Friday, November 4, 2016

First Visit: Merkanto Street International Street Food

Merkanto Street has been one of the most awaited stops during our Maginhawa food crawl. With J’s new found love for banh mi and R’s interest in Indian food, we had to make sure that we head here as soon as when the clock strikes 4 p.m..
Hello, Merkanto St International Street Food! (Whew, that’s a mouthful.)
The humble car wash and food park in one was empty when we got there around 4:30 p.m. and sadly, there was only one stall open at that time as most open at 5 p.m.. This made choosing easier as we’re stuck with Viet Nom, a stall that sells Vietnamese dishes
J went with Bahn Mi Ga (PHP165) while A got Mi Xiao Mem (PHP145) and R1 ordered Mi Xiao Toi Thit Ko Bo (PHP165). 
The Bahn Mi Ga (it was really spelled as Bahn Mi instead of Banh Mi) was sweet and had a bit of crunch thanks to the veggies. But it lacked that defining taste of banh mi that comes from a generous serving of cilantro and liver pate. The bread was wrong as well as they used a soft bun instead of a baguette. At PHP165, this was a bit steep as other banh mi places sell theirs at PHP130 and these establishments use the right bun. 
The Mi Xiao Mem on the other hand reminded me of pad thaiAdd a bit of dried dilis for extra crunch and flavor. 
The Mi Toi Thit Ko Bo or dried beed in garlic egg noodles was the best one I tried here. The beef chunks was generous for its price and it was very flavorful! The noodles were cooked right and was not the sticky type. I loved this one!

Since we were still there at 5 p.m., R2 went with a Roti from the Indian stall and shared it with us. 
We failed to convince J to try the curry dip but he was game enough to put a dot of garlic sauce on his piece of Roti. I tried both dips and as much as I love the white sauce, I enjoyed the roti more with the curry dip. The curry flavor was not that strong making it perfect for me. The others prefer the white sauce though. 

I will definitely be back for more of the Mi Toi Thit Ko Bo which I now baptise as dried beef noodles. 

Merkanto Street International Street Food is located at 38 Mayaman Street, UP Village, Quezon City.

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