Happy Friday, dear Hivers!
When I was still working in the Metropolis, I lived in Pasig City for six years, and this is my regular go-to place during market day. Pasig City Mega Market is a 3-storey array of options, including wet and dry goods as well as RTW and food kiosks. Since I last visited, there have been significant improvements. They were successful in keeping the area tidy and arranging the stalls so that customers could quickly discover what they were searching for. The area is hard to miss; it's like a massive retail complex in the middle of the city and has an approximate area of around 20,000 square meters.
This public market is so accessible as there's public transportation roaming around the area, and after you are done shopping, just go to the center of the market, sit for a while, and rest your feet. A water fountain is located in the middle of the busy complex, which is also dedicated to seating areas and a refreshment stand.
Instead of taking you on a tour of the entire market for this blog, I'll focus on the kiosk where I typically get my snacks whenever I visit. Even when the market is not busy, there is always a line for this kiosk because it is well known among the locals.
Charing's Halo Halo Special also sells a range of other foods, including noodle meals like Pancit Palabok and Mami, Lugaw (Filipino rice porridge), and tokwa't baboy (pork and tofu), in addition to the well-known Filipino dessert Halo Halo Dessert. My favorites among the options are their trademark dishes: pancit palabok and halo halo.
I was lucky because there was barely a queue when I arrived, but it took some time for me to get to the counter because several orders were placed in bulk.
You can watch them prepare your order in front of you after you have finished paying. The first thing I can commend about their staff is that they are all wearing masks and hairnets, and their stations are really tidy, as you can see from the glass partition of their small kiosk.
You can choose a seat where you want to eat after claiming your order, as there are a lot of tables and chairs set up around the area, and there's a blind man playing an acoustic guitar and singing in front of the fountain.
I chose to sit on this spot facing the fountain and took a few more photos for blog before enjoying my food.
Here are my orders, my favorites on their menu: Pancit Palabok and Halo Halo.
Thin white noodles topped with sauce, a hard-boiled egg, chicharon, toasted garlic, and spring onions. A squeeze some kalamansi for acidity.
I ordered the medium-sized Halo Halo, but they also offered large and special sizes with added toppings and scoops of ice cream on top.
The food was creamy, delicious, and affordable. No doubt it is quite famous in the place. Charing's has been operating for decades, serving delicious food at the center of a busy market.
Before going to the transport terminal to travel home, I took a few more shots of the food court from the second level, and I was preoccupied with my phone. I didn't notice there were half-naked men having their massages at the landing of the stairs. Guessing from his look, he thinks I'm a creep taking photos. lol So yeah, they also offer massage here, in case you wanted to try it.
Let this serve as a reminder to everyone that, when you notice someone shooting photos at random, they are, in fact, most likely only trying to blog and make money not a creep. L😂L
Have a great weekend everyone!
Stay safe and see you next time!
❤️❤️❤️
All photos are taken by me unless stated otherwise.