Mercato Centrale at BGC, Weekend Market Where Food Lovers Meet

If you have been to the following weekend markets in Metro Manila, then it’s surefire that you have to give Mercato Centrale a visit.

Salcedo Market

Legaspi Sunday Market

Banchetto

Market at the Hills

Sunday Market at the Lung Center in QC

Mercato Centrale opened about 3-4 weekends ago and I was supposed to go to its opening, except that I had to go participate in the Amazing Race Asia 4 Promo Mall Race that same weekend.  I’m glad though that Mercato Centrale at Bonifacio Glocal City is open every Saturday and Sunday from 6am to 12nn at the corner of 9^th Avenue and 30^th Street and I had the chance to visit 2 weekends ago.   

Mercato Centrale is truly a foodie haven because of the many things that a Foodie can find there that can make him/her happy.  I visited initially on a Sunday with FoodieManila.com and TalesfromtheTummy.com and decided to go back the following Saturday since I felt 2 hours were just too short to scour all the offerings, organic or otherwise.

The 2^nd Saturday, Bubba suddenly felt sick 10 minutes we were there and 5 minutes within drinking the fruit juice he bought so it was relatively a shorter trip.  I am definitely going back this weekend again to eat what caught my attention in the previous trips and find new ones worth mentioning… This will be my 3^rd straight weekend trip there.

In the meantime, here are Between Bites’ Foodie Finds at Mercato Centrale (so far):

1. February Sweets and Savories Stuffed Temptations 

Stuffed Temptations are plump red juicy tomatoes stuffed with combination of spinach and parmesan cheese.  It’s so flavorful that you’ll barely notice you’re eating all vegetarian.  I could eat 4 of these delicious and healthy munchies in one sitting.

1 piece PHP 75

4 pieces PHP 275

8 pieces PHP 525

Other stuff of February Sweets and Savories to try includes the decadent chocolate cake with a delicious center topped with butterscotch frosting called Chocolate Nirvana Cupcakes and their Orange Fever –moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting that’s 90% fat-free.

The following weekend I was here, their stuffed temptations got sold out (as early as 1030am I was told).  I wasn’t able to buy any.  That’s going to be my first stop next weekend.

For advance orders, call Christine R. Sevilla at (632) 926 0041/ (0917) 790 8967.

2. Bale Dutung’s Pan de Bagnet

One of the more popular stalls since it opened is Bale Dutung’s stall.  No surprise there, Claude Tayag’s cooking is simply to be lined up for.  What they are lining up for is Bale Dutung’s Pan de Bagnet. 

Pork Belly

–

Assembly

–

Pan de Bagnet is fresh ciabatta filled with oven roasted pork belly that has a good portion of meat, fat and skin.  It’s lined with fresh lettuce and onion probably tossed in some vinaigrette.  I was surprised that the ciabatta remained to be soft and chewy even after a bit of walking.

3. Dulcelin’s Wagyu Tri-tip and Flank Steak

READ MORE:

Ultimate Taste Test 3.0 Part 1

Dulcelin has gained quite a following for their famous Mango Torte – a mix of crispy chewy nougatine, golden mango and cream.  Unbelievably, I haven’t tried it yet but during the Ultimate Taste Test 3.0, Dulcelin gave me Callebaut Chocolate Ganache Cake to try and it was simply divine.  The whole cake was wiped out at home before I could even save me more slices or take good photos.

Other than the sumptuous cakes, what sets Dulcelin apart from the other concessionaires are their flavorful meats!  You cannot simply leave Mercato Centrale without trying their Wagyu Tri-tip or Flank Steak.  I was ordering both only to find out that the Wagyu Tri-tip was completely sold out.  La Fin. 

Boy, I was whispering thankful hymns to an angel on my shoulder that I was able to still get a meal order of Dulcelin’s flank steak.  A sigh of satisfaction and pleasure escaped my mouth after a bite of their tasty gourmet flank steak.  Bubba kept muttering how good it was.  This was definitely the highlight of our 2^nd weekend at Mercato Centrale.

4. Inn Café’s Creamy Cheese Lasagna

There are a number of stalls selling pasta and lasagna but Inn Café’s Creamy Cheese Lasagna is certainly worth your time.  I bought a personal size from Jean of Inn’s Café during the 1^st weekend of visit and bought a small pan of her highly flavored lasagna just last weekend to give to the PBA Committee during their working Saturday right before the Philippine Blog Awards.

Personal Size PHP 95

Small Pan PHP 600

Large Pan PHP 1,500

For advance orders, call (632) 440 8104/ (0922) 899 8014.

5. Cheesy Potatoes PHP 40

Marble potatoes or what would be easier to describer to Joyce as “baby potatoes” are soaked in cheesy sauce and sprinkled with bacon bits.  The soft potatoes had the right saltiness from the bacon and cheese flavor.  

Another noteworthy is their liempo –its heavy barbecue sauce has a tint of heat but mellowed down with hickory sweetness.  Soft meat and fatty part are fantastic with steaming rice.

6. Oriental Basket Honey Shrimp Sauce

This was also another noteworthy food revelation.  If you’re a fan of shrimp paste, Oriental Basket has a new take on it.  Their Honey Shrimp sauce has a good balance of sweet, salty and shrimpy without the miniscule shrimps. 

If you don’t like the texture of shrimp paste but like the taste, Oriental Basket’s honey shrimp sauce is the product for you.  I immediately got hooked after tasting it with freshly peeled green mango and bought a bottle.  Oriental Basket Honey Shrimp Sauce (PHP 150) comes in 3 choices: regular, spicy and extra spicy. 

7. Fresh Walnuts

Irene, wife of TalesfromtheTummy.com, bought a few packs of these fresh walnuts.  Walnuts have that certain taste of saltiness and nuttiness that you can only achieve when they are freshly cracked.

–

8. Offbeat Café Doughnut Cheeseburger

Offbeat Café stirred the Mercato Centrale scene with its doughnut cheeseburger.  Imagine a juicy patty, cheese, bacon and egg pressed together not by your usual burger buns but with Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  All that’s sinful is supposedly GOOD… this can be your prime example of that.

Offbeat Café also offers Chicago dog made of fish meat which piqued my curiosity and is definitely on Between Bites hit list on the next visit. 

9. Delimondo Products

It’s also another place where you can get Delimondo original ranch style corned beef (PHP 140).

10. Kitchen ala Ching’s Oatmeal Cookies

I can only shake my head but Bubba ordered another container of Kitchen ala Ching’s famous oatmeal cookies.  I think it has become HIS tradition every Christmas. 

There is this Asian foodcart that offers quesadillas and burgers I’m eyeing too.  I also want to try the native chicken, the all-adobo stall, the other barbecued meats, the duck station, paella, Manang’s bon chon chicken and many others.

For now, I can only put my hands on my face and wail… Why are weekends only composed of 2 days?  Waah.

—