While many of our food courts in Manila are home to the Filipino snack and fast food stalls that bring us buckets of fries, siomai, hotplates, and good memories from our high school barkada galas, new food courts with unique stalls have been popping up to challenge our gastronomical comfort zones.
For an affordable price, pop over during your lunch break or weekend forays to these 10 food courts, serving unique meals from lobster to unlimited ramen to fancy desserts.
Pad thai and Thai milk tea from Easy Tiger, pizza from Pizza Morena, and lobster from Catch of the Day.
Image credit: @cornermarketph
The Podium’s Corner Market is a relatively new food hall, but people are already flocking to it for its 17 stalls of unique food court dishes. Skip your usual sit-down seafood restaurant for the Catch of the Day stall here, which serves lobster, something you’ll never find at a regular food court, for P520 (~USD10.28).
Other stalls here include Easy Tiger, known for their Thai food but most of all their Thai milk tea for P85 (~USD1.68). For dessert, have Sundays by Merry Moo’s soft-serve ice cream, at P115 (~USD2.27) a scoop with unique flavors from butter polvoron to Spanish bread.
Vibrant colors and mix-matched chairs that add a quirkiness most food courts in Manila don’t have.
Image credit: @cornermarketph
Another reason to check this place out is its bright aesthetic and the colorful and fun vibe that sets it apart from the usually plain and dull-colored food courts of most malls.
Address: 2/F, The Podium, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong
Opening hours: 11AM-10PM, Daily
Mobile: 0927 022 7721
Image credit: @thmonetjo
With their recent renovation, you’d never be able to tell that Glorietta 4’s Food Choices is a decade-old food court in Manila. The fresh, new interior sprinkled with neon signs and new furniture makes this place a hip destination, even though it remains a nostalgic meetup point from our school days.
Salted egg chicken lava sandwich from Birdhouse
Image credit: @officialtimyap
Aside from the aesthetic, you can also discover new restaurants that have moved into this well-loved OG food court.
One is Birdhouse, where you won’t have to fight over their chicken skin because they serve it with their meals starting at P176 (~USD3.48). Or get yourself temaki (hand-rolled, cone-shaped) sushi from Sushi Nori, starting at P59 (~USD1.17), that’s a level up from your usual sushi rolls. You can even grab some Korean bingsu at Wooyoo! starting at P95 (~USD1.88) per cup, as a no-mess dessert on the go.
Address: 3F, Glorietta 4, Courtyard Dr, Makati City
Opening hours: 10AM-9PM, Daily
Telephone: (02) 752 7272
Unlimited ramen from Yummy Tokyo.
Image credit: @noelbazaar
Food halls in college areas are great if you want to get a good meal and save a buck, and an example of that is 3rd at Regis Center. Offering food that’s both yummy and affordable, this is the place for anyone on a budget.
Yummy Tokyo, one of the stalls, lets you feast on eat-all-you-can ramen for only P399 (~USD7.87) with no time limit, and you can choose from any of their 9 different flavors, such as best sellers Ramen Overload (a classic miso), Miso (a creamy miso), Tantanmen (spicy), and Tonkotsu (with pork bone soup). You can also carbo-load on P150 (~USD2.96) pasta from The Coop, and get fresh fruit juices and shakes from Fruitas from P69 (~USD1.36).
Image adapted from: @nelwinuy
Along with the affordable food, you can consider this place a pick-me-up with its brightly colored seating area, colorful murals, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in natural sunlight.
Address: Regis Center, 327 Katipunan Ave, Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Opening hours: Mon – Fri 10AM-11PM | Sat – Sun 8AM-11PM
Telephone: (02) 8961 0916
Image credit: @kainventures
If you ever find yourself running errands in UP Town Center and end up running low on cash, drop by The Caf. Instead of going broke over the mall’s restaurants, try out this food court’s yummy meals for student-friendly prices.
Avocado Lover for avocado lovers
Image credit: @avocadoria.uptc
With restaurants such as Ta Ke Ho Me that serves cheap and delicious 8-piece sushi rolls at P99 (~USD1.95), and Avocadoria where you can get fresh avocado desserts starting at P90 (~USD1.78), you’ll fill your tummy without having to worry about your broke life woes.
Address: 2/F Phase One, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
Opening hours: Mon – Thurs 11AM-9PM | Fri – Sun 10AM-10PM
Telephone: (02) 7795 9595
Image credit: @sheroseontimare
Being in such an affluent neighborhood, the food at Powerplant’s The Grid is pricier than most food courts, but the quality and generous servings of the food make it worth it.
Among the 16 restaurants here, you can get steak from Beefier starting at P680 (~USD13.41), Singapore hawker dishes such as laksa, satay, and chicken rice from P165 (~USD3.26) from Babu, and Buckies, a brownie-cake-fudge mashup, for P100 (~USD3.95) at Bucky’s.
Image credit: @marul69
While you’re there, keep your eyes peeled – you’re bound to see a celebrity or three while in this mall, like how I saw Nyoy Volante, Liz Uy, and Martin del Rosario all in one day while I was roaming around Power Plant.
Address: R2 Level, Powerplant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City
Opening hours: Mon – Fri 11AM-10PM, Sat – Sun 10AM-10PM
Telephone: (02) 759 4605
Rico Rico’s paella and La Lola’s churros
Image credit: @ricoricoph
SM Aura’s Food on Four, like The Grid, is another mall located in another upscale area, which means you get stalls catering to folks raring to try foods from far-flung countries.
Start with Spanish food stall Rico Rico, where you can get different kinds of paella starting at P195 (~USD3.85). You can also get poke bowls at Poke Poke starting at P199 (~USD3.93) or create your own for P350 (~USD6.90), and have La Lola’s popular churros for dessert, starting at P110 (~USD2.17).
Image credit: @smaurapremier
Aside from enjoying your food, the aesthetic of this food court also makes for some great photos. The glass ceiling makes way for plenty of natural sunlight to shine in – perfect for golden hour selfies, plus it makes the already spacious food court look huge.
Address: 4th Level, SM Aura Premier, McKinley Parkway corner 26th St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Opening hours: 10AM-10PM, Daily
Telephone: (02) 8815 2872
Steaming plates of Japanese curry from Coco Ichibanya
Image credit: @cocoichibanyaph
Famous for their huge and customisable plates of Japanese curry for around P300 (~USD5.92), Coco Ichibanya is a rare find in food courts in Manila since they’re usually standalone restaurants. A curry rice platter will easily feed busy people who haven’t eaten all day or want to share a meal with a friend.
Image credit: @karenkayemb
From Japan, you can also bring your tastebuds to Vietnam by getting banh mi at Banh Mi Kitchen for P99 (~USD1.95), with a cup of Vietnamese coffee for P89 (~USD1.76), or build your own English fish and chips at CargoFish for just P170 (~USD3.35).
Address: 4th Floor, Uptown Mall, 36th Street Corner 9th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Opening hours: Sun – Thurs 10AM-10PM, Fri – Sat 10AM-11PM
Mobile: 0917 554 1716
Chocolate chip cookies from Scout’s Honor
Image credit; @scoutshonorph
If you don’t want to worry about getting a meal you won’t like, drop by Hole in the Wall, where they’re known for being a well-curated food court housing only quality restaurants with affordable prices.
They house restaurants such as Bad Bird with P220 (~USD4.34) chicken dishes, and Hole in the Wall Cafe, their in-house cafe that offers an extensive menu of breakfast food, burgers, and sandwiches starting at P110 (~USD2.17). Scout’s Honor, one of the locals’ favorite places to get cookies can also be found here, with their OG chocolate chip cookies oozing chocolate with every bite, and other flavors such as matcha, s’mores, and red velvet for P95 (~USD1.87) a cookie.
Image credit: @sarlotnglipunan
The aesthetic is very “hole-in-the-wall”, as this food court is hidden away in a corner of the mall, and the lights are usually dimmed to make meals feel intimate and for diners to feel apart from the outside world.
Address: Century City Mall, Kalayaan Ave, Makati City
Opening hours: 10AM-11PM, Daily
Telephone: (02) 8801 1230
Website
Image credit: @edenfoodhall
No matter what time you get off your shift at work or your studying sessions for exams, you can grab a meal at Eden Food Hall, open 24 hours on weekdays. The bright and white aesthetic of this food court in Manila makes for a relaxing atmosphere, and will keep you up if you need to pull an all-nighter.
Lechon kawali and lugaw from Bulacan Lugaw Kitchen
Image credit: @edenfoodhall
This food court in Manila offers stalls of different cuisines, from Filipino favorites like adobo and sisig rice bowls for P99 (~USD1.95) or lugaw from P50 (~USD0.99) at Bulacan Lugaw Kitchen, to nasi goreng for P188 (~USD3.71) at Bakmi Nyonya.
Its in-house cafe, Eden Cafe, is where you can spoil yourself with drinks you wouldn’t usually find at a food court. Try their coffees from P80 (~USD3.71), cocktail pitchers at P500 (~USD9.86), and specialty bubble tea such as mango cheesecake and lychee green tea at P80 (~USD1.58).
Address: 32nd and Fifth Building, 32nd Street Corner 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Opening hours: Mon – Fri 24 Hours, Sat 12AM-10PM (Closed Sundays)
Facebook
Image credit: J C
When you’re in the mood for hotel dining, but don’t want to pay the usual P2,000 (~USD39.45) price for a buffet, try out Solaire Food Court. Located in Solaire Resort & Casino, one of the country’s most popular hotels, this is where you can get hotel-level meals from P200 to P800 (~USD3.95-USD15.78), a steal compared to what you’d normally pay in most hotels.
The food court has 6 stalls – Pan Asian for Chinese, Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian, and Indian dishes such as congee, sambal prawns, rendang, and curry, Filipiniana for Pinoy breakfast food like sinangag and Sandok for Filipino main dishes such as adobo and liempo, Americano for American wings and burgers, Namsan for Korean tteokbokki and bibimbap, and The Bakery for cupcakes, pastries, and dessert cups.
Solaire’s assortment of desserts
Image credit: Zomato
Come any time of day when hunger strikes – since this food court is in a hotel, it’s open 24/7 for all the night owls or early risers out there.
Address: Solaire Resort and Casino, 1 Asean Avenue, Entertainment City, Tambo, Paranaque City
Opening hours: 24 hours, Daily
Telephone: (02) 8888 8888
Enjoy a plethora of choices for your next meal, without having to fall back on the usual food court dishes at these food courts in Manila.
Not only will you get to enjoy food in a clean and pretty environment that’s also good for groups, but you’ll also can also burn off those calories right after walking around the malls and resorts these food courts are located in.
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Cover image adapted from: @cornermarketph & @peej.atianzar
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