Mercato Centrale

The Genius Foodies behind the great success of Mercato Centrale: Anton and Rachelle Díaz, RJ and Vanessa Ledesma, Janice and Gary Villanueva. As we all know, Anton Diaz is the famous author of Our Awesome Planet and Ms. Janice Villanueva for Mommy Mundo.

Mercato Centrale was inspired by various food markets all over Europe. It is a lifestyle market that offers one of a kind , great tasting food discoveries. Mercato Centrale caters to all food enthusiasts, successful food business owners, future food entrepreneurs and basically anybody who loves to hangout with friends and families while enjoying his favorite comfort food on a lovely weekend. Mercato Centrale  is also the perfect place to introduce and market one's personal kitchen discovery.

Here's the truth, I  don't go to Mercato Centrale because I am a blogger. Over-all, it's my love for food, "eating" and making discoveries that pushes me to go back to Mercato Centrale.

Does it show? yes, we don't mind standing up while eating. Besides, it's easier to go from one booth to another.

A friend, "not a blogger", a certified food enthusiast like me, introduced Mercato to us. It has been our meeting place since. Everytime we want to get together, we go to Mercato Centrale. We spend the whole day in Mercato. We stuff ourselves from brunch until lunch.

Aside from food, Mercato Centrale has arranged entertainment to make your Mercato experience enticing and extraordinary. The ambiance gave me the feel as if I'm in the comfort of my own home, eating my favorite food while listening to good music and sharing never ending laughs with friends.

Here are some of our favorites:

 Johnny Steams

 Mochiko

 Pan de Bagnet

tea.ology

More of Mercato Centrale:

Operating Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 7:00am - 2:00pm
Location: 34th street and 8th avenue BGC (across MC Home Depot)

And now, Midnight Mercato  a NightTime Food Market
open Fridays and Saturdays from 10pm- 3am

♥♥♥

I am a certified, satisfied foodie. 

 I always leave my ♥ at Mercato Centrale...

FTF: Charlie's Fish & Chips

A fishy idea for the Lenten Season.

It's one of those days when I wasn't in the mood to cook. We all get into that situation right? So my husband and I decided to make a quick drive over at Charlie's Grind and Grill. 

Charlie's is in our top 5 list of favorites. The original restaurant is located in Kapitolyo, Pasig. Before, we would drive all the way  from Quezon, City to Pasig  just to get a taste of Charlie's best dishes. But now, it's easier because there's one near our place. Right along Ortigas Avenue before you hit the main intersection of Santolan, SanJuan, and this road going to E. Rodriguez.  We discovered the new location last year. We  often take Ortigas Avenue going to E. Rodriguez coming from Greenhills.

Landmark: Petron Station

My order for the night was Fish and Chips then I loaded up on jalapeños.  Yeah, that's where I get my pickled jalapeños. Well, at least until I can find some fresh jalapeños so I can make my own.

Food Trip Friday

A related post.

Breaded Chicken Salsa

Lent is here. Lent is a tradition where as Catholics, we commemorate the Passion of Christ (Life, Death and the Resurrection) through praying,  fasting and self-denial. An old practice for Filipinos is through fasting for 40 days or at least, we sacrifice things that gives us  so much comfort and satisfaction. One, is eliminating red meat (beef, pork, lamb) as part of our weekly menu. Especially on Wednesdays and Fridays. Until the season is over,  we only serve white meat or nothing but vegetables for the family.  Having a kid around would make it impossible for me to stick with veggies alone. So I turn to chicken and fish dishes.

Here's one recipe that I will gladly share for the purpose in case you run out of ideas on what to prepare for the whole Lenten Season.

Ingredients:

• 5 pcs. chicken breast fillet (sliced open and thinly)
• 3 pcs. red tomatoes (minced)
• 1 medium white onion (minced)
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup flour
• bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp of chopped Wansoy leaves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp tomato sauce
• cooking oil for deep frying
• salt and ground pepper
• toothpicks

*If you were able to get big chicken breast fillets, I suggest you add small pieces of ripe mango in the salsa... yum!yum! 

How To:

• Salsa: In a bowl, mix minced fresh tomatoes, onions, Wansoy leaves and a tbsp of olive oil. Set aside.
• In a plate season chicken breast with salt and pepper.
• Spread a 1/2 tsp of tomato sauce on each seasoned chicken breast,  fill it with salsa then pin it together with a toothpick.
• Dip each chicken breast as follows: beaten eggs, flour, beaten eggs, then breadcrumbs. Deep fry until golden brown.
• Before serving, remove toothpicks from the fried chicken breasts. 
• Happily serve it with any salad.

Food Trip Friday

  I prefer some pickled jalapeños.

Happy Friday and Enjoy your Weekend!