Another Place for Happy Tummies: Soderno at Molito

I am a huge fan of both Midnight Mercato and Mercato Centrale. Recently though, as I have been living in Laguna again since August, my trips to Mercato have been huge pains in the bum and in the wallet. (My pamasahe alone costs at least 300php and cumulative travel time is around 5 to 6 hours back and forth!)

I was thrilled when they launched Soderno. It's still not next-door, but at least it's closer to home! Miki, Maits and I chose to go Saturday morning, because we didn't feel like body bumping and competing with everyone for seats.

Welcome to Soderno. 

Once inside I immediately dragged them to Theo & Philo, which I read about in OurAwesomePlanet and which I have been recommending to people as "perfect generic Christmas gifts" even before I had tried them myself hahaha. 

They had free samples for tasting. Yay. My favorite was (predictably) the dark chocolate with siling labuyo. :D

My favorite. With just the right kick of spicy.

I also liked the dark chocolate with calamansi and the milk chocolate with barako. Ended up buying all three flavors plus a bar of 70% dark. :)

I was pleased when we went inside. There was a good crowd, but the place wasn't packed, I think half the tables were occupied. There were fewer food stalls (similar to Mercato during the daytime) but there's no shortage of good food and there's still a variety of food options. Something for everyone! Pasta, burgers, frankfurters, breakfast food, street food, snacks, traditional rice casseroles, kakanin -- they have it all.

Love their TJB Iced Tea! :)  

Chef Resty's. Ah, a familiar stall from Mercato.

Z's. Their sausages are super cheap!

Roasted Calf. Almost got their Chuckwagon Philly Peppers.
Maits got their Cheesy Bacon Mushroom. :)

Jam Foods. Yummy tapa! :)

Isaw and barbecue never go out of style.

I will go back to Soderno for Bliss.

After passing by all the stalls and seeing a dizzying array of food, it was so difficult to choose ONE dish. In the end we decided to buy from different stalls and share. I got mine from Sandwich Boulevard, because I couldn't resist the temptation of bacon, french toast, ice cream and chocolate syrup.

That's my Bacon and Cream Sandwich. Looked cleaner and prettier
on their menu photo, but the real thing looked yummier.

Miki's tapa was lukewarm, but it was very tasty and packed with flavor. Just the right balance of sweet and salty. I only got a bite, but I immediately understood why it became a UTT favorite!

Jam Foods' Angus Beef Tapa.

The bacon mushroom melt from Roasted Calf was really good too! Lots of bacon and melted cheese, and the beef was very tender and easy to chew. 

Roasted Calf's Bacon Mushroom Melt. 
Looks miniscule here, but it's a decent sized sandwich. :)

Yummers. 

My bacon and cream sandwich tasted just as delicious as it looked! It's the perfect bressert. The french toast was yummy and they certainly did not scrimp on the bacon and the ice cream! Perfect for people on a diet... for their cheat days hahaha. Kasi after you'll really feel guilty and satisfied!

SanBo's Bacon and Cream Sandwich.
That's two generous scoops of ice cream! Topped with
 maple syrup AND chocolate syrup. 

For those who think this might be overindulgent, they have other less-sinful sandwiches too. Do check them out on Facebook!

After lunch, we went to ATC to do some Christmas shopping, then returned 3 hours after just in time for a snack. 

It's great that it's so near ATC because it makes Soderno very accessible for us living in the South. You can also shop/ watch a movie in ATC then just drop by Soderno when you're hungry! Perfect thing to do on a weekend! :)

Bottomline: I love Soderno! I hope more people discover it and frequent it because I want it to stay there forever and ever. Hehehe.