Mercato Centrale at BGC

I first learned of Mercato Central from the tweets of RJ Ledesma and Anton Diaz. I honestly, did not know what it was about. When I read a tweet about it, that it was a weekend market that was open from 7am until 4pm, I was curious! I immediately told my Panget about it, and he said that he wanted to drop by and see what it was.

Later that night, I saw in the news that Mercato Centrale was air-conditioned! Waaaaay cool!! I mean, I've been to a couple of weekend markets and when I start walking through the stalls, I'd be perspiring like crazy! I knew to always bring a fan with me, but it wasn't enough.

Last Saturday night, my Panget told me that he'll think about going to Mercato Centrale the next day. But before he could tell me, I fell asleep already. I actually woke up early the next day, but since I didn't get any signal from my Panget that he wanted to visit Mercato - I thought to myself 'you can go back to sleep'. But after a while, I heard an alarm - I immediately dismissed it, and then suddenly - something jumped on the bed, with a matching poke in the arm and a whispher 'Let's go! Let's go!' Greaaaaaat - now I have to wake up. It was actually odd - that my Panget gets up ahead of me on a Sunday. Sunday is usually his 'catch up on sleep day' where he wakes up at 12noon. So it was quite refreshing to see him up and about.

When we got there, everything was in full swing already. People were everywhere but it wasn't as crowded. The lay-out of the booths were nicely done - it was very organized, the paths for walking were wide enough so as to avoid crowding in certain areas. Concessionaires were very generous in offering their goodies to passers-by. This I have to admit is really nice, I mean it was like the UTT (Ultimate Taste Test) all over again! They were offering food and drinks left and right, I was actually a bit hesitant to take in samples because I knew I wouldn't be buying them.

My first try that morning was bagoong. It was actually shoved in front of me with a line 'Try this different kind of bagoong' so I took it - and my gosh was it fan-tastic! The bagoong was really smooth, no lumps - nothing, but it tasted so heavenly! In a matter of seconds, I bought a small jar. Hahaha!! I remember during one of Anton's Ultimate Taste Test, I fell in love with a homemade bagoong called Patrick's Bagoong. And now this! I think I may have a fascination with bagoongs. Maybe because I'm pregnant? Maybe, right?

I've posted it in my blog - that my Panget and I have this love affair with hotdogs and sausages, and so when my Panget saw a booth selling chorizos and longanisa, he was immediately taken by the selection and started trying the varieties! We ended up buying a pack of the Chorizo Bilbao! The lady selling them was really nice and accommodating - she was the one suggesting what we should be getting, and mind you - I think we took about 15 minutes in deciding which to get! Yesterday during lunch, he couldn't resist to ask for a piece to be cooked. And it was really good.

Next up was the Beef Tapa. Anton actually told us to try the snails that they were serving, but my Panget gathered that it was too early for snails! Hahaha.. So we ended up just sampling the beef tapa. And since I had a grocey list on my bag that included 'tapa' - I immediately told Panget that we could purchase one, for his breakfast. And we did. He just had it this morning and says that it was good.

I had so much fun walking in and out of the tents. The fact that the tents were air-conditioned made the walk and trip less tiring. I was finally able to meet and introduce myself to twitter friend RJ Ledesma! :) Oh! He was telling us to try this mochi from Tagaytay, and we did - we bought one (Green Tea mochi) when we were on our way out. And it was soooooo refreshing! It was actually the perfect ending to visiting Mercato Centrale!

I will surely go back next week and the weeks after that too! I'd be going earlier, as there were stalls that were already empty when we got there by 10:00am.

There were also celebrity sightings - Marc Nelson, Rovilson Fernandez, Anne Curtis, Mylene Dizon, Rowell Santiago and Agot Isidro. If there were more - I didn't get a chance to see them! Also, may I just say that I enjoyed the man band, the one with the tiny guitar? I found it funny and nice to hear them sing 'Always' - reminded me of the UMD dancers.. Hahahaha!! :)

Congratulations to the organizers (Anton, Rache, RJ, Mommy Mondo) you guys did VERY well. BRAVO! :)

ANSON SUPERMARKET - Grocery delivery!!

Sharing is caring, so we can't keep it a secret any longer. THIS is where we get out groceries! Well, Anson Supermarket has been where we have been purchasing all of our kids' diapers! From Kailee to Connor to Shobe! Yes, yes, yes! A week into the lockdown, it just occurred to us that we can get our groceries from them - but then we thought, we didn't want to force them to do it - after all it's a different time now. But when we asked and they said yes, it was like we won the lottery. We sent out our list - a very VERY SPECIFIC list and voila after a day or two (we weren't in a rush) they told us to schedule a pick up. Please remember that I am sharing this with you guys because I believe so much in the saying 'sharing is caring'. Please be mindful of your language and respect those who will call or message you about your orders. Also note that some items might NOT be available - so manage your expectations. They're a full functioning

#CookingQuest: Winter Melon Soup ala Didi #EnhancedCommunity

One of the things that gets ooohs and aaaahs in a chinese restaurant is the #WinterMelonSoup. You may ask why? Well because with this soup, restaurants use the winter melon itself as a huge bowl to serve the soup! It's a sight to see as you'll be amazed how they were able to pull it off. You'll see the whole winter melon, and then suddenly they're take out the top part and when you peek in, the soup is inside together with meat bits and other veggies! My mom has tried it at home, and I remember her being nervous that the winter melon doesn't break apart, kunde sira ang presentation! So during this #EnhancedCommunityQuarantine, I chanced upon Theo's Farm that they have winter melon, so I ordered. When I saw it - I knew I wouldn't be able to pull off the carving and serving the winter melon. It actually made the preparation easier. I had to ask my mom, and she told me to steam the winter melon to soften it. Honestly, I don't think I can w

#CookingQuest: Chicken Stir Fry

When I was little, I used to see my mom, guama and aunt cook in the kitchen. I found it amazing, that they have this idea in their heads on what to cook for us. I remember my guama had small bits of plastic that when opened contained shirmp and cooked pork fat. I asked her what it was for, and she told me that it was to add 'flavor' to the dish whatever it was. I don't remember seeing her look at any cook book or a paper with recipe. She just whipped them all up! When I got older, I became interested in baking - baking because I was afraid of splattering oil. So I stuck to baking for a while. It was only when I got married that I had to dive in and cook. When my Panget and I were newly married, we didn't have a helper during the weekend, so I had to step up. There were times that we didn't have a helper at all (we borrowed my mom's helper to clean), so I had to do all the cooking. It was there that I learned to whip something up with just ing

the canDIshhh tales

Search This Blog