The tianggue in BGC

The Good Life with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit

It does not have the high level of energy that animates the Sunday  Sidcor market in Quezon city nor the quiet dynamism that pulsates the weekend market in Salcedo, Makati.

At least on these hours – 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. , Sunday– Mercato Centrale in Bonifacio Global City is slow. There is a steady flow of families and fitness buffs coming in and leaving, but where you push and shove at Sidcor, you have all the space to move around here. And where you can’t sit down in Salcedo, here you have neatly laid out chairs and tables to rest the tired feet and relax. There is a dining area in the huge tent, and there is a singer entertaining people at this hour.

The floors are done in rough tiles, pretty comfortable compared to the loose gravel in Sidcor, or the flat earth of Salcedo. But it is hot here, and maybe its location, out here in the wide, open and tree-less fields of BGC, can be blamed for the heat. It is covered by tents alright, but there is not s single tree here yet. And it is bound by high-rises, and more high-rises rising.

Of course Mercato is a late addition to the vibrant food scene in the metropolis. I understand it has a high lunch and dinner and long-after-dinner crowd on the weekend days and nights it is open. It is big, in other words, on cooked food. There are a few prepared  uncooked foods to take out, but Mercato Centrale should be known for the cooked foods it offers.

And what outstanding selections of foods it offers, from traditional  barbecued meats to artisan ice cream; from steaks limp with juice and fat to fish cured like ham, from fresh juices to nuts and cereals.

In other words. It is one market where the old sits nicely with the new and the luxurious and decadent sold side by side the healthy and intelligent food choices.

There’s supposed to be an organic fresh produce section here, but I did not venture out of the food tents and did not see it.

Mercato Centrale is decidedly upscale. It is a weekend tianggue, indeed, but it is unlike Sidcor which is for he general public.

It serves a market  that is looking for new taste adventures, new foods, in other words, it caters to those who are bored with the usual and traditional. Thus here you see food given with twists,  given new takes to come up put more excitement to them.

Okay you have the usual juices, but there’s a stand selling freshly squeezed ones, or laced with new herbs.  There’s tacos, but they are prepared like cocktail items, set in an egg tray. This tacos tastes like the ones we are familiar with, but they come bite size, nice-looking and even exquisite.

You know this is a different market when you see a stall selling Taguig native cakes made from ground sticky rice and pure coconut milk. This one is baked, until the top has bubbles gently burned. Its tastes delicately, almost melting in your mouth, the slightly burnt portions providing a counterpoint to  its soft creaminess.

Weekend tianggues like the Mercato are the Pinoy version for those fresh produce markets that are mounted in many places in America, reflects the character of the communities they serve.

They also serve specific market niches, and segments, and are an interesting mosaic of the social and cultural  life of our villages, subdivisions, puroks and barangays*

For feedback, go to www.lifestylesbacolod.com, check Bacolod Lifestyles on Facebook and follow @bacolodtweets on Twitter

back to top