MANILA, Philippines – Good news for those who live in the north – a new food park has opened up along Congressional Avenue!

Happy Tables is a family-friendly food park with 17 stalls serving up new dishes and favorites too.

Situated along a busy street, Happy Tables doesn’t have your average food park layout. Instead of a single-floor open-air space, it’s a two-story building with a open windows for ventilation.

The air can still get smoky from cigarettes and steaming food, but the management is working on it, with suggestions to have second floor – home to The Life Lounge – open to smokers and making first level a non-smoking area.

The Life Lounge was still closed when we visited on their official opening day, on Friday, October 7, as were a few other stalls, but Happy Tables should soon be a favorite haunt for those who frequent in the area.

Students from the Katipunan area can also visit Happy Tables through a ride on the e-jeepney, which has stops along Congressional Avenue.

If you’re thinking of checking it out, here’s a look at the international cuisine we tried on Friday!

Cartel’s Cali-Mex Grill

Happy Tables’ pizza stall, Pizza Stop, was still closed on opening day, but until they open, you can get your pizza fix with Cartel’s crispy, thin crust tortilla pizza (P250). Also try their steak quesadillas for P130.

Katsuro

Katsuro, a stall owned by a young entrepreneur fresh out of college, serves up quality sushi and rolls. For a spicy kick, try their karai (spicy) salmon rolls (P200) or their spicy tuna salad (P220), which is great for sharing. Katsuro also serves classics like salmon sashimi (P185).

Five:Fortyfive All Day Breakfast

Breakfast for dinner? Yes, please! Five:Fortyfive serves Filipino favorites like crispy bagnet (P205) and sirloin tapa (P150), plus sandwiches like their veggie panini (P235).

Amelito’s Spanish Cuisine

Try the flavorful Spanish food at Amelito’s, where you can get a single serving of Paella Valenciana (P280), their slightly tangy salpicao de Pamplona (Full – P370, Solo with rice – P220), and their bruschettas siena (P160), which is best eaten hot and straight out of the oven.

Happy Seoul

For Korean food lovers, there’s Happy Seoul, where classics like bibimbap (P170) and japchae (P180) are served alongside crunchy dakgangjeong (P180) and chadolbagigui (P220).

Fab Sizzlers

There’s a stall at Happy Tables selling sizzling Wagyu steaks! Try Fab Sizzlers’ Wagyu Kitayama steak with creamy pesto (P375) or their different kinds of sisig.

The Creamistry

This stall stays true to its name – their smoking liguid nigtrogen ice cream are rich and creamy once the layer of frost has melted off. Try the choco chili for a bit of a kick or go for flavors like the blueberry cheesecake or green tea choco at P150 each.

Hong Kong Foodie Street Food

Hong Kong Foodie has opened up a new branch! For merienda, try their scallop cake, lobster ball, fish tofu, or crab claw sticks, all at P40.

Wings Central

All sorts of flavored wings at different sizes. Wings Central’s “Take Me to New York” are classic wings – slightly sweet and slightly spicy – and can go from P99 for 4 pieces to P489 for 1 kilogram. Their crunchy mojos (P65) are the perfect side dish for wings too.

Ton Nik & Pao

For pasta and food from the grill, Ton Nik & Pao is the place to go. Baby back ribs (P275) tender and covered in sweet, tangy barbecue sauce.

Chicago’s Best Burgers

Chicago’s Best Burgers are the way to go if you’re looking for something to share if if you’ve got a big appetite. Below is their bacon mushroom melt burger (P170) – their classic burger topped with American cheese, mushrooms, and honey-cured bacon.

G. Ongpauco’s Krispy Pata by Barrio Fiesta

Of course, all your Filipino favorites can be found at G. ongpauco’s Krispy Pata, including their famous crispy pata (P480), their dinuguan (P225), beef kaldereta (P275), and more.

Moe & Bel’s Wholesale Bakeshop

Aside from the stalls, there’s also an airconditioned bakeshop and a cafe at Happy Tables. While the cafe wasn’t open yet, the bakeshop served us a few of their sweets: French apple pie (P90), cannisters of “Mango Tango,” “Chocolate Delight,” and chocolate mousse cakes at P75 each, and lemon squares (P25), fudge brownies (P20), and choco revel bars (P25).

There are also cupcakes at Moe & Bel’s! Below are their carrot pineapple cupcake with cream cheese frosting and a black velvet cupcake, each P50.

Will you be trying out Happy Tables this weekend? Which of these dishes are you dreaming of trying? Let us know in the comments! – Rappler.com