Food trip tips for the food market newbie

If the meteoric rise of their popularity and unstoppable mushrooming all over the metro means anything, it’s that there is, undoubtedly, something about food markets.  

Maybe it’s the no-nonsense approach to dining that it presents, the easygoing vibe, or the way the myriad sights, smells, and sounds overwhelm the senses but manage still not to nauseate, only to awaken the appetite.

 

By now, most die-hard foodies will have eaten their fill at one, several, or all of these food markets. There’s one in almost every area: the ever-popular Mercato in Bonifacio Global City, the picturesque and picnic-friendly Salcedo and Legazpi Weekend Markets in Makati, Mezza Norte up north, and Soderno in the south.

 

With the inclusion of a new food market to the line-up—Manda Centrale in Greenfield District in Mandaluyong, which opened Wednesday night—even more people can fall in to the food market frenzy.

 

For food market virgins who want to join the fun, a few tips:  

1. Come early…or really late.

 

Finding a table is the most pressing challenge at food markets, obviously because of the volume of people that come to dine. Just like the MRT, food markets fill to bursting during certain hours, particularly around the dinner time window of 7 to 9 p.m, or, for morning markets, sometime around lunch. Tables are especially hard to come by at this time, even harder when it rains. 

 

Best to come before or after these hours, or else practice your eating-while-standing skills or go for take-out.

 

2. Come with an empty stomach.

 

The thing about food markets is, there’s so many different types of food that are all so incredibly appetizing, you will want to try them all—and trying them all is kind of the point. On the one hand, you can resist the temptation of biting into every dish that makes your mouth water, which is good exercise for your willpower. 

 

But better still if you come hungry, give in to temptation and dig in to everything that catches your fancy. Besides, being hungry makes everything taste a million times better.

 

3. Come in a group.

 

While going to a food market alone is fine, the bigger the group you come in, the better. Aside from having someone to take turns saving a table with, you can also sample more dishes if you share servings with your friends. Also, any dish tastes better when served alongside some friendly banter.  

4. Come prepared.

 

With so many choices at hand, deciding where to start can be a daunting task. But if you go in with a good idea of the food you’ll encounter, settling on which dishes to try can be much easier. 

 

Many dishes have gained fame and found home through these food markets, and can be sampled at most venues from north to south. Among the regulars are crunchy pork belly from Carlo’s Kitchen, chicken wings from Manang’s, liquor-flavored ice cream from Mio’s Gelati, Crepe Cakes from Cakes by K, and an assortment of barbecued and grilled food from different vendors. For drinks, The Juice Bar with their fresh fruit juices has become a food market staple.

 

And then there are the vendors that are exclusive to their locations. At the newly-opened Manda Centrale, for instance, there is B. Wings, whose chicken wings are unique not only in that they have sauces that involve unlikely ingredients like dark chocolate and peanut butter, but also because of their focus on flavor and not crispiness. 

 

Other food market first-timers that made their debut at Manda are Panchados—home-cooked mechado served in a hot, soft, pan de sal bowl—and Let’s Salsa, where homemade, chunky salsa anchors no-frills Mexican fare.  

5. Come back.  

There’s always something new to look forward to with every visit, because for one, try as you might, you will never be able to taste every dish in one night, no matter how empty your stomach is. 

 

Also, as Mercato/Manda/Mezza Norte co-organizer RJ Ledesma told GMA News Online, he and fellow organizer Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet fame are always open to food entrepreneurs who have something new and tasty to offer.

 

“We are the place where a lot of these different vendors started off…we’re here to bring the Mercato food experience to more and more people,” the Best Men host said.

 

He added, “We’re really here also to surface new great food entrepreneurs.” –KG, GMA News