MANILA, Philippines – There’s no denying the charm of a food court – a wide variety of food and beverage stalls at your disposal, perfect for your group of varying palates.

The mix-and-match dining experience is always fun – sharing and sampling different dishes across one table – and upscale food court Public Eatery provides just that.

The fast-casual food hall just opened on the fourth floor of Robinsons Magnolia Mall in April, described by its owners as the place where the “neighborhood meets to gather over good food.”

“Taking inspiration from subway lines, Robinsons Magnolia’s resident food hall is ready to take you on various culinary adventures,” the website reads.

Public Eatery is the latest venture of Tasteless Group, the restaurant arm behind The Grid in Power Plant Mall, Scout’s Honor, Hanamaruken Ramen, The Matcha Tokyo, Poison Doughnuts, and Your Local. It is somewhat the sibling of fellow food hall The Grid, with most of its concepts also chef-driven.

“The Grid is more focused on the food rather than making each stall stand out from each other. Public Eatery’s stalls stand out with their own creative branding,” Tasteless Group told Rappler.

The stalls you’ll see at Public Eatery are not your typical franchises or international chains – many of them were names I’d only heard of for the first time during my visit.

All aboard! What to expect

Public Eatery is patterned after Japanese subway lines, which have different stations, with its price range also on the higher side like The Grid.

“The ambiance is a bit more upscale than the usual food court, but also more casual than The Grid,” Tasteless said.

Public Eatery takes up most of the Quezon City mall’s top floor, so it’s easy to get overwhelmed at first. It’s a spacious dining hall with several tables and chairs that are comfortable and stylishly designed, and boasts over 17 stalls. Conveniently, the stalls aren’t too far from one another and from the dining area, so you won’t need to worry about that nerve-wracking journey back to your table with a wobbly tray of food in hand.

Once you order from your chosen “station,” a buzzer will be given to you, labeled accordingly with the stall’s respective number for easier pick-up. It’s also not your typical noisy, bustling food court, which is nice – it makes for a laidback dining experience that’s a notch above the usual, but is not too intimidating, either. Just prepare a bigger budget for your trip!

Arriving at each station

Public Eatery houses Seafood Oyster Bar (SOB), another new Tasteless Group brand that specializes in raw and baked oysters. My favorite remains to be the Miso Custard Oysters (P360 for 6 pieces) – torched velvety miso custard on top of meaty oysters – followed by any of the Baked Rice Oyster variants. SOB’s seafood-forward menu also includes branch-exclusive starters, rice plates, and a cheesy cassava cake.

There’s also Ono Poke, the local spot for Hawaiian poke bowls of fresh or aburi (torched) salmon or tuna, topped with your choice of sauce and sides. We got the standard Spicy Tuna Crunch Bowl (P420) with wakame. Although tasty, for its price, we were hoping for a bigger serving of tuna and moister sushi rice.

Samyan, Public Eatery’s Thai cuisine spot, was a pleasant discovery. The stall serves authentic Thai street food by Chef ThiTid Tassanakajohn of Le Du Bangkok, and the Crab Pad Thai (P1,200) was an A+ choice. Rice noodles are tossed generously in a perfectly savory-tart pad thai sauce that came with a kick of heat, topped with real crab meat chunks and crushed peanuts, chili pepper, lime, and bean sprouts on the side. Samyan also has tomyum, curry, rice meals, Thai desserts, and drinks on the menu.

Fellow Asian stall Thomson Road leans more on the Chinese/Singaporean side, offering Homemade Jumbo Shrimp Siomai (P250 for 4 pieces) that are packed with shrimp and flavor – it did not disappoint! The dimsum is served with calamansi, soy sauce, and chili oil on the side. There are also laksa, claypot rice, and baos on the menu.

If you’re craving for something deep-fried, Konbini Karaage (P189) sells seven pieces of golden-brown boneless chicken in take-away boxes. Crunchy yet moist Japanese-style fried chicken bites are coated in your choice of seasoning powder (garlic, salt, curry, five-spice, nine-taste umami, spicy togarashi, and more), plus your choice of sauce or dip (cheese, aioli, curry, etc). They’re satisfying to snack on, but the price may be quite steep for an average-sized box of fried chicken.

A unique version of fried chicken exists at New York Cubao, the “remixed Filipino food” brand by Chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou. We tried the Kwek Kwek Fried Chicken or KFC (P435), breaded in a crispy kwek-kwek orange coating, accompanied by a boiled egg in the same coating. It’s a novelty dish that’s close to home, but the breading itself doesn’t pack much seasoning; it provides mostly a unique texture to the big piece of chicken. I was curious about the Tocino Ribs and Chori Burger, though, which are other best-sellers.

10 By Tsukemen was a nice surprise! I’m not a big ramen fan, so we ordered the Gyokai (P390), which is dipping ramen with bonito-flavored pork broth topped with chasyu, negi, aji tamago, and sesame seeds. Worth it for its price, the chunky-chewy ramen noodles worked well dipped in the robust, umami-flavored thick broth that was garlicky and just the right amount of salty, beefed up by the meat chunks in the broth and served sizzling in a claypot bowl.

Anyhow is described as “international ihaw-ihaw,” which means an international spin on the traditional Pinoy grilled meat dish. Anyhow serves a Make Your Own Rice Meal (starts at P340) – you can pick from the meats (chicken leg, pork belly, or boneless chicken) and the marinades, which are hickory BBQ, rosemary garlic, Pinoy BBQ, garlic ala pobre, miso teriyaki, and lemongrass inasal. You can then choose from the carbs (rosemary herb rice, garlic adobo rice, kimchi rice, pesto penne, or brown rice) and the side dishes of mushroom sisig, kimchi, Mexican-style corn, mac ’n cheese, coleslaw, macaroni salad, or cheesy fries.

For Middle-Eastern eats, Ok, Bob serves Hanging Kebabs in either truffle chicken, ribeye shish, chicken shish, and other variants, served on a dangling skewer atop sumac salad and long-grain rice. We tried the Truffle Chicken Kebab (P550) – moist chicken breast marinated in curry spiced yoghurt, served with grilled tomato and green chili, finished with a very mild truffle-flavored yogurt sauce.

Bad Bird, known for its umami fried chicken, also serves Fish and Chips (P450) that is a nice change from its signature chicken offerings. A meaty and hefty portion of white fish fillet is deep-fried in a light, crisp umami beer batter, served with fries and tartar sauce that comes with a tingle of spice.

Le Chon centers around Filipino roast pork and chicken dishes by Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu of Pamana and Tsokolateria fame. Here, you can choose your meats, such as angus beef, spicy tuna belly, lechon manok, lechon sisig, and tuna, plus the marinade, like truffle at bawang, original, sugar cane, or tanglad butter. The sides include kamote fries, banana cue chips, or grilled talong with baba ganoush (a favorite). You can also choose from the sauces: labuyo lime, adobo white sauce, pinakurat, or muscovado liver sauce.

Maybe cap off your food trip with a nostalgic ice scramble? The Bev Bar offers The Bev Bar Scramble (P160), which tastes just like the childhood Filipino street dessert, but larger and more liquid-y (like a smoothie). It looks like just like the snack, too – there’s pink banana-flavored ice, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, tiny marshmallows, and milk powder on top.

For a caffeine fix, Morse Coffee offers classic coffee drinks and dessert-like beverages, like the Iced Tiramisu (P230), which tasted more like the Italian cake than strong coffee – espresso, salted cream, cocoa espresso dust, and ladyfingers complete the drink.

Plant-based brand FRNK’s Grape Sea Salt Drink (P190) was a new-found favorite that I didn’t expect to like – fruity, tart grape juice is topped with a salted cream on top, delivering a delicate balance of sweet, fruity, and sea salt goodness in one refreshing drink.

Bookoh is also a good choice for fresh, healthy, and sustainable coconut drinks! The Coconut Pandan Gula Melaka (P140) was refreshingly fragrant and slightly sweet, made with coconut water, pandan syrup, gula melaka (palm sugar), coconut strips, and nata de coco. You can also add boba, jelly, aloe vera, basil seeds, and other sinkers.

There’s always room for dessert, and local artisanal brand Merry Moo’s got all the flavors you need. Personal favorites would include the Auro Chocolate Series (dark, milk, or avocado), and the Sea Salt Caramel that tastes like burnt caramel.

It’s almost impossible to try out all the stalls in one sitting, so that gives you all the more reason to drop by Public Eatery a second (or third) time around. – Rappler.com

Public Eatery is located in Robinsons Magnolia along Aurora Blvd, corner Doña Hemady St, New Manila, Quezon City. It is open from 10 am to 10 pm daily.