Salcedo Weekend Market

Cris and Trev + Malaine and Pic

I am clueless how to start writing this post so I’ll start with what we had for breakfast.  We ordered peking duck and lechong baka even before the others got there and ate it with rice in the tables set up near the playground. Originally, my plan was to sample a little bit of everything but that did not happen. Firstly, the serving is too big for us too order more than two viands. Secondly, I doubt if we can afford to even if we decided to bring home the leftovers.

¼ peking duck at 300 pesos + ¼ lechong baka at 350 pesos

The duck was not thoroughly marinated. Some parts seemed like they were bathed in salt while some parts are left untouched. I loved it though that the portion I had had a lot of fatty areas because that’s what I’m after. After a long time of craving for duck because it’s been phased out by the common Chinese restaurants you can find in malls, I sure did enjoy my tidbit. If you compare the price to Binondo, of course it is really expensive but if you compare it to the ones they serve in malls, well, not bad.
I’ve heard a lot of people raving about lechong baka and I can’t help but be disappointed. I don’t really know if it’s suppose to taste that way because it seemed far too plain for me. I also have no point of comparison because I believe it’s my first time to try it.

Wagyu shawerma at 195 pesos + phil

This is another disappointment. I didn’t really find anything special with the shawerma. The truth is that I craved for the classic shawerma after having a bite.

Takoyaki with octopus bits (4 pieces) at 50 pesos + Pink grapefruit Thai salad at 120 pesos

For the Takoyaki, we had to wait for a long time for our orders. It seemed like the people behind the counter did not know what they were doing. I didn’t find anything fancy other than the price. I happen to eat those 25 peso takoyaki balls from supermarket food stalls regularly. Doubling the price, I expected that it would be spectacular but it didn’t live up to its “authenticity”. I was quite happy though that I paired it with the pink grapefruit salad that I bought from the thai corner. I loved this and would definitely try to whip something close to it once I think of something I can cook that I can pair it with. the problem is that the serving is much too small for the price.

Malaine’s spinach canneloni and jellyfish (forgot to take a shot of Pic’s order of Callos)

We also sampled what our friends had including spinach cannelloni, callos, jellyfish and some crostinis with dulong and tofu adobo. I loved the dulong dip/spread and I am regretful that I didn’t buy a bottle while we were there.

spreads and dips + malaine andbottled dulong spread

So overall, the food wasn’t at all impressive. I’m not saying the food is terrible, No. What I mean is, it’s not exactly what you’d call best of the best. However, I still recommend a visit or two with food loving friends. What’s to rave about is the fact that all those cuisines are under one roof. There’s Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino, Spanish, French, Indian and Mediterranean food. There’s a wide variety of street food and desserts. There are vegetarian stalls and a lot of fresh produce.

I also got a lot to be thankful of other than the food. There’s the playground that would keep the kids busy. There’s decent pay toilet at 5 pesos so you would never have to worry about that. They set up a lot of tables for those who wish to eat there. It’s cool because of the surrounding trees and it’s quite clean. That makes it a perfect picnic place for friends and families. Other fairs include flowers, organic products, bottled gourmet food, wooden servers and chinaware. They should work on those plastic containers though. I really felt guilty about all the packages I had. I’ll try to remember to bring packaging from home the next time I visit.