Gourmet goodies at Mercato Centrale

“If you build it, they will come." So goes the line from the 1989 Oscar Best Picture winner, Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner during his days of hotness. Today, that same mantra might as well belong to the husband-and-wife blogger tandem of Anton and Rache Diaz who have set up a foodie field of dreams called Mercato Centrale right smack at the corner of 9th and 30th Streets in Bonifacio Global City. After a much-awaited opening date, Mercato Centrale, the weekend gourmet market to end all gourmet markets in Manila, has finally welcomed food lovers by the throngs, not counting the 15,000 runners who trooped to the Fort that Sunday morning for a marathon. Well, the long wait is over and even if some of the tents were not yet up as of this writing, the November 21 opening of Mercato Centrale did not disappoint. Organizer Anton Diaz of www.ourawesomeplanet.com shared that the number of food stalls broke the goal of 150 tenants they initially targeted to inhabit this rough patch of foodie heaven. Organic produce and homemade goods were all over the place, side by side with the familiar “biggies" and “oldies" in the weekend gourmet market business. Name it and it’s here. And on a Sunday morning, you can skip breakfast because you can get full just going around the stalls and eating sample treats.

I was personally drawn to Simply Pie, owned and operated by the youngish homebaker Gail Ang, an unassuming fine arts graduate whose sweet and savory pies are to die for. After one bite of her Mini Quiche with Spinach, Feta and Sundried Tomatoes, I was enamored. It was tiny but it was almost bursting with the combination of flavors enveloped in a perfectly baked puff pastry shell. For Php 40 per piece, you go home with an impish grin on your mouth after finding such a light and delectable treat. Not to be taken lightly is her Nata Lychee Dream pie (Php 40), a sweet mini-pie with cream cheese and a lychee and nata de coco topping. For those looking for something on the scrumptious side, there are roast ducks, pulled pork sandwiches, buffalo wings, barbecues, shawarmas, Cebu lechon, burgers, lasagnas, baked spareribs, roast turkey and so much more to be had all under the tents of Mercato Centrale. This is also where you’ll find familiar faces, even friends and entire families going all out in sharing the food they lovingly prepared at home. Young and good-looking chef, Janus Naval, formerly of People Palace, was with his mom and brothers, all helping him sell his line of satays, yakitoris, barbecues and corn dogs in a stall aptly called Stick It. Meanwhile, Marie Hugo is giving her son full support as he showcases his beefy lasagna in a stall dedicated to his mom, Meaty Mama. However, since I can’t say no to roast duck, I found myself hanging around the stall called The Classic Roast which sells only duck of all permutations – a robust Whole Roast Duck (Php 1,200) and duck siopao, cuapao, duck sisig, and duck adobo flakes siopao. The stall which momentarily stopped operating due to the unsteady supply of ducks is now back in business and in a big way. Those who want to have a crispy roast duck to add a new spin to their traditional Christmas noche buena can order from The Classic Roast or even have a special duck party. Even in this crowded food market, one can easily spot the “pros" or those who have made a name for themselves in the local food scene. Claude Tayag, food writer and owner of Bale Dutung and perhaps one of the most popular Kapampangan cooks around, was on hand, micro-managing and taking down notes while customers made a beeline for his Pan de Bagnet and Lechon Tortilla. The Pan de Bagnet (Php 150) is a hefty sandwich with huge slices of crackling pork bagnet marinated in his famous Claude’s inasal sauce, nestled in a crusty baguette with some KBL (kamatis, bagoong and lasuna or onion) and fresh mustard leaves. Old Salcedo Market favorite La Cucina de Tita Moning has a stall in the corner while in yet another nook is La Cuisine Francais which you can’t miss if you only follow the sound of their barker loudly calling out “French food!" The market takes on a French twist as you hear some lovely French being spoken in some stalls and see that Parisians seem to have converged in this foodie haven. Free-range poultry including capon chickens (hard to find in Manila) and homemade pates and confits are sold in Php 60 and Php 120 jars by Pamora Farm, a joint Filipino-European undertaking. Over on one side, there’s Alexandre which has been delighting Filipinos over the past year with their authentic croissants, quiches, crepes and wide selection of French breads and pastries. Home-based businesses seem to be on the upswing in Manila if you count the stalls in this weekend market that has a version of a decadent chocolate cake, banana loaf, cakes of all kinds, and even some homemade ice cream, mochi balls, and frozen yogurt. But then again, look over to the other side and there’s the new high-end cakes and pastries line of Goldilocks named Luxe which does couture cakes for special occasions. If you’re like me whose Pinoy taste buds go for the less fancy stuff, make sure to find the stall that sells Taguig’s most famous delicacy – the Inutak, an uber creamy-melty kakanin that’s not so heavy and sticky and which is simply made of kaning malagkit (sticky rice) and gata (coconut milk). Light and heavenly, not unlike the tibok-tibok of Pampanga, an order of Inutak is just Php 100 per llanera. The women of Taguig who make this wonderful delicacy added some ube ice cream as a topping but I’d say that the Inutak is good and lovely on its own. I’m amazed that this kakanin hasn’t made it to everyone’s list of Filipino must-eats. Since this is a stall without a name, just look for the streamer with the face of the mayor of Taguig or place an order by calling their landline. Filipino delicacies abound in Mercato Centrale and at least two food stalls are proudly selling their homemade bottled goods. Marie Lim of Gustazo happily shared stories of how she set up a business in her house which now successfully sells Gourmet Tuyo (Php 160), Pomodoro Tinapa (Php 180) and Chunky Bagoong (Php 100). Meanwhile, I saw an old classmate from culinary school, hawking her own line of Smoked Fish in Olive Oil, Herbed Tomato with Tuyo and Capers, and Salted Egg all for Php 190 per bottle under the line of Rafael’s. The same stall of Rafael’s is also where you’ll find products of Itlog ni Kuya or a food line that sells organically-fed native ducks or itik including the Kinulob na Pekin Duck for just Php 390 for one whole pre-cooked duck which you can simply pop into your turbo oven for a few minutes before serving. If you’re a big fan of itik, you can also find fresh duck eggs and adobong itik, kalderetang itik, and hamonadong itik in this stall. Of course, what gourmet market would be without its share of healthy food? A stall called Sage offers 100% vegetarian food, including veggie burgers and sausages made of soya. A few stalls down in the same row is a stall selling organic brown rice. But if you want some seriously healthy stuff, go to the stall near the far end of the main tent and look for Nuiu, managed by the fashionably slim Marjorie Magtoto, a registered nutritionist and dietitian who can customize meals according to your dietary needs. Faintly similar to the South Beach meals delivered to your homes, Nuiu can study your personal diet requirements and cook up balanced and nutritionally sound gourmet meals for you, including snacks, and deliver them right to your doorstep. On its first day, Mercato Centrale has opened doors for a number of enthusiastic home-based food entrepreneurs. After a successful opening day, the weekend gourmet market is definitely filled with the promise of amazing food discoveries that will keep Manila’s gourmands something to chew on and rave about in the weeks and months to come. - GMANews.TV The Mercato Centrale is open every weekend all year round, Saturdays and Sundays, 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.