Il Mercanti

 Similar, i guess to the Banchettos that have sprouted in the different areas in the metro, Il Mercanti offers the same concept of showcasing a lot of different varieties of food stuff. I have never been to any Banchetto site so i can't really compare, I have been to Mercato and although i prefer their food line up there, Il Mercanto is more airy and spacious not to mention more accessible since it is located just right inside Metrowalk.

spacious halls

a short walk from the main establishments of Metrowalk towards the parking lot will lead you to this...

roast pork loin, pastas, potatoes

just follow your nose, the waft of the different aromas of food will definitely entice you. 

there are different varieties of food to choose from, there's rice and viands combo, or  meats and potatoes and pasta, there's different kids of pizzas...

the Korean food stall

 there's a Mongolian stall somewhere, and this Korean food stall which i personally love, and some Japanese sushi and rolls too.

street food all-you-want

 street food abounds as well, i must have seen two or three stalls in there somewhere. there are also different varieties of seafoods and even lechon!!

desserts table

 there is also a wide selection of dessert items for your sweet tooth.

the spacious dining area

I'm not quite sure if it was just a slow night or word still hasn't gotten around much but there  were but a few people when we got there that we never had any problem getting a table. and several helps were around to clear the tables at once when the guests leave.  we must have spent a considerable amount of time checking out each stall, taking photos and deciding what to sample. we wanted to try different varieties and here's what we finally got:

some Korean dumpling soup--spicy!

 i don't know what it's called, it's sold for 99 pesos per order. it's like a kimchy soup, spicy and sour with some rice/ flour dumplings. it tasted like rice balls hehe...good enough for me.

chap chae noodles (80.00)

 this noodles is part of a combo meal which you could pair with rice and chicken or pork dish which costs 99 pesos. we didn't want any rice so i merely ordered this dish. it is cold but very tasty, i like it.

baked lasagna

 this baked lasagna is so-so...

Smore's bar at Med's 59.00

this smores bar is really good, it's like a moist chocolate bar with burnt marshmallow toppings. too bad we were so full when we got this that we didn't finish everything. i took this home along with other revel bars we bought for 3 kinds for 100 pesos but i ended up giving them to the taxi driver who took me home. i felt too stuffed already and i didn't want more temptations teehee! i hope mamang driver liked it.

steak sandwich, a bit mediocre for 135.00

 the steak sandwich was one of the first stuff that i bought, it's supposed to be beef steak cut into strips and garnished with onions and bell peppers topped with cheddar or blue cheese. i let them take out the onions and pepper because i don't eat them and chose blue cheese as condiment, ahhh it tasted blah. the beef was bubble gummy, the blue cheese tasted different, the bun is mediocre. it's too expensive for me for 135.00. maybe i should just have tried their pulled pork sandwich.

wintermelon milk tea, quite expensive for 90.00

 milk tea!!! i've been on a milk tea frenzy the past days, this was actually my second cup for the day. it tasted alright but i find it expensive compared to Moonleaf which only costs 70.00.

this is a winner, taro ice cream for 25.00, yum!

we capped the night, er morning with this yummy taro ice cream. and it's a steal for 25.00 per small cup. it's so creamy and delicious indeed. we were there from 10:30pm to about 12:30am stuffing ourselves crazy and digesting all the food sights and smells and some sightings of a few celebrities. Reporter, TV personality Connie Sison was there and i just learned that she's one of the organizers for this event. 

OH WAIT!

this was our STAR OF THE NIGHT...

The Juicy Lucy stuffed cheeseburger...

uhm, it's got fried mozzarella cheese hugging the enormous beef patty which has more melted cheese stuffed in it. cardiac delight indeed but it was really yummy! ;)

I'm not sure when we are going back to Il Mercanti, i guess we need more time to digest everything that we ate there that night (till morning). teehee!

Il Mercanti is located at the parking lot of Metrowalk in Ortigas and is open Wednesday to Friday nights at 10pm onwards.