First Bite: Wing's Lab

Food parks are designed to be a melting pot of different cuisines and dishes. Most would have the crowd favorites burgers, tempura, noodles, milk tea or shakes, butterfly squid and so on. One more thing food parks have in common is wings. These good ol' snack is often paired with beer for that chill night cap. But there's this wings place in Poblacion that made wing pairing its expertise.

Hello, Wing's Lab.

Wing's Lab is a new player in the competitive world of wings but it has established a pretty solid unique selling proposition by simply focusing and celebrating this messy dish. 

Second Sip: Cha Tuk Chak

Poblacion grew from being a sketchy neighborhood to one of the busiest foodie districts in town. As home to innovative dining concepts and some of the hippiest bars, Poblacion came in a bit late with food parks. We've noticed the boom of these al fresco dining spots and it seems that it is now reaching its sunset phase. But one food park tries to prove us otherwise--Pobstacion. And our first stop in this industrial food spot... Cha Tuk Chak.

Hello, Cha Tuk Chak.

I've tried Cha Tuk Chak before at the Gourmand Market last year but I found its Nom Yen (PHP120 | PHP135) drink too milky and blah. I thought it was great as many pick this flavor. It turns out to be just for the gram.

First Sip: Mozafrió

It may be a couple of months to go before Christmas but the intense summer heat is here to stay. I always find myself wanting and craving for cold treats like ice cream and milkshakes. And last week, I discovered Mozafrió.

Hello, Mozafrió. 

This milkshake store is located on the second floor of the hip and very millennial The Food Hive in Quezon City. 

First Bite: Open Kitchen

I've lost count of how many food parks opened in Metro Manila. There just seem to be too many to track. I used to even brave unfamiliar places just to visit a few; but more often than not, I go home disappointed. Sadly, some food parks do not curate their establishments that well. Some just get the ones that offer affordable food at so-so quality while others bring in brands because of relationships or connections. There are also food parks that just focused on being Instagram-worthy and that's pretty much the end of its vision. I've told myself several times to stop visiting these so-called food havens. But the curious foodie in me can't resist going whenever I get word that a new one just opened. And I sure am glad that I dropped by this newly opened food park along P. Tuazon.

Hello, Open Kitchen.

First Bite: Buns & Bros

Burgers never fail to attract me like fly to light. And when its patty is beautifully grilled and succulent, it was like luring Winnie the Pooh to honey. Hence, despite being full from my late lunch, I still found room for some serious burgers from this new food park in City Golf.

Hello, Buns & Bros!

I first saw Buns & Bros to-die-for burgers from The Bald Baker's Instagram feed. It was love at first sight but I had my reservations too as it looked too beautiful to be tasty too. Then again, after reading several comments saying that this rather hip establishment offers legit and bang for the buck burgers, I just have to give it a try.

Happy Tummies at Happy Tables

It is really fascinating how the Manila food scene has grown from a place with limited restaurants to a bustling city filled with food choices here and there. And with the growing number of food parks or hubs, you could tell that the restaurant industry is on fire! And just a couple of weeks back, we visited a new food park along the long stretch of Congressional Avenue and we were impressed. 

Hello, Happy Tables!

This food park, rather, a restaurant hub, is the brainchild of Happy Tables’ owner Oye Peralta. With his passion of offering quality dishes, he took the time and effort to do extensive food tasting to ensure that each and every dish offered in Happy Tables would delight the growingly discerning foodie market. The end result was a well curated list of restaurants that spoiled us when we visited. 

First Visit: Merkanto Street International Street Food

Merkanto Street has been one of the most awaited stops during our Maginhawa food crawl. With J’s new found love for banh mi and R’s interest in Indian food, we had to make sure that we head here as soon as when the clock strikes 4 p.m..

Hello, Merkanto St International Street Food! (Whew, that’s a mouthful.)

The humble car wash and food park in one was empty when we got there around 4:30 p.m. and sadly, there was only one stall open at that time as most open at 5 p.m.. This made choosing easier as we’re stuck with Viet Nom, a stall that sells Vietnamese dishes. 

J went with Bahn Mi Ga (PHP165) while A got Mi Xiao Mem (PHP145) and R1 ordered Mi Xiao Toi Thit Ko Bo (PHP165). 

The Bahn Mi Ga (it was really spelled as Bahn Mi instead of Banh Mi) was sweet and had a bit of crunch thanks to the veggies. But it lacked that defining taste of banh mi that comes from a generous serving of cilantro and liver pate. The bread was wrong as well as they used a soft bun instead of a baguette. At PHP165, this was a bit steep as other banh mi places sell theirs at PHP130 and these establishments use the right bun. 

Maginhawa Food Park StrEat Find: Bricks & Copper

Food parks are popping out here and there. But one of the first and established food parks in Manila is in Maginhawa and it sure has a witty name to boot. 

Hello, Maginhawa Food Park StrEat!

StrEat has became a must-visit food park ever since Lost Bread became trending in Instagram. Its attractive interiors is also a hipster magnet. 

There are several food stalls inside but we decided to stick with a few namely: Lost Bread, Bricks & Copper, Egg-It and Schmidt’s Hot Dog. 

It was a bit crowded when we visited around 5:30 pm but the food park organizers were prepared for it and placed ample number of tables and chairs for diners. We didn’t have a hard time getting a table for 5. First on our list is Bricks & Copper.

R and I ordered Chicken and Beef Kebab (PHP100 per piece) without rice as we wanted to save space for other finds. 

Service was good as our orders were served within the 10 minute mark. 

The two kebabs were plated in a no frills manner and we were given a small serving of red and white sauce on the side. 

The chicken kebab had a weird texture. It was also a bit tough making me think that the chicken was still raw when it was served. In short, I didn’t like this one. 

The beef kebab was a lot better. It was initially served with just the red sauce; but we had no problem requesting for some white sauce for it. 

This was was a lot better than its chicken counterpart. But it wasn’t exactly outstanding for me to go back for more. 

Looking back, it was a bit expensive for its quality. 

P.S. Parking could be hell here. If you’re on a food crawl, it might be better if you park elsewhere and just walk here. 

Bricks and Copper is located at Maginhawa Food Park StrEat, 91 Maginhawa, Teachers Village, Quezon City.