In line with Sugbo Mercado‘s goal of being able to open food markets in different key locations in the city, their newest outlet at the Ayala Business Park is a clear sign that they are well on their way! Their second branch, which is located behind CIC Main and the MSY building which is also known as the “jogging area” of Ayala, still has everything we have come to love from their first branch which includes tents, ample tables and chairs, a laid back ambiance and that awesome sense of community that is hard to find anywhere else.

I have always patronized this weekend food market because it gives closet or aspiring chefs the opportunity to put themselves out there and get an experience of how it is to run their own business. At the same time, it gives people like me the opportunity to explore my palette without going home empty handed. It’s a fair compromise for everyone plus, the view is great and the music is always on point!

If you want to catch my vlog about how to survive a night at Sugbo Mercado, check it out here.

Another thing that I love so much about Sugbo Mercado are the interesting stories of each and every vendor. Everyone has their own story to tell and their own interesting back stories which I think makes the food taste even better. There’s always something special about our homegrown establishments which you can find out more about on their blog. Their first feature is about a good friend of mine and his success story about Hala Paella and Papa Churros which you can read more about here. They’ve only featured one so far but I am so excited to read about more success stories in the near future.

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On their opening weekend, they launched with around 32 vendors and the list continues to grow with each coming week so forgive me if a few of these vendors might not be there anymore or if I’ve missed out on some. But in a nutshell, here is a list of the vendors I was able to meet and their corresponding links so you can check out their menu offerings and prices:

• Tausug spices – must try: Herbed chicken/ curry
• Soul food– must try: Fried ice cream/ Humba with quail eggs/ Mushroom ginabot with sour cream sauce
• Bueno JC Mexicano – must try: Quesadillas/ Tacos/ Tea
• Taho Pub 
• Funsea Food Corner 
• Hala Paella 
• Proben Deluxe de Cagayan – Chicken proben with chocolate dip
• Khan’s Bowls 
• Kuzina Guadalupe
• Papa Churros
• Little Chef/ Macology 
• Pares Baka Baboy
• Wokstarz – must try: Pad thai
• Frozen Wolf 
• Jasmine Teahouse
• Pizza cones Inc. – must try: Hawaiian cone
• Eat, Meat, Repeat 
• Pow Bao – must try: Deep fried buns with juicy pork belly (per request only!)
• Buns and Brews
• Chewy Junior 
• Yum-in-a-box 
• Papagayu Azul – must try: Enchilada
• La Choza Grill 
• John Lemon – must try: Classic lemonade
• Kan-anan ni Nasing 
• Sno

Of course, what kind of food blog would this be without some enticing food photos? Here are some photos of the food I was able to sample during the media launch:

Fried ice cream from Soul Food

So far my favorites have been the Proben Deluxe de Cagayan in Mediterranean & Belgian chocolate sauce, the Hawaiian Pizza cone, John Lemon’s lemonade, everything from Pow Bao, Hala Paella and Wokstarz. I’ll definitely be back this weekend to sample more because you know… why not?

Sugbo Mercado Dos will be open on the following dates: 

Sugbo Mercado-IT Park: Wednesday to Sunday, July 6-10, 5PM-1AM!

For more updates, check out their official blog here

For business inquiries, find out how to join here

Also, follow them on instagram here

Stay hungry, Stay thirsty… Stay alive,

Issa P.