Last March 11, I visited Valero Eat Street at the Signa Designer Residences along Valero St. cor. Rufino in Makati.
Valero Eat Street is a pop-up food bazaar where visitors can indulge in some new and exciting food concepts developed by our young, local food entrepreneurs. The Valero Eat Street that day was a one day event (Friday), just in time for Makati peeps to celebrate going into the weekend!
I used to work in one of the buildings nearby so I was familiar with the area, but I must say that I was still pleasantly surprised at what they have done with the place. It was nice and festive and clean and hip.
Valero Eat Street is located diagonally from that very visible corner Starbucks along Valero cor. Rufino; but what do you know, there’s another Starbucks located at Signa Designer Residences, too. Ah, Makati, that place where there’s a Starbucks on every corner, hahaha 😀
Valero Eat Street is located in the open area of the ground floor of the Signa Designer Residences building. It is not too big and it was nicely crowded by evening. There are chairs and tables for customers, while the food booths were located in the middle area. There was a stage on one end for the live entertainment.
THE FOOD AT VALERO EAT STREET
There were around 20 booths selling everything from craft beer to Wagyu burgers! The food is good, the price range is around P200+ per order (main item) but be prepared to spend more because you’ll surely be tempted to try the different offerings!
Here are some of the food I was able to sample:
The most popular booth seemed to be Waggers – they sell Wagyu burgers! Here’s their bestselling item – their Wagger Kani Salad Burger (P280). This was good! The kani salad is mixed fresh in small batches, and is topped with mango jam.
Another popular booth was Pepi Cubano. This is their Pepi Cubano sandwich (P250) – filled with pork loin and ham. Sis loved this. She said it had lots of meat! It has a bit of mustard, which I like, but just FYI for those who might not like mustard.
The sandwiches get pressed in this contraption:
This Persian Chicken and Mediterranean Beef Halal Rice (P200) from Ricefix Cafe 162 would give that popular halal rice brand a run for its money 😀 It had flavors of cumin, coriander, garlic, yogurt, etc… So much flavor, so little tummy. I like that the yogurt sauce doesn’t taste oily. Don’t forget to add some hot sauce. I forgot to. I thought the Persian Chicken and Mediterranean Beef Halal Rice was delicious, but I suspect some heat would have enhanced the spices a bit more.
For only 10 pesos more, it’s better to get the Persian Chicken + Mediterranean Beef Halal Rice 🙂
I also liked these Okonomi-fries (P125) from Bao.MNL. These are potato fries topped with the usual okonomiyaki toppings – takoyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, bonito flakes (katsuobushi), lots of yummy pork bits, and aonori. Terribly addicting! However, Bao.MNL’s pride is their baos, I’ll have to try them next time!
For dessert, Cannoli & Co’s Cannolis (P200) are super! They are made using marsala wine and filled with real mascarpone cheese. The cannolis are crisp and light, but not too delicate that they would fall apart when bitten.
Cannoli is filled as you order:
They also sell drinks for P55!
McCormick also had a booth there, and they were giving visitors a taste of their Rosemary Iced Tea.
Can’t believe the recipe is this easy! I’m going to make this!
SUMMARY
You have to go to the next Valero Eat Street! The energy of the crowd is upbeat, everybody’s glad it’s Friday, everyone’s relaxed and hanging out with friends or office mates or their significant others. Yet, I felt safe there. No one was drunk or disorderly. Everyone was cool. Still, that’s no excuse not to be careful.
Wear cool clothing, if you know what I mean 😛 Sure, you can dress for a night out, but it’s hot and it’s summer in the Philippines so better wear something comfortable.
There was a variety of food available and I think a lot of people booth-hopped! It really is difficult to choose just one! I saw some people sharing their orders so they could try more food. Some people ordered drinks from one booth, appetizers from another, main dish from yet another booth, and desserts from other booths.
I got there early evening, and a good thing, too, because towards the end there, many of the booths were sold out! So be there early!
All in all, it was a very fun evening and I had a great time at Valero Eat Street!
Congratulations to Zomato, the organizers of Valero Eat Street, and the food entrepreneurs for a successful event!
Valero Eat Street
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ValeroEatStreet
