Thursday, January 26, 2012

THE MOUTH OF THE SOUTH: SODERNO AT MOLITO


In case you're new to my Blog, I just wanted to let you know that as of today (January 26, 2012), The first ever Pickiest Eater In The World Contest Giveaway is underway, and you can find out the details on how to join by clicking out the post HERE. Get a chance to win Gift Certificates for P5,000.00 worth of services from CATHY VALENCIA SKIN AND BODY CENTER! Guys, if you need pogi points with your girls, this could be your chance! (Unless you wanna use it yourself of course.. Umm.. We're not here to judge)




                Though my long awaited trip to P.F. Chang's would have been the main event to a normal man, but not to me. P.F. Chang's was only Phase 1 of my plan for that Saturday. The second phase got set into motion later that evening, when we made our way to Soderno at Molito in Alabang. 

           Though I've been to Soderno's siblings, Mercato Centrale and Distrito numerous times, this would be the very first time I would be visiting the Southern incarnation.



       
            The reason I wanted to go to Soderno was for the food (naturally), however, Raquel and Julio wanted to check out the "lifestyle" section of the market, because they were interested in getting a stall for their business, "Bug & Kelly: Music Inspired Kids Wear".        




                  Soderno looks like a mini Mercato Centrale, with an airconditioned tent that has some of the fashion booths and dessert stalls in it, that leads into the outdoor (but still covered) area where most of the food stalls are located.

          Perhaps the only problem with Soderno's setup is that the seating area   is nowhere near enough to accommodate the large volume of Soderno's customers. Throughout my entire stay there.. Roughly around an hour and a half, we didn't get to find an available table, and I ate my meals standing up.  


THE FOOD


PANZAROTTI




               The first stall that caught my attention was "Panzarotti", which featured a selection of what I assumed were Calzones, including one with a white sauce, called "Bianca". I say "Assume" because there's nothing there that specifically says it is indeed in fact, a calzone. 




                 I think the Bianca was made specifically for me. Apart from the creamy white alfredo sauce that is tummy friendly for me, It was filled with bacon, and corn, and a little mushrooms. What made this even better was the  deep fried pocket that encased the entire filling. It was thin and crispy, and had a beautiful crunch to it with every bite I took. 



CHICAGO DEEP DISH PIZZA AND PASTA



           Something that I've been seeing a lot of while i've been making the rounds at the food market circuit is Chicago Deep Dish Pizza and Pasta. Unfortunately though, they didn't have a white sauce variant so I was wary to try any of them. 

            Naturally, I was intrigued by the Meat Lovers Deep Dish Pizza (P150 a slice) the most. I was about to order one of those huge slices, when Rina gave me the evil eye. Like I've mentioned before, Pizza is my personal kryptonite, because the tomato sauce messes me up, so I ended up not trying it. 


        The sheer size of it though is very impressive, which my friends Leslie and Jerwin described as two thick crust slices of pizza placed on top of another and topped with cheese. Flavor-wise, I decline to comment because I didn't get to try it... Yet ;)



MAECHIBOG





                  I was going around the aisles looking for something to eat when I came across the booth of 'Maechibog", which specializes in beef products. 


              Throughout all my visits to Mercato, I've tried two different Roast Beefs. One I absolutely loved, the other one, well.. not so much. I was curious which side this one would fall under.





         Watching them slice the beef up though was very encouraging, because the knife cut the meat like a hot knife through butter. The crust of the meat light charred color to it, while the meat had a nice pink color with the perfect marbling of fat.

         The gravy that was poured on the meat was a bit thicker than what I'm used to. In fact it came off a bit gelatinous, but taste-wise, this was phenomenal.  The beef just melted in my mouth. It was so good that all of a sudden I found myself eating standing up. I refused to wait for a table to free up. I normally don't like marble potatoes, but these were cooked just right, and had a heart flavor that was brought on by Maechibog's smart move of resting them in the roast beef pan, so it soaked up all the juices of the meat.  For P130 bucks, this was a steal. 










              Raquel was walking around in search of the Black Paella that she had heard about. She finally found the stall of Case Goni, but ironically, despite the fact that she was talking about it all day, she ended up NOT ordering the Paella Negra. Instead, much to my delight, she ended up ordering the Wagyu Paella. 




                The Wagyu Paella was quite good, with the rice having the stickiness that I usually look for in Paella. It seemed to be more soy sauce based instead of tomato, so that was plus points for them in my book. I would have preferred it if the strips of Wagyu beef were bigger. But something Raquel brought up rang true for me. As good as the dish was, the flavor was a bit too rich, and your taste buds were looking for a breaker. Maybe some roasted peppers would have done the trick. 

        Nonetheless, I still think this was a brilliant idea, and kudos to_____ for thinking it up.   


CARNIVORES SNACK SHACK






               How could I NOT make a beeline for a food stall called "Carnivores" Snack Shack? And when I saw what they were serving, Cheese steaks and instead of fries, Mojo potatoes, It felt like the mother shop was calling me home. 
              





                 For it's price, the meat was surprisingly tender and I liked their use of Ciabatta bread for the bun. They were very liberal with their creamy cheese sauce as well. For P110 bucks, I think that's a great deal!



BIG DADDY JAY'S ALL AMERICAN BBQ




                  Though it's a bit pricier than the other stalls, "Big Daddy Jay's" Ribs is definitely a stall you should stop by. 


           The dude behind the stall explained the process of making the ribs is an intricate one, which includes curing it for nearly 24 hours and smoking it for another 4. which explains why the meat virtually falls off the bone. 


WICKED BITES



            
         Rina and I were looking for what we could have for dessert, and we stopped in our tracks as soon as we saw the booth of "Wicked Bites".  


         Why, you asked?








             FRIED OREOS & FRIED TWIX, THATS WHY. 


         Holy crap, these women are insane. I've heard of Fried Oreos before, but Twix?!? Are you frickin' kidding me??


Oreos are dipped into a bucket of batter and dropped into a deep fryer until the exterior becomes lightly crispy, yet soft to the bite inside





After a sprinkling of confectionery sugar your Oreos are ready to be devoured. 







          The coating is pretty amazing. The closest way to describe the taste of it would be that it's similar to the dough of "Li'l Orbits" doughnuts, complete with the hint of cinnamon.  



The Twix undergoes the same magical process and in my opinion,
 has its awesomeness enhanced by infinity point five. 

Rina with the wicked ladies of Wicked Bites


Wicked Bites' Deep Fried Goodies were a perfect way to cap off a memorable food trip at Soderno!


           Although the place needs a bigger seating area, the food choices helps to alleviate that issue. Going to Soderno made me miss Distrito even more! Don't let the distance phase you. It doesn't matter if you're from the North.. If you love food, there's no excuse.. You have got to make at least one trip to Soderno! I promise you.. It's totally worth it!


SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY



We bumped into my cousin's wife, Eileen at Soderno! 
After a bit, we saw my cousin Tonito too, but we weren't able to get a pic :(


hadn't seen my old buddy Roland in quite a while, 
so it was great to bump into him!


You and the family are looking good, buddy! 


It was awesome to bump into Big Daddy Vic! 
Also known as "Extra Rice Please"!
We're both members of the MyFoodTrip Community,
 but this was the first time we met face to face!


Bro, Rina and my sister loved your isaw! 



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20 comments:

  1. The other day, I got here at around midnight and there were barely any people. Fortunately for us, itt was so easy to get a table. Curiously, what time did you arrive? :) I'm asking because I was just saying that the people were much less than in Mercato, but reading from your post, I guess I was wrong!

    http://tastes-intentions.com

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  2. THE FOOD!!! Everything looks so good :D And you got me at "It doesn't matter if you're from the North.. If you love food, there's no excuse.." All I need now are some food buddies to accompany me (since I don't really know how to go to the area) and I'm all set to get some Soderno food adventure :D

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  3. Hi Mary! We got there around 7pm on a Saturday night, so we ran right smack into the dinner crowd! Maybe next time I should go a bit later.. or I'll try going in the morning :)

    Sumi, there's a chance I'll be going back next weekend! Hope to see ya there :D

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  4. Sumi: If you ever plan a trip to Mercato, lemme know as well :)

    In fact, we should get together with Michy, Lynne, Ray and everyone else who wants to go Mercato one of these days :)

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  5. thank you for making me drool again over these food! hahaha!! love your blog.. nice photos! :)

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  6. I'm game for a Mercato trip! Let's schedule one soon. :D I'd really love to enjoy new foodie finds with fellow foodies :D

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  7. Mercato? Game! :)

    The only food bazaar I've been to is Il Mercanti. I got so addicted that I went to Il Mercanti for three weeks straight! :)

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  8. The only food bazaar that I've been to is in Mercato since it is near where I work. The experience was well... 'cramped' (?) haha, but I loved the food, so I really didn't mind.

    Would try to go to the south soon! :>

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  9. Did I just see the mother of all cheesesteaks in the pic :D ? And only for 110 bucks? That is way cheaper than Kenny Rogers (which doesn't really do cheesesteak justice BTW) and looks sooooo much better :D !

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  10. Thank you cookies! Love yours too! :)

    SUmi and Michy, just lemme know when! A nearer one is banchetto, too :)

    Aileen, did you go to Midnight Mercato? The morning one isn't as crowded!

    Ray, how can you not be lured by a food shacked called "Carnivores"!

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  11. I wanna try that Wagyu Paella! Yummmmmm! And wow at the cheese steak!

    The deep-fried oreos and Twix are too Paula Deen for me. Eeekkk. Don't think I'll ever try it though, but you make it sound more tempting than they already are! @_@

    Ken, my friend and I will be in Mercato over the weekend and I can't wait for new foodie discoveries. :)

    P.S. Do you have email RSS feed subscription? I wish you do 'cause I would love to get your blog updates through email. :)

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  12. Hope to see ya at Mercato one time!

    I think I saw you guys at the Blog awards.. you were in the front row I think? hehe..

    RSS Feed.. umm.. I was thinking about doing that a long time ago.. but.. umm.. I never could figure out how to actually do it hehehe..

    I'll work on it though :)

    Thanks for dropping by!

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  13. @Richie: Yes and we saw you din. We wanted to introduce ourselves sana, but you left na.

    I've been one of your silent readers. And Ken too. ;)

    Oh about the RSS thing, I actually have a tutorial on one of my blogs. If you don't mind checking, here's the link: http://bit.ly/AyP2wH

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! Nakaka-kilig naman na the Certified foodies tandem reads my blog! haha!

      Don't laugh, but the reason I left was.. My jacket was a little tight on me.. and believe it or not, it was giving me a headache.. I don't know if that makes sense but it's a true story hehe.. And that's why we left right after our category was announced. (Oh, and we were starving hehe)

      With all due respect to Ralph, I sincerely believed you guys would win :)

      Thank you so much for the link! I'll study how to do it.. as you may have noticed from my blog, I have no HTML or any other knowledge whatsover, so I'm basically just winging it.. I need all the help I can get!

      Hope to meet you guys soon :)

      Regards to Ken!

      Delete
    2. "With all due respect to Ralph, I sincerely believed you guys would win :)"

      Awwwww that means so much naman, especially coming from you. Thank you. Pero we thought you'd win, walang halong bola. When Ken and I found out you were nominated alongside us, we immediately said na wala na, you'd win na. Anyway... ^_^

      And about that jacket thing, I can relate!! Hahahaha.

      How I wish I have more spare time so I can help. I still haven't completed our blog's redesign. But, if I do, I can whip something up for you since you already have a header and logo. :)

      Delete
    3. Haha! I was in a "Happy to be nominated" mode..i really didnt think I had a chance! hehe but Thank you for thinking that, nonetheless.. it really means the world to me that bloggers of your stature would even consider me :)

      Thank you so much for your offer to help, however I'd be a bit too dyahe naman...hehe.. Im sure you have so much to do, you shouldn't worry about me na.. But its much appreciated nonetheless :)

      Although I do hope we can all set a meet up in the near future! :) When we finalize something with my other blogger friends, I'll let you guys know!

      Delete
  14. Hope I can go there soon... I'd love to try the roast beef and fried chocolates! :)

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    Replies
    1. Please share your post here when you do, Guia!! :)

      Delete
  15. Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a really well written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I will definitely return.
    where can i get calzones near me

    ReplyDelete

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