I know the Market! The Salcedo Market that is...

I have something to admit, I have a love affair with Makati... in other words Makati is my lover and the South is my husband :) Weekdays, I live in Makati but weekends are for the South (since I live here). And since I should exert some effort in getting myself familiar with Makati, I went to the market.

Yes it's true I have been playing in the market... I'm familiar with the Stock Market but as much as I hate to admit it, I just knew of this Market last Saturday...

A friend of mine, Christina Hunt, has been telling me "What?? You're from Makati and you haven't visited any of the markets here?? You should go!!" So I decided to go to the Saturday Salcedo Market! For those who are not familiar with Makati, there are 2 villages in Makati: one is Salcedo (Saturday Market) and the other one's Legazpi (Sunday Market). I promise to visit the Legazpi Market next time... hehe BTW Christina Hunt's from the Legazpi side and I'm from the Salcedo side.

The Salcedo Community Market is located in Jaime Velasquez Park (between Leviste St. and Tordesillas St.) and is open every Saturday from 7 AM until 2 PM.

That Saturday morning, I decided not to eat any breakfast since I will be doing some food tasting the whole day. It was already 10 in the morning when I arrived at the market and there were a lot of people already. The demography consisted of yuppies (some still in their corporate/work attire), parents, yayas (with their list of things to buy), old people and even kids. It was a feast for my eyes...

There are stalls for food and drinks, plants, handicrafts ohhh and did I mention live seafood! hahahaha I didn't take too much pictures with my point and shoot cam since I was too happy with the market.. hahaha There were even stalls for streetfood (think bbq, isaw, kwek kwek, karioka, etc.) A chinese stall/wagon was also present selling dimsum, Spain was also present (paella was smelling oh so nice just a stall away). Vietnam was also present, the Thais were also there (you have to try the famous Pomelo Salad there), Korea was there, Japan was also there, the Middle East was there to represent with their famous kebabs and shawarma. The Italians were there with their pasta and cute desserts! And don't forget the Pinoys with their homemade delicacies (Ube, jams, etc.) Hahaha it was too much for me, I know I need to go back there!

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Well the first thing I tried there was Mamiyaki's Pancake... I noticed a lot of people flocking around that stall so I had to check it out. I ordered for the Cream Cheese filling since it was their best seller! only for 15 pesos (could you imagine 15 pesos for breakfast! FTW)! it was a pancake sandwich served inside a brown bag :) You could choose to have 2 fillings only for the price of 18 pesos (you can choose from cheese, cream cheese, strawberry, peanut butter and hazelnut choco).

The next thing which I tried was the Takoyaki since it was just a couple of stalls away and I have been craving for Takoyaki the night before.

I was walking around under the heat of the sun, then I saw a little kid drinking his shake! I had to drink something! haha so I tried the Mango Shake from Juice It (I ordered for the Grande Size which is roughly the Venti size of Starbucks only for -55 pesos). So it was definitely a good buy!

Then my next stop was a Lasagna take out from La Cuisine Francaise - 300 pesos (good for 2-3 servings so the price was reasonable... plus a very nice French man was selling it together with his wife). It turns out that they started with the Salcedo Market first before putting up their own restaurant in Salcedo Village. It was nice that even though they already have a place of their own, they still participate in the Saturday Market. They were also nice enough to invite me to their restaurant for a review which I will do soon. Aside from pasta they also sell desserts such as pies, tarts, etc.

Then since my dad loves Ube, I decided to go to Nene's stall and saw that a couple of moms were buying Ube. I decided to try their Ube Free taste, and it didn't disappoint me. My dad finished half of the container for dessert that night :)

Here are a couple of pics from the market...

Mamiyaki's Pancake - 15 pesos

Takoyaki - 50 pesos

The Thai Stall (their best seller is the Pomelo Salad)

Nene's Ube - 100 pesos per container

It was a shame that I only took a couple of pics.. I'm going to go back there to get more pics... and eat more haha!

So if you have nothing to do on a Saturday morning, head out to the Salcedo Market. You're definitely going to score some good deals there!

I will always be a traveler...

I think I'm starting to travel a lot :) Well I can't help it... I think it's in my blood..
I was at a coffee shop last month (which isn't really a surprise) and I was fortunate enough to read a nice article from a Travel Magazine... Let me share with you the reasons why we travel. Seriously, after reading this... I had that cheesy smile plastered on my face and the reassurance which I badly needed...

We travel to lose ourselves and to find ourselves.
We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world.
We travel to become young fools again - to slow time down, get taken in and fall in love once more.
We travel to shake up our complacencies by seeing urgencies we seldom face at home.
Travel is the best way we have of rescuing the humanity of places and saving them from abstractions and ideology.

(Mango, More than Travel, Volume 1)

Cravings... Chocolate Cravings that is...

Yes! Wandergirl's back from her "soul searching" or should I say hiatus/lazy mode hehe.

Just to give you guys a little background on myself.. Whenever I have my monthly visitor (haha I know you get me), I have errrrr cravings... Chocolate cravings that is! That is why I have set foot to try 2 of the famous chocolate places here in Makati. Well one is located in Salcedo Village while the other's in Bel Air.

I was thinking of combining my chocolate posts but I think I'll do my review for the cafes separately. So without any further delay, here's my review for Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe.

Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe's located in #28 Jupiter St. Corner Astra St. Brgy. Bel Air Makati City (It's beside Whistlestop - famous for its Hainanese Chicken , RJ Bistro, Starbucks and Fiamma of course). It's owned by Eva Wong, who has been in the chocolate business for 25 years already (so talk about chocolate experts, we know we could trust them). They opened the boutique cafe last December 6, 2009. And they have been doing imports of the following brands of chocolate: Toblerone, Ferrero Rocher, Lindt Master Swiss Chocolate, Ritter Sport and Frey).

Aside from chocolate, this store serves pasta, sandwiches and coffee.. But their expertise would be chocolate as expected so I might suggest that you eat somewhere else if you don't want to eat chocolate :P

For starters they gave me a bowl of Mini Frey Chocolate Bars (yay more chocolate for me)

Then I ordered for the famous Ferrero Hazelnut Crunch Cake - Php 280

If you love Ferrero, then this cake's definitely for you. Crush the Ferrero Chocolate Balls mixed with delicious chocolate and whip it on top of a soft chocolate sponge cake... Mmmmmmm need I say more?

For my drink, I ordered for the Classic Hot Chocolate - Php 150

(Although I was having a hard time in choosing among the Spicy Hot Chocolate, the Nutella Hot Chocolate and the Classic. The Classic Hot Choco won because I am in search for the perfect Hot Choco. Hahaha but I will definitely be back for the other Hot Choco contenders though)

It has a thick consistency which was a good sign that I was in for some chocolate bliss. I like the dark feel or taste it has because it wasn't too sweet which was perfect since I had the Ferrero cake. So definitely a thumbs up for me.. Haha I'll probably let you guys know which Chocolate Cafe wins for my "Search for the Perfect Hot Coco Contest" after I finish doing my chocolate shop hunting. LOL.

Well I had a boring morning today but this afternoon turned out pretty awesome for me! It was sinfully fattening but definitely worth the additional rounds I will be doing next week. Hahaha oh well I guess I have to double or even triple my rounds at Highstreet for my chocolate cravings these past few days ;D

Ohhhh before I forget.. I love the ambiance of Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe, it's not that big so you better make reservations if you're gonna go there for Valentines' or other holidays... But they do accept walk-ins. Plus when I was there eating my Ferrero cake, haha they were playing my favorite French Song, "Samba de Mon Coeur qui Bat" by Coralie Clement. (MmmmmmMMM Hahaha I just wish they played it a little louder :)) Bingi kasi ako :P hahaha)

Telephone: +632 8978559, 8962529

Email: mchocolatier.manila@gmail.com

wait for it...

I am excited because probably next week I will be doing a review on a newly opened cafe in Ortigas (El Pueblo to be exact)... I know some of you already know the name of the cafe... but wait for it... I'm excited... teeeheee!!

What's Up??

hmmmmmmm I vandalized in Noriter Cafe XD hahaha I wrote my name there... I have to go back and take a pic! =))

I found something funny in the net... Again, I did not make this ha? Just so you know :)

Gelatone

If you're always in Greenbelt 3 haha I'm sure you won't miss this ice cream store just below the escalator. Yes my dear friends, I'm talking about Gelatone. Yes gelato is Italy's version of their ice cream, but only with lesser butterfat compared to the regular ice cream we have (sooo definitely a better choice compared to ice cream). Hmmm I know what you're thinking... don't worry gelato is still yummy just like the ice cream (gelato just melts faster compared to ice cream) :)


I have always been a fan of this gelato store due to their "Ferrero Rocher" flavor... which unfortunately is not in their stock anymore. Hmmmm I'm not sure if they have removed this in their menu or they just don't have any stock. But no worries my fellow Ferrero Rocher fanatics since they have lots of choices...

I decided to try out their Carbonara (which has White Wine in their sauce - yummy yummy). I was wondering why it costs P420 hahaha well their pasta could serve 4 people. Haha I also tried their Iced Tea (and yesss it's fresh tea not just the "instant iced tea").

haha my doggie bag since the serving was soooo big XD hehehe

The store even gave me a free scoop of gelato of my choice (hehe yesss, I was actually surprised) A scoop would cost around P100 (definitely cheaper compared to Haagen-Dazs). Haha I think it was because it was Valentine's Day and I was dateless. Kidding aside I asked my server if the Ferrero Rocher was available (but as expected she said they don't have it). So I asked for an alternative and she said Nutella would be my best bet! And true enough Nutella tasted the same as Ferrero minus the crunchy bits of chocolate in the gelato :)

Location: 2nd floor Greenbelt 3 (below the escalator) near First Aid
Recommendation: GEDefinitely for people who love to eat sweet food!

Time to cool down with Qoola

Yes! I went to the soft opening of Qoola Frozen Yogurt in Greenbelt 2 (hehe actually it's in between Greenbelt 1 and Greenbelt 2). Qoola is a Canadian yogurt store... But what makes this yogurt store different from other stores is that you get to make your own yogurt... So you must be wondering how will this store charge you... well they actually weigh your yogurt cup and have their own computation. :)

For their yogurt base, you can choose from the ff: Original, Green Tea, White Chocolate Macadamia and Raspberry (I decided to choose the White Chocolate Macadami hahaa - it tasted like ice cream and I didn't taste any bitterness). But if you want the bitterness, go with the Original Flavor. Then I went to the toppings bar (I got ripe mangoes, almond, chocolate strips, crushed graham, granola and ooh more ripe mangoes). The price is Php 75 per 100 grams, my cup's kinda full so when they weighed it it cost me 200 bucks (but I think it was worth it since my cup's full and I shared it with a friend).

So here's a recap of the food trip I had..

Advantages: You get to personalize your yogurt! (plus the price varies on the weight of your cup)

They serve smoothies as well :)

Their building's uber chic! There's a fish pond under the staircase =)

They have free wifi!

Disadvantage: If you're clumsy like me (hehe seriously) the toppings bar could be a challenge for you... haha (it could get messy, I mean it)

Location: It's a building in between Greenbelt 1 (National Bookstore) and across Greenbelt 2 (Flapjacks)