Foodtrippin' with the gang at IL MERCANTI

Last Friday night, me with my boyfriend, Mon and my co-bloggers here (Tin and Kaymee) together with our very close friends Jesse, Tere, Mitzie and Jet decided to go out and explore the gimmickan spots at night. Actually, the initial plan was to celebrate 11-11-11 with something special to do. 


We found a special activity for a once-in-a-century-date. BANCHETTO-MEGATENT will have a special activity on Friday, November 11, 2011. To celebrate the 11-11-11 on that night with a bang! They will have the WISH LANTERNS! 

Wish Lanterns are the equivalent of mini hot air balloons. When released into the night sky the person releasing the lantern will traditionally make a wish for the future. The WISH LANTERNS costs Php 100 each - it comes with a wishing paper and a small candle. The original plan was to release the lanterns at exactly 11:11pm of 11-11-11 and everyone lighting and holding the lantern will start to make a wish.

In the afternoon, we've heard rumors about the 11-11-11 event to be cancelled, and to confirm the rumors, GMA News tweeted:

In case you are wondering, cancelled or canceled are both considered correct in English writing. Anyway, since the food bazaars are still there, we still have reasons to go. So there, we left the house at 8:30pm and rode a taxi which costs us a lot. But, reasonable at the same time since the taxi dropped us off at Metrowalk. 

       before we left the house

Despite the heavy traffic and the one-and-a-half-hour-long drive, we came to Ortigas Avenue finally. We've been informed how crowded it is in Banchetto already so we just settled to enjoy the ambiance of Metrowalk.

BEWARE: The next pictures are drooling. Scroll down at your own risk! :)

Some lutong bahay ala-carinderia style for a very cheap price

TOP - L-R: Deliciously Done Lutong Bahay (P85), Il Mercanti Drinking Station (P25 each 450ml cup) (which is so in-demand they always refill every 30 minutes or so,
Monster Burger (P250)
BOTTOM - L-R: Luigi's Mixed Rice, Cebuana's Lechon, Schedule of Il Mercanti Food Bazaar

Cakes! Cakes! Cakes!

Tacos and Nachos (P90), Sushi (P65-85), Combo Meals (P79-99) and Lutong bahay (P85)

Varieties of IHAW-IHAW you could ever imagine. (P30-89)

This is what Kaymee got for herself. A giant burger for P250. The burger patty was so huge  and tasty. 

 She wasn't able to finish everything, she left half of the burger uneaten and joked she already has something for breakfast. That's how huge the burger is. I got to taste a bite through Kaymee's generosity and I found the burger patty cooked a bit rare or medium rare since maybe it is so thick they can't cook the inside well-done. Nonetheless, it is a must-try for burger lovers out there.

Crispy fried pig intestine (P80), Cebu Lechon (P175 for one-fourth kilo), Chicken Isaw (P30), Rice (P10, add P5 for styro and plastic spoon and fork)

 I decided to have a rare cholesterol overload for today. Tin and I shared the 1/4 kilo lechon, this is the minimum amount for sale. They only provide one small cup of sauce, so you need to pay additional P5.00 if you want to have more sauce for the lechon. The serving is actually a lot, I think good for 3-4 persons because after eating I was able to bring home some left-overs and ate it for midnight snack. :D As for the taste, I found it very tasty especially the pork skin but it wasn't that crispy anymore it was actually gummy. ;( I have long been craving for chicharon bituka so I grabbed the chance to satisfy my cholesterol cravings today. I was just disappointed about the ISAW since it was so bitter with all the unpleasant contents inside. As my friend, Mitzie said, "Jackpot yung isaw andaming laman sa loob". Not worth the money at all. But good thing  I liked the chicharon and lechon. But my body wanted some veggies so I bought Nachos salad as my dessert (P90). haha.

Pinoy Nachos, Nachos salad, Tuna and crab taco, Tacolicious Beef (P89 each)

The nachos I had was also disappointing, they used fried molo wrappers instead of real nachos. Since they are fried, it was so oily. 

Chicken strips for Jet and Lechon kawali w/ egg for Mitzie

 The chicken strips was sold by Jet's friend from Xavier who has a stall at Il Mercanti. According to Mitzie, it was like Serenitea's chicken, very soft on the inside but crispy on the outside with sweet and sour sauce. Lechon kawali was a bit too salty but they serve it with Mang Tomas sachet.

Tere' Shawarma Rice (P85)

 It was a good version of Shawarma Rice it's just too saucy maybe less sauce would be better.

Lechon and ISAW Baboy 

Tin and Kaymee while eating Mochi Ice cream

 We shared the lechon and still there are some leftovers. The ISAW baboy was good enough, well better than the ISAW manok. Tin has gone "gaga" or gone crazy over the Mochi Ice Cream which, according to her is a MUST-TRY!

Photo op! ;)

US Girls!

L-R: Mitzie, Tin, Kaymee, Jen, Tere

the bloggers :)

ANTM Cycle 17: Jesse

the girls with Jesse :)


LANTERNS!!

Tin and Kaymee with the lantern behind them

This time with the lanterns behind them up in the sky

We were surprised to know that some who bought lanterns from Banchetto lit them and released up in the sky at Metrowalk at 11:11pm. (mga pasaway ;p) But lucky for us, another photo op for the cam whore girls. 


We were so dead tired and went home with a full stomach and lots of fun while some are disappointing stories to share with. Some of us were frustrated since the travel was so tiring, the place was so crowded and btw, no available seats for us to dine so we end up settling on a spot in the parking area. At the end of the day, it's still the friendship, laughters and company of each other which made this gimmick worthwhile and memorable.


As for me, I would give Il Mercanti Bazaar the following ratings:
FOOD: 7 out of 10
AMBIANCE: 6 out of 10
LOCATION: 5 out of 10

There's still no harm in trying out. After all, experience is the best teacher.