New in San Juan: Kalye 1 Abad Santos Food Park

[ Update Oct 20 2018: Kalye 1 Abad Santos Food Park is closed :( ]

Food parks are the rage these days in Metro Manila! I'm quite happy because you get good food at a more reasonable price. The first one in San Juan is the Kalye 1 Abad Santos Food Park, which just opened in March 5 (2+ weeks ago). As usual with food parks, parking is very limited. We parked quite far and walked just to get there.

Luckily, we were found a comfortable table in the first floor! We arrived at 7:00 and the crowd was starting to pour in. The place wasn't that big but at least there was a second floor. There's no AC, but the place is well-ventilated and comfortable.

Check out some of the food stalls below. There were still a couple of food stalls that weren't open yet. We went around to check what appealed to us the most. My brothers went here before and took home Fish Bao from Bao Pls and Rafik Shawarma Beef Rice (which I also had for lunch earlier that day but in Salcedo Park). They've also taken home barbecue sticks from BBQ Shack and I these disappeared quite quickly at the dinner table.

OUR ORDERS:

12-Hour Smoked Beef Brisket Meal from Carnivore Cookery (Php 220)

The meat was soft and seasoned well. It had the texture of corned beef. There is a big layer of fat which I don't like, but I understand it's needed to achieve the tender texture. They also have roasted pork, but I the beef was tastier. Most of the rub was on the fat-side, so I had to scrape it off and put it on the meat side. Don't get it with the side-sauce, it tastes better without it.

Stuffed Chili Peppers from Carnivore Cookery (Php 100)

Yum... Crunchy breading... the chili pepper was just spicy enough... Inside, there's a cheese-meat filling. I think the cheese is made regular grocery cheese and the meat is the same beef bits as the smoked beef. This one goes well with the side sauce, but it's still good even without the sauce.

1/2 lbs. Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings (Php 175)

I really liked the honey sriracha sauce on the chicken wings. The 1/2 lbs consisted of 5 pieces. The chicken wings itself isn't so special, but the sauce was finger-lickin' great! I'd get this one again. I haven't tried the others, but I've been strongly advised to skip the parmesan flavor.

Bigotrio from El Bigotilyo (Php 250)

The Bigotrio is a trio of soft tacos in beef, chicken, and pork. They do not scrimp on the filling which is a plus. Out of the three, I tried the pork first and I think it was the tastiest. But then it might just be because the succeeding chicken and beef were too similar in taste with the pork. If I tried the beef first, I might have liked it more. I wished there were more variations in the sauce, like maybe the chicken could have been barbecue-chicken or something.

I should mention that they said their best-seller is the burrito but I wasn't ready to commit "tummy real-estate" for a heavy burrito. Maybe next time.

Porky Crunch from Chix and Cheese (Php 175)

I had high expectations for this one. It's chicken stuffed with bacon, cheese, and rice. There were many people who lined up for it, and so our order, understandably, took a long time to arrive. When it arrived, it did not meet the expectations. For some reason, the chicken/cheese/rice/bacon combo doesn't work on this one. I won't be getting this one again. Sorry.

There you have it! I can't declare the best yet because I haven't tried all the stalls. However, I shall be back soon, ready to try other things and I'll post an update!