Baby Foody at the Mandala Weekend Market
October 24, 2015
It was a day of celebration for the Fluffinay family because this frazzled momma has reached a milestone last Saturday. Fluffinay turned a month old! Hooray! (*danced the jig. Baby looked at me and thought I was cray-cray. ) I was able to successfully commit to writing 2 blogs per week despite the challenges of running a household without a maid, caring for a hyperactive toddler, hand* sewing an epic halloween costume, managing a random act of kindness giveaway, and making sure I get to shower everyday.
Since this foody family wanted to celebrate with good, organic, and healthy food, we trooped over to Mandaluyong to experience the gastronomic delights of the Mandala Park Weekend Market.
Mandala Park is a 3.2 hectare eco friendly community where you can unwind with great food and soulful music after a stressful week at work or at home with a mischievous toddler. Formerly known as the Liberty Center it now blooms as the city’s first wellness haven and pioneer of urban sustainable living.
October 24 marked the second installment of this feast and we were greeted with warm smiles, mouthwatering aroma and a relaxing ambiance. The lineup of merchants curated by chef Yulo and the developer Litton & Co, Inc. were chosen for their involvement with the sustainable movement and their support of local businesses and industries.
What better way to start our food adventure than with dessert! Sophia enjoyed her cheatday with sweets by having a mouthful of creamy Vanilla Malt ice cream from Fog City Creamery. This delectable treat gave Sophia brain freeze but she didn’t seem to mind because she kept asking for more. Their Vanilla Malt ice cream tasted like rich vanilla milkshake with chunks of Malteser chocolate. It was so delicious! Their organic preservative-free ice cream was perfect for this little miss who only gets to eat sweets twice a month. (Yes, mommy is a meanie.)
They have a long list of ice cream flavors that made me wish I wasn’t on the corset diet so I could eat ’em all. Ferrero Rocher with Nutella Swirl, Salted Caramel, Bourbon Pecan, and Strawberry Shortcake were just some of their offerings.
Fog City Creamery Their ice cream contains no preservatives or artificial stabilizers.
Having satisfied our sweet tooth, it was time to look for something savory. And what luck! Guess who we bumped into at Mandala Park? It’s our favorite neighborhood cevicheria, Po’ke Boy.
Po’ke Boy’s Patrick Roa (Photo by Pat Roa)
Po’ke Boy served their signature dish Tuna Ahi Po’ke (Hawaiian kinilaw) with cabbage slaw and Kalua Pork Rice on caramelized onions, pineapple chutney, and coconut lime rice. Yum! Yum! The tuna was so fresh it melts in your mouth. It was delightful! I wolfed it down so fast, I wasn’t able to ask my husband if he wanted some. (sorry-not-sorry!)
Here’s a trivia for you. When I was pregnant with Sophia (around the 3rd trimester) I had this uncontrollable craving for kilawin or ceviche. I know, I know. They warn pretty preggy mommies not to eat raw fish. But their ceviche was so fresh and delicious that I couldn’t help myself. Plus, I made sure that the fish was “cooked” well in its lemon bath. Po’ke Boy’s (Patricio’s along Bayani Road) ceviche will always be one of my healthy food favorites.
Right next to Po’ke Boy was another sweet treat, Mr. Fluffies. They offer lip smacking fairy floss made from locally sourced organic sugar. It’s a guilt free indulgence too. Mr.Fluffies serve gluten free, low fat and low-cal (100 calories only) sweets . Candy enthusiasts would have a hard time choosing their cotton candy flavor because they have 30 unique options to choose from like watermelon, mango, lychee, cheesecake, black forest, and custard. We sampled their cinnamon cotton candy and it was delightful! You could really taste the cinammon and you end up smelling like Christmas. (No cotton candy for the spritely baby though!)
To wash down the sticky sweetness of sugar, we dropped by the Stanford & Shaw Ginger Ale booth. Ginger ale is brewed from fermented ginger, lemon and sugar. Stanford & Shaw has the best ginger ale ever. Period. It was so refreshing and fizzy, I gulped down a cup like a thirsty fishie. Plus points to ginger ale because it can help increase milk in lactating mommies. (Hooray! More milk for Sophia) Instead of drinking beer, padede mommies could drink ginger ale instead. It has less alcohol at 1% and it was so so so delicious! I drank almost 2 bottles. (Loved their bottle!) When we got home later that evening, I was surprised to be engorged and Sophia seemed to like the taste of ginger ale because she wouldn’t let go of the booby.
However, nursing moms be warned. Ginger or ginger ale in the early postpartum is not recommended if there was significant blood loss during birth. Do not take ginger immediately after birth due to danger of hemorrhaging. Ginger tends to compound and increase the effects of medication being taken. Talk to your doctor if you are taking medication, especially diabetic, blood-thinning, or heart medicine.
More food finds at the Mandala Park include Ribs Manila’s smoked pulled pork, Fruit Magic’s cold pressed juices, B&T Mexican Kitchen, and Pedro Brewcrafters beers.
While Sophia was enjoying her Pork Niku Soba from Ramen Iroha, Jason was busy with his Sausage Bap from IAmKim by Chef Him Uy de Baron and Nutella shake with choco chip cookie from Scouts Honor. And me? I was chilling to the soulful voice of Kat Agarrado of Sinosikat? with my bottle of ginger ale. Ah! Life is good, (sigh!)
Sophia had a great time running around the area with its enclosure of greens. She even tried several times to climb the stage to join Sinosikat?. hahaha! (This little girl has big dreams.)
It was an evening of great food and beautiful music. We can’t wait to go back to Mandala Park next month.
Hope to bump into you at the next Mandala Weekend Market on November 18, fluffinay friends!
