Food Coma Adventures

We've nearly approached the halfway mark of 2017, and I realized that I hadn't blogged here in almost six months. For those who may have thought that I simply lost interest in cooking, eating out, or reviewing anything food-related, fret not; my Instagram still sees a lot of foodie action, and recently, I co-wrote an article on spot.ph with my brother.

Anyway, since almost half the year is over, I decided to do something different. Instead of your typical restaurant/dish review or cooking how-to, I decided to compile a list of Metro Manila food trends from late 2016 to early 2017. This list is purely based on my own personal observation and experiences, so it may or may not be relatable to all.

With this said, let's get started. (Why do I sound like a vlogger?)

1) Cheese Overload

From pasta cooked in cheese, to cheese scraping, to restaurants devoted to the pure love of cheese, and the invasion of Japanese cheese tarts, cheeseaholics — like yours truly! — can satisfy their cheese cravings pretty much anywhere.

If you mention anything to do with cheese, I'm SO there. Cheese is probably my greatest food obsession, and almost everyone who knows me knows this.

So when I came across a post on Facebook announcing this new kiosk that opened up in a food park in Marikina, I decided to check it out. And I invited my triathlon teammates who live within the area to join me in this cheese indulgence.

Along a relatively quiet road with restaurants sprouting up left and right, one will see a truck-like establishment aptly named The Truck Park.

Once you enter any of its wide doorways, you will see different kiosks serving different kinds of food: from Mediterranean, to Filipino, to Mexican, to American comfort food.


Their menu is limited, which is expected for food truck establishments, since they need to be able to prep and serve all their dishes at near-lightning speeds. To get an idea of what they serve, check out their menu in their Facebook page.

Two of my teammates were able to show up, and we tried a range of their dishes.


We began with their Spanish Croquettas (PhP 129) and Cheesy Penne con Violy (PhP 179).

Personally, I felt that the penne was your typical tomato-based dish (which, I think, one can pretty much recreate at home); just with more cheese than usual.

But I loved, loved, loved the croquettas! I'm not sure what was in it, but the combination of what I think was chorizo (?), cheese, and the texture of the panko was an instant hit with me. I would go back to order several of these babies, seriously.


What arrived next was the Shepherd's Pie (PhP 225). Again, its flavor was just okay to me, probably because we have Shepherd's Pie at home almost every week. I liked its level of cheesiness, though; definitely much gooeyer than what we serve at home.


Since we were/are hungry multisport athletes on off-season, we had two (!) servings of the Four-Cheese Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (PhP 179), with Emmental, Cheddar, Mozzarella, and a cheese sauce. The portions were just right for me and I liked the combination of cheeses in the sandwich. However, I felt that the tomato soup could be creamier and sweeter to counter the saltiness of the sandwich.

Note that if you want more cheese scrapings in any of your dishes, you can opt for a Half Scrape (PhP 99) and a Full Scrape (PhP 160). Obviously, you would (and should!) go for the Full Scrape, because why add more cheese without going all-out, right?

Overall, it was a pretty good experience eating the dishes from Cheese Cartel. I'm quite happy with what they offer, as well as the quality of their food, and I'm likely to go back for more sometime soon.

Some notes on eating in The Truck Park, though:

• There's limited parking, as the first picture would show. You might end up parking across the street, or in other nearby establishments if you're not one of its earlier diners.


• Their payment scheme involves a reloadable white card. In one of the kiosks, you determine the amount you think your card should hold, then place your orders in the stall/s of your choice. If you run out of "load" or "credit", you'll have to go back to the kiosk to "reload" (a.k.a. pay more).


• The ventilation was — well, not great — at least when I was there. The entire place was smokey, and after staying there for an hour, my eyes started to water. I'd recommend that The Truck Park explore better a better exhaust and ventilation system.


• The lighting was slightly dim, but it added to a cozy ambiance.


• Considering that we were in an enclosed area and that there were lots of people when we were there, I was fairly surprised to note that it wasn't noisy (there was some kind of soundproofing, whether intended or not). My friends and I were able to hear each other well, without any of us having to shout or talk louder than usual.