Spice Your Day !!

              A Different cooked foods..

Midnight Food Fiesta: Banchetto

At 12 midnight every Saturday, a section of Emerald Avenue is closed to hungry tummies. WMN checked out the food "Banchetto" has to offer.

Credit to: Text and Photos by Monina Eugenio

Banchetto and how it came to be

Banchetto , an Italian word meaning “feast" or “fiesta," started in 2007. Owner Liz Jose who isn’t new to bazaars first started out with a stall that sold ladies' tops. It was in a bazaar spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Ortigas along Emerald Avenue. “That time, there were no call center companies and [I saw] the potential," she shares with WMN. She continues, “Maganda ang purchasing power dito and I said, 'One day, I’ll be back.'"

She did return, but this time, at midnight. What’s great about Banchetto is that it doesn’t only cater to call centers anymore, but also to night owls looking for a place to chow post-gimmick. Personally, I first came here last summer with some pals who absolutely love to eat. Because there’s so much food in Banchetto, one friend put it simply as “option paralysis."

Food, glorious food

Banchetto consists of two columns of stalls offering burgers, grilled food, cakes, and pasta, even international dishes. If you’re craving for something, they’ll probably have it. On the Friday night (or morning) that I visited, I didn’t particularly crave for anything, but as I always do when visiting Banchetto, I make two turns before deciding what to buy. With a budget of P100, I was able to buy myself a beef kebab meal with biryani rice and a bottle of iced tea from one of the neighboring convenience stores. My companions on the other hand ended up with shawarma rice, a cup of tukneneng (fried quail eggs in orange batter), Schublig with cheese served with rice and a sunny side up egg, Hungarian sausage, and a lechon kawali meal.

Liz shares that one of the reasons that you keep on coming over is because “it’s fully secured, mababait ang mga tao, lahat professional and all they want to do is eat. Wala na silang ibang agenda. Banchetto is also very wholesome because none of the stalls serve alcoholic beverages and kids can come along with their parents. The main thing why people keep on flocking to this food extravaganza is because the food is freshly cooked (right in front of you) at affordable prices.

Gina, one of the concessionaire owners who run a Japanese Takoyaki kiosk shares that she’s been a pioneer in the Banchetto scene and shares that one of the challenges of being part of the bazaar is the weather. Her message to those who want to start a business here: “ Lakasan lang ng loob at dapat matiyaga". Newcomer Alan who has run a burger stand since April 2010 shares that the biggest challenge for him is the competition, but he’s “keeping up."

One of the reasons why people keep on coming back to Banchetto is because the food varies every week and paying a visit here (from deciding what to eat and then eating) is a great bonding activity for co-workers, friends, and family. With so much food to choose from based on the number of people who flock to Emerald Avenue at odd hours of the morning, there’s something for everyone at Banchetto.

Banchetto is located along Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City and is open from Saturday, 12 midnight to 11 AM the next day.

                                               credit to: www.wmn.ph