Cocina Centrale - New Food Haven in Marquee Mall, Pampanga

Food tripping is a lot of fun especially when you can make it an excuse to visit new places outside of your locality. That's why the recent launch of Cocina Centrale at the Marquee Mall in Pampanga was a welcome treat for the weekend.

The Cheese Steak Shop Food Truck

Cocina Central was launched last June 29, 2013 and foodies were treated to a variety of new eats which also showcased Pampanga's homegrown talents.

Almost everything was new with some familiar offers here and there. The new food offers were quite satisfying to our taste and me and my friends are planning for a trip to Pampanga just to have more time to satisfy our palates.

So here are some of the tasty offers that you can expect at Cocina Centrale.

The first thing that we noticed upon our arrival were the presence of food trucks. The promise of their delicious food offerings certainly whet our appetites for the food adventures ahead.

Jasper's House of Chicken Food Truck

Mio Gelati Food Truck

Mio Gelati's Food Truck claims to be the first gelato truck and it maybe the cutest food truck around too.

Aside from the food, there were also organic products such as plants that you'll want in your kitchen to flavor your food.

Zabala Home Garden of Culinary and Medicinal Herbs

From Zabala Home Garden of Culinary and Medicinal Herbs, I brought home a pot of parsley and spear mint. I hope to sprinkle some parsley on my pasta soon and maybe use the spear mint on some drinks.

They also offer teas from various local veggie leaves powdered to be your tea.

Healthy teas from Nutri Delights

Other healthy treats such as nuts also made their presence felt in various ways and sizes.

Wow Mani from Nut n' Else

Various snacks from Pabalan

Pizza was to be had too.

Fej Pizza

The party wouldn't be complete without sweets and baked goodies.

Aiza's Sweets

Mr. Park's Bread and Cakes

Mr. Park's Bread and Cakes offered various treats inspired from Korea. My favorite is their cream puffs which were small, soft buns with creamy custard cream inside. 

What I liked about it is that the bun remained soft even after I put it inside the refrigerator and the filling was not too sweet and the creaminess was just right. Which reminds me, someone swiped the last 2 cream puffs in my refrigerator.

French Crepes

French cuisine in Pampanga? Definitely! We saw this Frenchman expertly handling his crepes which mostly consisted of sweet, fruit fillings. Just watching him shape the crepes was already a spectacle which gathered a large crowd in front of their booth.

There were also main dishes to savor including these two.

Eagle's Nest Stir-Fried Chicken

One of the familiar vendors was Chef Bab's Sizzling Sisig. I'm also looking forward to tasting their tofu sisig.

Chef Bab's Sizzling Sisig

One of our favorite new finds is this delicious and juicy chicken morsel from Kokoro Chicken.

Kokoro Chicken

When we sat down at the eating area to enjoy our chicken, we we're greeted with a refreshing site of green.

Al Fresco Dining at Cocina Centrale

Later in the evening, Cocina Centrale was formally launched by The Mercato Centrale Group.

The Mercato Centrale Group cutting the ribbon for the launch of Cocina Centrale

The event also included a contest among selected food vendors. I'm glad I'm not one of the judges because it will be hard to decide whose food tastes better.

Colored Fountains at Night

At night, we we're treated to the sight of colored water fountains, a feature in most Ayala malls. 

There was a sudden rain which greeted the opening of the event but I guess it was a blessing for this new food adventure place. We hope to be back here to savor more of their unique Pampanga flavors.