Cebu's Mini Mercato Centrale at BTC (Part 2)

           So I've done Part 1 for this segment; now, here's Part 2! The Sunday market was more for the takeout customers. This Saturday food market, officially known as Cebu Food Market, provides a dine-in setting for the victims of this visual gastronomic spectacle. Like the Sunday food market, it is located at the lobby of BTC but this is a bit more elaborate as there are more stalls. 

Turn your head to the right....

And to the left...

          You are greeted with the aroma of live cooking from some stalls (fresh food!) and a picnic setting of tables and chairs to relax and enjoy the food. I missed to mention previously that the products offered in the market are screened so that no two stalls offer the same nature of products. With that, you're guaranteed to find a fair variety of products in the market. The good thing is, each stall is unique; the (not really) bad thing is, you'll wanna have a piece of every little thing from each stall! Like me! :D 

        As of last month, during my visit, these were the stalls in action....

Belly In Thing
0933 336 1045
bellyinthing@gmail.com

         The boneless lechon belly has become a quick trend that you could hardly find any place in the city without it. Since it's the "in thing", I guess that's why this stall is named so. 

Carenderia

       Before I entered the lobby of BTC, I spotted this food truck parked in front of the lobby. I thought, "Hey! Is this for real?" Then I found this stall and the thoughts connected. They offer really affordable packed meals. Would've been cooler if they were actually cooking and selling live from the truck like how it is in the U.S though. 

Heavenly Goodies

0922 828 9759

(032) 414 0009

facebook.com/heavenlygoodiescebu

Super Yummy Brownies

Toni's Patatas Nuggets
0927 884 8469

         This particular stall may not look like much but I heard that they sell out really fast. The proprietor is a Japanese who cooks the products himself. I didn't get to try their stuff though but Mustachio did.  

Potato Nuggets  P50/2 pcs
and
Potato Nugget Open Sandwich   P45

Tokyo Crispy Lumpia   P10/3 pcs

Dos Hermanos
(032) 232 8693
0917 620 8764
facebook.com/doshermanos.spanishcuisine

         This is probably the only stall which is also found in the Sunday market. This is a Spanish stall with a Mexican name. I will be writing about this particular stall (as I mentioned in Part 1) separately because it captivated me. So, I'll save more of the details for that post. 

          The attraction of this stall is the enormous paella. It is not a surprise that this sells out by the end of the day. But that's not all they offer though, they also have paella balls and chorizo empanadas to name a few.

croquetas and paella balls!

home-made chorizo empanadas

Pao's Homemade Goodies
1236 J. Fortich St.
Banawa, Cebu City 6000

(032) 254 0139
0917 3001 353
0922 4692 936

Vegans Guild
0906 407 5433
facebook.com/vegansguild

           Another interesting stall. Cebuanos aren't widely exposed to vegan dishes yet but I think this vegan burger would make a good introduction. The foreign owner personally cooks the patties and I was able to chat with him a bit. He said their menu changes every week. So, vegans can now troop to Cebu Food Market for some interesting grub accustomed to their diet. I'd love to try this sometime.

Kiki's Homemade Sweeties
0927 6923 134

          I also love cookies and these looked luscious. This stall had a Christmas menu which featured Stuffed Snickerdoodles cookies, Little Monster Cookies, Banana Walnut Muffin, 12" Monster Cookies and a rare Mango Chocolate Pavlova. I also liked their packaging because it's eco-friendly. ;) 

Banana Walnut Muffin  P260/box of 6

Little Monster Cookies   P210/box of 8

Life is Sweet...Cakes and Pastries

0917 3232 524

           Oh my, I'm such a huge fan of strawberries and this definitely made my eyes well up with tears for the beauty of it. Strawberry cobbler! They had free tasting that day and I did my best to just have one little piece to kill the craving. The cassava with ube also looked really good. It actually reminded me of Rajah Maynila's sapin-sapin. Mmmm...

       And here's some of what I had from this food market. Of course I had to try something. They all looked irresistible! 

           Luis and I got the Dos Hermanos chorizo paella, chorizo empanada and paella balls. We also had some siomai from Heavenly Goodies and they weren't bad at all either. My first impression of the paella, aside that it was huge, was that the egg was just PERFECT. There's nothing more beautiful than a perfectly executed sunny-side-up glistening in glory. Luis was the first to try the paella and he was engrossed. We both admired it above everything else we had. 

Dos Hermanos Chorizo Paella w/ egg  P120   

Dos Hermanos Paella Ball   P50

Dos Hermanos Chorizo Empanada   P30

Cebu Food Market
Banilad Town Center (BTC), Gov. M. Cuenco Ave.
Banilad, Cebu City 6000

Operating hours: Saturdays 10 AM-6 PM (or until products last)


"To know Cebu, eat Cebu! :D"

oink oink,

Babe for Food

- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)

To Be or Not to Be

...because I wish to be a PART-TIME EDITOR for that rockin badass food blog, pepper.ph!

           Sorry, I just really had to share this with you. Exactly two and a half hours ago, I just read Pepper.ph's post about hiring freelance contributors and a part-time editor. PART-TIME! That would be perfect for my schedule! That's one BIG break, FYI. Well, for a huge fan like me. That badass (if I may repeat myself) food blog is the AWESOMEST! Seriously! You'd be crazy to not want to work with/for them. 

            Um, why not apply as a contributor? Of course I want to! Well... I guess I'm puking pushing my guts since dreaming is free (LIBRE LANG MANGARAP. translation is better) right?    And of course, no expectations here. I mean, who am I for THE Pepper.ph to even notice me? 

       Sure, I've had no experience as an editor whatsoever (aside from being the appointed spellchecker and grammar corrector of family and friends, if that counts) but friends who know me well can say that I'm a notorious grammar and spelling OCD. A sinister smile or poignant laugh never fails to escape my mouth. So with that, it would be of great pride and pleasure to scan through articles to be posted on the site and make sure all posts will be dignified with perfect, witty grammar and spelling. 

         BUT! Pepper.ph is Manila-based. And I'm Cebu-based. The post didn't mention anything specific about the logistics of the contributor or editor but...I hope that doesn't blow my chance.

            So, yeah. I just needed to scream this out to the world because I just want this so badly. Last time I checked, there have already been 50 applicants. Boohoohoo. Again, no expectations for this Cinderella. 

Nothing Like Christmas at the Marco Polo

          Oddly this year, I didn't really feel the Christmas spirit when the celebrated day was approaching. But when I was invited to visit the Marco Polo for the festive buffet at Cafe Marco, Christmas was all over the place. I felt a warm welcome from all the beautiful and lavish decors and of course, the food! Actually, it felt nostalgic. This is the place to be if you want a great Christmas feast. You'd think Santa was your host! 

       The highlights of this festive buffet are the Glazed Ham, Stuffed Turkey Roll, and Chicken Relleno. My, oh my, these babies are not to be taken lightly. They're so good you'll want to keep going back for more. A personal favorite is the Chicken Relleno. Nom nom! :D   

Marco Polo's very own glazed ham

Stuffed Turkey

Chicken Relleno
(sorry, the photo doesn't do it justice at all... but it's sooo good!)

       And of course, if you know me well, dessert is my favorite part of the meal. The dessert station was just so eye-catching! It was my first time to see a display chiller decorated with edible ornaments such as these! The station was also adorned with  chocolate santa's and gingerbread houses. My favorites here are the mango crepe and leche flan! I never miss a slice of leche flan whenever I'm here.

       For the festive season, Marco Polo has the most festive ensaymada's. Soft, moist, creamy, fluffy... and colorful! It's a fruit cake kinda ensaymada. Perfect as gifts. :D 

       The buffet includes free flowing coffee which has a perfect match -- THE malicious cookies! I do not know why they are called so but I guess because these secret, notorious cookies are to die for. You'll never have enough of these. You can even get them freshly baked upon request and you can order them for takeout. I bought some to give to my friend for her birthday. :)

        So, I've pretty much mentioned a lot of dishes you shouldn't miss at the Cafe Marco this season. If that's not enough to get you going there, I don't know what can. That's not all that's happening at the Marco Polo though. Here's a schedule of events you might want to spend with your family and friends at the Marco:

Christmas:

Cafe Marco

Dec 25         - Lunch & Dinner buffet:            P1,699 nett per person

                         w/ free flowing drinks

Dec 26-30    - Lunch buffet                          P1,099  nett per person

                    Dinner buffet                         P1,499  nett per person

                         *no drinks included

Blu Bar & Grill

     At 1,000 feet high, indulge in a luxurious festive set dinner with wine pairing on Dec 25 for P2,800 nett per person.   

New Year's

      Feast on the buffet at Cafe Marco and get a complimentary entrance to the New Year's Countdown and spectacular fireworks display at the Grand Balcony.

Cafe Marco & Lobby Lounge

Lunch buffet: P1,099 nett per person

Dinner buffet: P1,799 nett per person

*w/ free flowing drinks

El Viento

      Al fresco buffet dinner with a live band Serendipity for P1,799 nett per person with free flowing drinks.

Blu Bar & Grill

     Celebrate New Year's at greater heights with an unmatched view of the city and fireworks. Set dinner with wine pairing at P3,800 nett per person. Music by Royal Plus band.

Grand Balcony

      This is where the party's at! Join the fun with popular band Leandro Zayco and Patiqueros as you dance the night away and gaze at the fireworks for only P600 nett for walk-ins with a free glass of sparkling wine. 

Jan 1

Lunch buffet:        P999 nett per person

Dinner buffet:    P1,299 nett per person

*no drinks included

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, FOODIES! :*

Marco Polo Plaza Cebu

Cebu Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills

Lahug, Cebu City 6000

Contact: (032) 253 1111

Email: info@marcopoloplazacebu.com

Facebook: facebook.com/MarcoPoloPlazaCebu

Twitter: @5StarInCebu

"To know Cebu, eat Cebu! :D"

oink oink, 

Babe for Food

- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)

Cebu's Mini Mercato Centrale at BTC! (Part 1)

        I've been meaning to write about this for months now but just haven't made time for it since I don't frequent this place. But anyway, here it is!

        Ever heard of the Mercato Centrale food market in Manila? If not, check out Anton Diaz's blog (ourawesomeplanet.com) for a quick preview. Mercato Centrale is one of the most popular food markets in Manila. It's a weekend hub where home cooks and budding entrepreneurs can introduce and showcase their products to the public. It's where you can find an extensive variety of specialties, organic produce and a whole lot of interesting, innovative home-cooked dishes or items that you'd look forward to every weekend for. 

        As for Cebu, there has been a Sunday market at BTC for the past few months now and not too recently, a Saturday Food Market (Part 2 of this segment!) completed the weekend joint. Though it's a pebble compared to THE Mercato Centrale, the food market at BTC has warmed up to the Cebuanos who are now active gourmands. 

        So, here it is... If Manila has Mercato Centrale at BGC, Cebu has Cebu Food Market at BTC. :D

        Unfortunately, I wasn't able to note the names of some stalls.. But oh well.. I'll let the photos explain for themselves. 

The lobby of BTC is streaked with food stalls. :D

Apolonia Pastry Shop

      This is a newcomer in the Sunday food market. They offer homebaked goods from their family heirloom recipes, originally from the grandmother named Apolonia. Their specialty is their local sweet-filled cookie called Masa Podrida which they say is a delicacy in Argao (if my memory serves me right). They also have sylvannas, caramel tart and assorted brownies. 

assorted brownies

caramel tart

Masa Podrida

Takoyaki Okonomiyaki

       This is actually a Cebu Secret Chow I've written about last month. It is originally located Piazza Elesia, Talamban. Read more about it here.    

Takoyaki: Japanese squid balls

(sorry, I didn't get the stall name)

         This stall sells a wide assortment of kakanin (local delicacies) and some organic vegetables and local eggs!

Dos Hermanos

         This is one stall that attracted me most. Here, you can find Spanish home cooking -- paella, callos, chorizo. They also do catering services. I had to go back another weekend to try these! Will have a separate post about this. Watch for it. ;)

callos

(no name)

          This stall, I'd call the health stall. It's actually shared by two tenants. One side has powdered turmeric and moringa, the other has  wheatgrass supplement drink and candy bars. 

(no name)

        Another stall has organic fruits and vegetables. You can find pre-washed and packed varieties of lettuce here.

(no name)

         Organic plants for sale...

Sweet Melissa

        Home-made French pastries and artisan bread. 

        I love that all the products in this food market are a labor of love by each entrepreneur. I can imagine the hard work and passion they put into their business to bring out their specialties in the market. The Sunday food market is mostly for take out customers though. As I mentioned earlier, part 2 of this segment is about the Saturday food market which is more interactive. So, I hope you'll stay tuned for that! :D


BTC Sunday Market
Banilad Town Center (BTC), Gov. M. Cuenco St.
Banilad, Cebu City 6000

Open:  Sundays  10 am - 6 pm (or until supplies last)


"To know Cebu, eat Cebu! :D"

oink oink,

Babe for Food

- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)