Wazzup Pilipinas!
We interviewed co-founder RJ Ledesma, the man who wears many hats, and tried out the equally many dishes available at the new spot of the always festive Mercato Centrale that is now located at 25th street corner 5th avenue of Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. Here you'll see the "Between the Lines" astronaut mural created by the art duo Cyrcle from Los Angeles. The mural is actually more popularly known as "The Spaceman."
The new location is just opposite The Forum building where some restaurants are also located but I guess they may now have something to fear every Friday and Saturday, 6pm-‐3am, as Mercato Centrale offers so much with very affordable prices to boast. You'll be able to buy a meal here for only an average of Php 100 only, with quality that is comparable to other dishes served at top restaurants.
RJ Ledesma mentions some of his highly recommended brands in the video interview and encourages everyone to check all the others as they truly offer excellent choices.
In my case, I've got to try five dishes from the food stalls offering churros (Don Churro), cheesesteak (Ultimate Cheesesteak), Garlic Chicken rice meal (Edgy's Food Trip), layered crepe (Cakes by K ) and lasagna (Chicago Pizza). There was a Php 100 food coupon from Auntie May's that says it's good for the next visit, but the owner, Auntie May herself, gave the blessing to serve it to me already and even allowed me to not pay additional because the Angus Beef Salpicao dish was worth more than Php 100. Also, another coupon from JD's Takoyaki bought me 4 pieces of the yummy street food.
In my case, I've got to try five dishes from the food stalls offering churros (Don Churro), cheesesteak (Ultimate Cheesesteak), Garlic Chicken rice meal (Edgy's Food Trip), layered crepe (Cakes by K ) and lasagna (Chicago Pizza). There was a Php 100 food coupon from Auntie May's that says it's good for the next visit, but the owner, Auntie May herself, gave the blessing to serve it to me already and even allowed me to not pay additional because the Angus Beef Salpicao dish was worth more than Php 100. Also, another coupon from JD's Takoyaki bought me 4 pieces of the yummy street food.
I am happy to say that all meals were satisfyingly delicious and worth every peso. I hope to come back because there's actually around 50 food stalls there and so I only git the chance to eat from 10 %. The new location also had a mural that was maybe done to be consistent with the "The Spaceman" mural in their backyard, and a Gin-To-Go gin truck where you can buy alcoholic beverages or liquor.
Mercato has been the birthplace of many new food vendors who have carved their own niche in the local food industry, which include Manang’s Chicken, Mochiko, Merry Moo, Shawarma Bros, Spring by Ha-‐Yuan, Sunrise Buckets, Brasas, Angry Puffs and Kristina’s Inutak among others.
Enjoy new Mercato food finds like East Meets West’s Bagnet Burger, the Oinkery’s smoked and slow-‐cooked pulled pork and Bakmi Nyonya’s Chinese-‐Indonesian street food noodle dishes that won the 2014 Next Big Food Entrepreneur contest!
Old-‐time favorites are also here like Auntie May’s signature Angus Beef Tapa, Cuisiners’ pork barbeque that was judged by Chowzter Asia 2015 Awards as Asia’s tastiest regional specialty and Don Churros – that topped the Spot.ph’s list of Top 10 Churros in Manila!
For those interested to become food entrepreneurs in Mercato, please email admin@mercatocentrale.ph, log on to www.facebook.com/mercatocentrale or contact 09178401152.
For more information, you may check out their Facebook page.
Get to see more photos at our official Facebook page of Wazzup Pilipinas.
More videos can be found at our YouTube channel.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
