Last year, ‘Cue slashed 50% OFF on all their dishes to celebrate their 1st year anniversary. ‘Cue is celebrating its restaurant’s 2nd anniversary on May 7, 2014 with the same awesome promo!
For the Love of Barbecue at ‘Cue Modern Barbecue
July 12, 2012 by
I’m just crazy about barbecue, no matter how you spell it… BBQ, barbeque, barbecue, BBCue, BBque. Lay it before me and it will get devoured. I love grilled meats, whether glazed or in its virgin state. There’s something about a smoky taste that gets me all tickled –probably because it’s the closest thing to tasting fire. And I’m a water sign. Riiiiiiiiiight. Wow, deep or deeply unintelligent? Haha, moving on to the meat of the matter!
Bubba has been inviting me to have dinner at ‘Cue but I’ve been deferring it trying to be a pure “homebody” these past months (I’m also too tired or spent at work, I don’t feel like driving anywhere else). Finally, a month ago, I visited ‘Cue at the newly opened Bonifacio High Street Central with other foodie friends. Enter that bright red door to a modern style bistro with the cutest droplights slash industrial chandelier.
At ‘Cue, they just don’t barbecue and dish out comfort dishes. They toss heritage cooking with being inventive and original. They select only quality cuts of meat. They bathe and rub these meats with their house blend of rubs, marinades, or sauces. After the selection and marinade, these meats are slow-roasted, char-grilled, or ale-braised right before serving it on a plate that’s delivered to your table.
There are no rules here. You can mix and match the different dishes or the marinades or rubs. Take your cue, every pun intended, from ‘Cue’s range of house made sides, sauces, and toppings and enjoy Southern food at its best right here in Manila.
On the Table
Bone Marrow and Steak Tacos Php 485
Roasted corn salsa, flour tortillas, sweet n spicy salsa verde
Midnight Mercato at Fort Gives a New Light to Midnight Snacking
February 21, 2011 by
I’m sure you know how much we all love weekends. And how much we try to stretch the hours just to enjoy it longer…
CW and I run quite a hectic schedule most of the time and sometimes late into the night, we look for a good restaurant that’s still open or a spa for a quick massage after a long day. It’s quite difficult to find these two things if it is already 12 midnight or so. Anton of OAP, together with RJ Ledesma (CW thinks I have a huge crush on RJ after listening to me babble and babble whenever I read RJ’s blog before… that might not be far from the truth but I digress), launched a midnight lifestyle market at Bonifacio Global City, Fort and I couldn’t be any happier.
Night market slash food bazaar dubbed Midnight Mercato is the nighttime counterpart of the successful Mercato Centrale that happens every weekend from 6am-1pm. Bubba and I were at the Midnight Mercato launch two Fridays ago, February 11, 2011 and the place was crawling with foodies, group of friends, media, late-night BPO professionals and Manila’s society folks.
RJ Ledesma took night markets and hawker centers of neighboring countries Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand as an inspiration when he conceptualized Midnight Mercato with Anton and Mommy Mundo. Other than the mouth watering food finds, the urban crowd can also enjoy live acoustic music from local bands and musicians.
Midnight Mercato has a great selection of food that can hit the spot as it promises to be THE late night destination for food enthusiasts in the Metro. The range is quite good, varying from comfort food to classic Filipino street finds to those hunting for some gourmet taste.
Some of the Mercato Centrale favorites are still there:
My favorite cheesy potatoes
And that soft liempo with heavy barbecue sauce
that is so delectable that it makes me smack my lips at this very moment.
–
Chips to Go Twister Potatoes
Flavors to Choose From: Cheese, Barbeque, Sour Cream, Plain
–
Mochiko offers ice cream filled mochi
with a variety of flavors like green tea, azuki and black sesame.
Got sold out before 12 midnight!
–
–
Takoyaki!
–
Favorite Barbeques!
Like Mercato Centrale, Midnight Mercato still showcases organic products.
I got a 2-kilo pack of black rice.
Midnight Mercato presents a clean, comfortable and organized setting inside an air-conditioned tent, where you wouldn’t think twice about eating street foods like innards, gizzards, etc.
BPO professionals working within the area that either ended their shift, taking a break or about to go to work can now take a quick and pleasant food-filling stop at Midnight Mercato. Night caps during weekend gimmicks will now be a deviation from the usual drinking and instead it can shift to consuming great-tasting dishes that make the hang-out all the more tummy worthy.
Midnight Mercato is located on the corner of 30th Avenue and 9th Street (across the Spa at Bonifacio High Street) Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, the same location as Mercato Centrale. It will be open every Friday and Saturday from 10:00pm to 3:00am. If you are interested in renting a food stall, please email rache@diaz.ph or visit www.mercatocentrale.com
The weekend warriors have a new place to hang out during weekends that offers food fiesta from the multitude of food stalls, good acoustics, and a Wi-Fi spot that will certainly keep the night alive. Everybody can satiate their late night cravings with the food extravaganza available at Midnight Mercato.
Midnight Mercato at Bonifacio Global City is brought to you by Go Negosyo, Citibank, the City of Taguig, RockEd, GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications Inc., Foodie Delivery, Luxe by Goldilocks Jam 88.3, Wav 89.1, Magic 89.9, 99.5RT, 103.5 WOW, PEP.PH and SPOT.PH.
Midnight Mercato
Corner of 30th Avenue and 9th Street,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Related Post:
Feed Your Passion at Bonifacio Global City
—
Mercato Centrale at BGC, Weekend Market Where Food Lovers Meet
December 14, 2010 by
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.
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 9th Avenue and 30th 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 2nd 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 3rd 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 2nd 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 1st 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.
—
Recent Table Guest