimes, however, there's the bad part wherein you want so many things and one can be bought here, another one there, and another one two blocks away. Simply put, all these good food that you keep looking for are not located on just one store alone. Yes, that could be a really big hassle. Well, what if you take all these yummy food recommends, not to mention those you've been craving for, and place them in one spot? Wouldn't that be even more fun and convenient all at the same time? 

This is exactly what came into the minds of the people who established the Mercato Centrale at the Bonifacio Global City at Taguig. To tell you honestly, they did a pretty good job in gathering these great food finds. Practically everything in there is a must-try. We actually had a hard time choosing what to buy because of all the mouth-watering food that we saw. Mercato Centrale has it all - burgers, chicken, wraps, cakes, breads, cookies, cupcakes, ice cream, vegetables, processed food, you name it. You will simply be awed at what this food spot can offer.

What we like about Mercato Centrale is that it's very different from the usual. It's actually better than going at a usual restaurant at the mall. It's one diversified food place, and groups can get what they really want. If one wants a burger, then he can have a burger. If one wants tempura, then he can have tempura. If one wants something healthy, then he can also find it at Mercato. Generally speaking, it satisfies a big chunk of the market. You will also notice upon visiting Mercato is that food stalls are grouped accordingly. They have two big air-conditioned tents, one features the organic and the healthy foods, while the other tent focuses more on desserts. They have an open-air tent which showcases the foods which are needed to be grilled or fried. This is usually where the burgers, chickens, pastas, and other freshly cooked food can be located. Probably the best thing about Mercato Centrale is that almost every food stall offers free tastes. This is a good thing because it'll help you on what you really want to buy. It can also give you a hint if what they sell is really good or not (well, based on what we tasted, there really is nothing bad-tasting at Mercato). Basically every stall that we passed we were trying their free samples. There were some which were very good and even some that really stood out. But, at the end of the day, you really can't buy and eat all of them now, can you? We did, however, bought some pasalubong to bring to our families for them to try out. 

The people there were very kind to customers. They were, as much as possible, explaining what they were selling. They didn't just rely on their brochures or their tarps. They were really discussing what their products are and what would make you buy them. Some, we think, would even make a good career at public relations. There's no bad service here at Mercato Centrale. 

Here's what we ate at the venue. You could use this as a guide when you visit Mercato Centrale:

Bale Dutung's Pan de Bagnet, 200 php


Glutton Guy: I took a bite of Glutton Girl's Pan de Bagnet. She really wanted to taste it so bad. There was only one word on my mind, though - CHOLESTEROL. Yep, all that juicy meat, skin, and layers of fat in a ciabatta sanwich is a good 'heart attack prone' food. It's delicious, though, one way or another. What I liked about this dish was that the bagnet was the most recognizable ingredient. The flavors of the vegetables didn't overpower the flavor of the bagnet. The bagnet was the star here, and that made an impact for me. You could really taste the crunchy pork skin and the layers. The bread was soft, but it was a bit powdery for me. It's not a bad thing to try out, though. Just be sure that your cholesterol level's okay. : )

Glutton Girl: This dish has had a lot of rave reviews in other food blogs, maybe because of it's new concept (putting bagnet in a ciabatta sandwich) but it was just okay for me. The bagnet was really good, but when it was placed inside the sandwich and the oriental sauce was added, it kind of drenched the bagnet and lost its crispiness. I also think they put little of the bagnet and more of the veggies. The bread is kind of thick so adding more bagnet slices would be better. It's 200 pesos anyway. But, I'm glad I tried it. For the experience.

Bale Dutung's Lechon Tortilla, 150 php


Glutton Guy: Nothing close to the lechon tortilla I was expecting. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this dish. As much as I would like to like it, it really did not go well for me. What really turned me off (and I kept saying this to Glutton Girl while we were eating) was the oriental sauce that they placed. Not only did it not look good (it was color green,errr...enough said I guess), it also did not taste good. It gave the wrap a herby, citrusy flavor that I really didn't like. The sauce overpowered everything, even the flavor of the lechon. I really couldn't taste the lechon in that wrap, thanks to the sauce. Would I buy it the next time I go there? Probably not. : )

Glutton Girl: This was just so-so also. The lechon crisps did not taste like lechon at all, but I liked the idea of using tortilla wrap. I think it would be best if they combine the two ideas: bagnet inside the tortilla wrap, for 180 pesos.

Manang's Chicken, in original and mild spicy flavors


                                               chicken only               with macaroni salad or rice
    Wings (6 pieces)                120 php                                  140 php
       Leg / Thigh 
            1 piece                          60 php                                     80 php
            2 pieces                       120 php                                  140 php


Glutton Guy: I really loved Manang's chicken. The chicken was very crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside. The sauce really was flavorful. I really liked it a lot, especially the original flavored sauce. Unlike other wings I have tried, Manang's chicken wings are very saucy. They pour the sauce on the chicken, rather than the usual. You would know because there's some excess sauce on the styro-container. The sesame seeds gave the added crunch and the nice presentation. Overall, I'd say that Manang's chicken is one of the best we've had at Mercato. : )

Glutton Girl: They mean it when they say they're better than BonChon Chicken. Their chicken is so crispy and their sauce is so yummy! Add the sesame seeds on top and voila! Yummy double-fried chicken in front of you. What makes me so proud about Manang's Chicken is that it's true-blue Filipino. The fact that it beats BonChon in taste, crisp, and over-all experience makes me feel 'kilig'. FILIPINO! FILIPINO! Haha! This is one stall I will come back for.

Calamansi Juice and Lemonade, 25 php


Glutton Guy: I must say, the clamansi juice is truly a great drink. This juice is perfect for a hot day. It's not overly sweet and you could really taste that citrus flavor of the calamnsi. I loved it when I take a bit at the spicy chicken wings. The lemonade was also a delicious drink. It had the right sweetness as well. Two great drinks at one great place! : )

Glutton Girl: The calamansi juice was pretty good for a concentrate-based juice. It had the enough sweetness and sour kick in it. And it was just 25 pesos per glass, which was pretty cheap for Mercato standards. As for the lemonade, freshly squeezed and sweet at the same time = YUMMY. This really quenched my thirst.

Merry Moo French Vanilla Ice Cream (cone), 65 php


Glutton Girl: This was gooooooood! I like sweet stuff, and well, this satisfied my sweet tooth's craving. Glutton Guy was more daring though; he chose the Sea Salt + Caramel. I was not that into it so I went to the safer side and got French Vanilla. I'm happy I did. :) What's surprising is the owner makes his own ice cream. We met him; his name's Kelvin Ngo, and he had this witty apron saying "Chief Ice Cream Officer". He said the flavors change every week, so we do have to watch out for the next. I heard he does Candied Bacon. Now how interesting is that?

Merry Moo Sea Salt + Caramel Ice Cream (cup), 60 php


Glutton Guy: This for me was a bit intriguing and a bit interesting as well. It's not the usual ice cream flavor that I buy, but it was different in a good way. I liked the flavor of the ice cream. I thought there would be a hint of saltiness, since the name had 'sea salt' in it. But, there was actually none. What I was getting was a bit of bitterness and a little little hint of sweetness. I usually don't like bitter foods. But, this one actually worked out for me. Mr. Kelvin did say that it was their best-seller. It's a new ice cream flavor for my taste buds. But, I would say that I wouldn't think twice on buying this again. Kuddos to Merry Moo for this! : )


Here's some goodies which we brought home:

Our Cookie Jar's Choco Chip Cookies, 150 php


Glutton Girl: There were a lot of baked goodies in Mercato, and all of them were good, but we opted to get goodies from Our Cookie Jar for take-out. I got the choco chip cookies and my family loved it. My sister even said she loves it because she can bite into the whole choco chips. "Hindi tinipid." The cookies were moist and chewy, which is how choco chip cookies ought to be. And for 150 pesos for a dozen of fairly-sized cookies, it's a good deal.

Our Cookie Jar's Banoffee Pie, 105 php (small), 180 php (large)


Glutton Guy: I love banoffee! Our Cookie Jar's banoffee was actually very delicious. How delicious, you ask? Well, my mom actually ate half of what I bought. Plus, she kept on saying "masarap siya, masarap siya" over and over again. She even wanted to buy more and bring some for my uncle at Hong Kong. That's how good it is. The cream on top was absolutely delicious. There were chocolate chips that gave the banoffee the added crunch. Every layer was just perfect. Unlike some desserts, this one had the right amount of sweetness to it. The banana chunks were my favorite. If I knew this one was very good, I would have bought two, or even three of these. Our Cookie Jar's banoffee is just heaven. : )

Mercato Centrale is LOVE. It's not your average round-the-bend food place. It was smart for the minds behind this project to bring it to the Philippines. What we love most about Mercato: GOOD FOOD and AIR-CONDITIONED TENTS. Too bad we were there when the sun was at it's hottest. But, it didn't ruin our Mercato experience. There were actually a lot more to try. Sadly, all those free tastes made us really full hahahahaha But, we promise to come back to try the others we haven't tried yet. If you're up for a different food experience, you should try going to Mercato Centrale at the Bonifacio Global City. And when you do visit the place, we're pretty sure that you'll keep coming back every week. We definitely won't forget to add Mercato Centrale on our weekend list! ^_^

Here's how we rated Mercato Centrale (overall):


Food:
             
Price:
         
Place:

Service:

(Mercato Centrale is located at the corner of 30th and 9th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. It's open only on Saturdays and Sundays, 6am to 2pm. It's just behind Bonifacio High Street.)