Filipinos love to eat, that’s why the food industry here is steadily growing for years. Malls and town centers are rising up from the ground like mushrooms filled with both old and new restaurants. Also, I have noticed that after the success of Maginhawa, Lilac and Kapitolyo, a lot of food parks are springing around the metro. This is great because you can just go to one place, eat and try different kinds of food and cuisines to your heart’s content. Something new and a far cry from going to a single restaurant. Yeah, talk about food tripping!
Just like this newly opened gastropark in QC: The Yard at Xavierville. The yard is a 3-floor food park built from steel shipping containers. The first and second levels contain the 30 vendors offering almost every type of food and cuisine you can think of – from appetizers, to mains, to drinks and desserts. At the third level is just an al-fresco dining area where customers can stay when the seats at the first and second floors are full.
The place is quite small and narrow but the spaces are well maximized. Parking can be a bit tedious because The Yard has limited parking slots at the entrance. Since it’s the rainy season, I suggest that you take a table that can give you cover, just in case it rains.
I love the overall industrial feel of this food park. I find this place very hip, yet doesn’t cater only to a certain group of people. I was there one Saturday night and I saw a lot of groups of friends and families alike. There’s also live musical performances by DJ and bands on weekends by the way.
I was able to try quite a few from the 30 food stalls inside The Yard: Halal Kabab Express, Black Plate, Little Wondang, Milkshake Lab, Wakamojo, Tokyo Tempura and Gulp Station. Here’s a map of the food park (click to enlarge photos):
Now let’s talk about the food and let’s start with Halal Kabab Express. Kabab Express is a quick service restaurant or food stall inside The Yard. You can easily spot it when you enter the gastropark as it is located on the ground floor on the right side of the entrance.
Halal Kabab Express offers Persian food that are organic and halal food meaning it "blessed meat", as the way it is procured is of a healthy process. It is owned by a couple chef: Manoj de Silva and Chef Violet de Silva. They make all their dishes from scratch and the recipes are from Chef Violet's mother. What customers can expect, is an exquisite and flavorful food menu but for a Filipino-friendly price.
I love Mediterranean food especially kebabs so I ordered their Chelo Kabab Kubideh. This includes beef kabab, grilled tomato, Persian rice and signature sauce. The kabab was flavorful and you can taste the spices. I love their yogurt garlic sauce but the chili sauce was too spicy for my liking. I am a big fan of grilled tomatoes and I was glad that the dish came with two.
The rice was a bit dry for me, my mistake was that I didn't order butter which I usually mix with the rice to make it moist and flavorful. All in all I enjoyed eating this but since we were on a food trip, i had to spare more pace in tummy for the other things that we will try at this food park. Maybe next time I can try their Keema and Naan wraps.
I love to visit such places and to spend my time there. I like this type of food and I think that everybody must have their favorite places to meet there with their friends. If you want you can even get academic help there if you have such plans.
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