Bun Appetit and La Cuisine Francaise at Salcedo Weekend Market

From time to time, we'd visit the Salcedo Weekend Market (Saturdays) to buy my son's favorite garlic sticks. We also buy fresh produce we don't normally get in the grocery stores like kale and herbs. Then, we check out new stalls if any. We've been going to the market since 2004 and have watched it grow to what it is now.

Anyway, so we saw this new stall called Bun Appetit.  They sell 3 types of sandwiches, lobster, crab and shrimp roll. They have a pretty simple menu with these 3 as the stars. They also have crab cocktail claws, grilled corn and garlic noodles.

Bun Appetit Stall

Crab roll (Php 395)

The rolls are pretty expensive for a sandwich if you think about it. But once you get a bite, ohhh...it was heaven and so worth it. I got a crab roll. They definitely did not scrimp on the ingredients. That's probably more than a cup of crab meat on one sandwich. The buttered roll was really good too. I will buy just that bread if they sold it. Needless to say, it was a filling meal that can last you until lunch.

Grilled corn (Php 120)

I also tried the grilled corn. It looks good but it lacked the umami taste of the grilled corn you can buy at Bad Bird or No Reservations. It had lime, cayenne pepper and some cheese. It was a bit of a let down as I was expecting it would be the same level of delicious-ness as the sandwich.

The Tiramisu is not from Bun Apetit but from the La Cuisine Francaise stall. They sell (yes, you guessed right!) French food. This tiramisu slice is about Php 250 a piece. It was a big slice. It would probably be equivalent to 2-3 servings at most restaurants. What I used to like about this tiramisu was that it was indulgent and had a good amount of mascarpone and cream on it. I say "used to" since the cake I bought that Saturday was not the same as I've had in the past. Also, the lady fingers seemed like it was overly-soaked in coffee since the bottom part of the container would be drowned in liquid after a few minutes. Putting the dessert inside the fridge didn't improve the state. 

Though not as good as it was before, I'd say that this tiramisu is still one of the better tasting versions I've tried.

Tiramisu

Side view of the Tiramisu :)

Salcedo Saturday Market
Jaime C. Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village,
Makati, Metro Manila
Saturday 6AM–2:30PM

Family Lounge and breastfeeding station at Greenbelt

I never really found the need to find a breastfeeding station when I am in malls. I found it was too complicated to look for one and by the time I got to the place, my son would have been screaming his lungs out. So when we're out together, I make sure that I either wear a nursing top or something that would give my baby easy access to my breasts. I  always have my trusty nursing cover in our baby bag too just in case. Then, we find ourselves a seat somewhere and we're good. I have even tried nursing Datu while he was on a sling and I was walking. I think I've done that at least thrice. Breastfeeding and baby wearing rocks!

We were at Greenbelt to have our trial class at Gymboree. At the escalator from the parking lot, we saw the notice about the Family lounge and where it was. We were up for a diaper change and feeding so we decided to look for it since we were at the mall early. The Family lounge was at the 4th level at Greenbelt 5 near the Nail place (forgot the exact name) and a Dental clinic (also forgot the name I think it's Metro Dental Clinic). When you enter the lounge you are welcomed by relaxing music. It looks like the business lounges at airports but better. There weren't a lot of people inside. There were only 3 when we got there. I guess it is because it was a VIP lounge. You need to have an Ayala card, VIPinoy card or BPI-Ayala credit card to get access. However, special access is given to Nursing moms (yay!) and PWDs. For us, we can only use the lounge for nursing and changing nappies for FREE.

What are the other things you can do at the lounge?

1. Well, malling is tiring. It can be difficult to find a place to sit that is not in a restaurant. If you go that route, you will have to order at least something to drink even if you are not thirsty. If you had access to this kind of place, you won't have to shell money out.


2. You can leave the boys there. There is free wifi. There is also a business center-like area where a desktop was available for use. There's TV too. So while mommy is shopping, dad can wait for her there and not bug her to go home when she's not done shopping yet.

3. There is a play area. If you do not want to shell out money for places like Gymboree, you can just leave yaya and baby there while you shop.

4. You can nurse privately. It was a really nice breastfeeding station. There is a comfy chair and stool so you can even raise your legs if you want to for extra comfort. The chair is spacious enough that you can actually lay on it and put baby beside you on a side lying-position when breastfeeding. There is also a socket in case mommy needs the area to pump milk or charge her phone :). 

Inside the breastfeeding station

5. Clean changing area. This can be problematic for us at times. There are restrooms that do not have changing area or are plain dirty. There are times when we find ourselves changing baby's diapers on his stroller. It is a bit challenging but better than having to lay your child in some dirty table. The lounge saves us from this. The restroom was clean and spacious.



If I were in that area again, and need to nurse or change, I will definitely use this facility again. I may even try to get a card so I can access the lounge for reasons 1-3.

Weekend Special: 8065 Bagnet

I bought two vouchers from Metrodeal a couple of months back for 8065 Bagnet.The purchase was Php 150 but worth Php 300. I was reserving this for when I am too lazy to cook on a weekend. It was easy to drive to this place as it was near our home and it was always nice to drive to Makati on a Sunday--absolutely no traffic.

8065 Bagnet at night

From the name, 8065 Bagnet serves the famous Ilocos double fried meat in different ways. My favorite is their Bagnet Sisig and Dinuguan. New to their menu is Bagnet sinigang but I have not tried that yet. They also have the plain variety, bicol express, kare-kare among others. We would normally get the budget meals that come with rice. But you can also order viands for sharing (good for 2-3 persons).

Kermit the frog at the dining area outside

I originally found out about this hole in the wall from my officemates. We would go there on our lunch break as it was a very short cab ride from where I worked.

When we found that a group buying site had this promo, one of my officemates bought 10 vouchers! That's how much we like the place. We would normally order the rice meals which are about Php 120 each. It was so sulit for the money. The guys can even have two orders of rice and still not feel bitin with the serving. So if you are on a budget, you can actually order one rice meal and an extra rice. Then, two people can split a Php 150 (extra rice is Php 30) bill. You even get free soup! If you plan to go there on a weekday to have lunch, it is best to call in advance to place your orders so you don't have to wait too long and risk going over your break time. 

Bagnet Dinuguan budget meal (Php120)

 

Bagnet Sisig budget meal (Php 120)

8065 Bagnet
8065 Estrella St  
San Antonio, Makati  
(02) 519-6511