Setting Footprints: Degustation at the Mega Fashion Hall (Mega Mall) 1

Last week, the Mercato Centrale invited me to join a group of selected few foodbloggers and lifestyle writers from mainstream Philippine media to sample gourmet servings of foreign restos and bakeshops in the newly opened Mega Fashion Hall wing of Mega Mall. This newly constructed wing of the mall is just along the side of EDSA highway in Ortigas business district of Mandaluyong City. There is a layover underneath the building for the north-bound EDSA buses where you can disembark if you take a bus ride. The MRT Shaw Station is just a hundred meters away that you can walk your way from the train station. The new wing is used to be the open parking area of the mall. The parking area is still there, but this time it is underground and for a fee.

The interior of the newly constructed Mega Fashion Hall wing of the Mega Mall

The Mega Fashion Hall officially opened last January 28, 2014. Then four months later, a food tour was organized and I was among the lucky food bloggers who were invited to join. It took us about four-hour to raid the gourmet restaurants and bakeshops, mostly originating from neighboring Asian countries and across the globe. Of course, local cuisine was not left behind in the list. We dined international that night.

Anton Diaz briefing us at the start of Degustation food tour

The food tour dubbed as "Degustation" was with the coordination of Mercato Centrale with its CEO and co-founder, Mr. Anton Diaz, guiding and giving us tips on what to expect and what to do in the tour.

A box of one-piece cinnamon classic roll

The cinnamon classic roll of Cinnabon bakeshop

We converged in the ground floor and right after the briefing we were first introduced to the Cinnabon bakeshop and each of us got a boxed of one-piece freshly baked cinnamon classic roll. I always like the scent of cinnamon that I sometime used cinnamon sticks to flavor my pork and chicken adobo and a dash of cinamon powder in my champorado for its appetizing aroma. The scent of Cinnabon's cinnamon pastries is aromatically better. For me, the cinnamon classic roll is a perfect pair to a freshly brewed coffee.

Chef Rea Gomez handing over us flyers and samples of their artisanal gelato

A cup of mango sake

Sampling the cold delights of Bono Gelato

Just a wall apart from Cinnabon is the Bono Gelato where Chef Rea Gomez personally handed over us samplers of their artisanal gelato. Among the flavors of the day we sampled was the mango sake, a blend of Philippine mangoes and the Japanese sake (rice wine). The taste was a fusion of distinctively Pinoy lusciuous fruit that unarguably marked a craving-for-more aftertaste in the throat. No doubt, the sake finished it in a moment and it was a perfect conditioning for our next stop.

Dimsum with condiments

Our next stop was at the first branch of Tim Ho Wan in the Philippines. It is the first franchise outside Hong Kong next to Singapore. Coincidentally, that day (May 20, 2014) was the first day of operation of the Tim Ho Wan in the Philippines.

Being popular in Hong Kong and Singapore, its opening in Mega Fashion Hall - Mega Mall was a big hit. The tables in the restaurant were all taken by the excited customers that the management arranged us a row of few tables outside.

Machang

We were served with dimsums, Chinese machang, and one of kind delectable pork buns, freshly baked and still warm. Read more about Tim Ho Wan Philippines in my other blog.

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Kyochon in Mega Fashion Hall of Mega Mall is packed with diners.

Lee Min Ho appears to be dining Korean fried chicken dishes

Then we turned around the corner in the ground floor and found ourselves in Kyochon, a Korean resto. What greeted us on the doorway was a table set of Korean fried chicken dishes and the huge pin up poster of Kyochon endorser Lee Min-ho, a South Korean actor, singer and model, who played a leading role in Korean television drama Boys Over Flowers.

Kyochon has no more space for us. Their fried chicken must be great. The tables were all taken by dining customers. Instead, we were handed each a sample of Korean fried chicken wrapped in paper box and 2014 Kyochon Global Standee Calendar placed in Lee Min Ho printed paper shopping bag. When I got home that evening, I enjoyed the great tasting Korean fried chicken that I thought I was Lee Min Ho that night (LOL!).

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