LIST: Food trays and bundles that can make your Media Noche delightful
Noche Buena is over—it's time to prepare for Media Noche!
Media Noche, which means "midnight or 12:00 a.m.," is the time when Filipino families gather at the dining table for a sumptuous feast, made even more thrilling with loud popping noises from the fireworks in the night sky. It symbolizes prosperity, togetherness, and good luck as you welcome another year.
If you're opting to combine home-cooked meals with your family's restaurant favorites and go-to food brands for your New Year's Eve celebration, look no further. PhilSTAR L!fe rounded up some stores that are still accepting orders to make your dinner a delightful one.
Gianetto
If you and your family are into Italian food, Gianetto could be a good option for your feast. On top of the delicious pizza offerings it's known and loved for, the food brand also has truffle pasta (P1,519), creamy aligue pasta (P1,489), and herbed roasted chicken (P799) perfect for NYE. Each one can satisfy 4-6 people.
Pantry Project MNL
Pantry Project MNL is still accepting orders for Media Noche. It has a delicious lineup of Pinoy favorites for the holidays, including Badass Bopis, Menudo Seco, Estofado Tostada, Baby Back Ribs Caldereta, Chicken Guiso, and Beef Salpicao.
City Plates Manila
Want some roast beef belly? City Plates Manila has a mouthwatering roast beef belly platter starting at P1,400, complete with potatoes and vegetables for some balance. It also has other offerings your family might love: beef shanghai, chicken drumsticks, callos, chicken teriyaki, paella negra, aglio olio, among many others.
Blanc Manila
Blanc Manila is offering its chef’s specials in satisfying platters such as baked herbed shrimp (P1,760), shrimpicao (P1,760), salt and pepper squid (P1,650), shrimp and sausage cajun (P1,850), seafood cajun (P2,600), dinakdakan (P1,650), beef and mushroom (P1,700), and lechon kawali kare-kare (P1,800).
Narra Bistro and Cafe
Narra Bistro and Cafe has a lovely selection of holiday platters with prices ranging from P1,000 to P2,600. Among its must-try offerings are inihaw na liempo with ensaladang talong, mango rum chicken with mango salsa, prawn thermidor with mushrooms, and baked salmon with dill cream. Each tray is good for 8-10 pax.
Food Coma Manila
Food Coma Manila still has food trays in half (good for 3-5 pax) and full (good for 8-10 pax), consisting of salty, savory, and sweet offerings. They have buko pandan (P409/P749), cordon bleu (P579/P1,099), canton bihon (P429/P799), cheesy kaldereta (P579/P1,099), and salt and pepper spareribs (P559/P1,049), among many others, that could delight you and your family during Media Noche.
Gabby’s Kitchen
Craving baked salmon? This cheesy baked salmon (P2,000) by Gabby’s Kitchen is good for 6-8 pax. It has a generous serving of cheese that’s baked to perfection and served complete with corn, carrots, and green peas.
Baked Sushi Factory
Sushi bake may have been a lockdown trend in the early years of the pandemic, but it’s here to stay. If you still find yourself craving it from time to time, Baked Sushi Factory has a delicious kani mango with cream cheese tray in original (P550/P990/P1,680) and spicy (P580/P1,030/P1,740) flavors. Other variants include seafood aburi with shrimps and scallops, salmon x scallops, umami kani aburi, and unagi x scallops.
Abub's Cebuana Lechon
Loved for its smokey taste and aroma, Abub's Cebuana Lechon's whole lechon is available in small, regular, medium, large, and extra large sizes. The original flavor has prices ranging from P11,000 to P17,500, while the spicy one costs between P11,500 and P18,000. You can also order extra sauce and condiments for P50. It's still welcoming orders for pickup for NYE.
Kobe's Magic
Kobe's Magic has food bundles that can help you save money as you enjoy your NYE dinner with your nearest and dearest. Ranging from P899 to P1,799, the sets offer a mix of Pinoy favorites like pancit sisig, palabok, bibingka, and inutak in sharing and party sizes. Each order is good for 4-6 pax.
Cibo
They say it's good to have round food to attract harmony throughout the year. Made by Chef Margarita Fores, Cibo's holiday ham (P899) might be a good option as it has a unique taste from its orange glaze. It's also spiced the Italian way with cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Lechoneria
While Lechoneria is known for its mouthwatering lechon belly, it also has other delicious offerings like pancit, symbolizing good health and long life for the year ahead. It has pancit dagat (P355/P715) amped up with seafood flavors as well as the classic pancit canton (P430/P715) made even more exciting with lechon belly bits.
Hanamaruken Ramen
If you and your family are making it more fun with a potluck, you can't go wrong with Hanamaruken Ramen's family platter. For only P1,200, you can satisfy your loved ones with 16 pieces of gyoza, six pieces of fried chicken karaage, as well as stir fry edamame with chili and sesame oil.
KC’s Kitchen
Accepting orders even for same-day delivery, KC's Kitchen has party trays like beef kare-kare, adobong baby pusit, baked salmon, slow-cooked caldereta, pastel de lengua, roast beef with mashed potatoes, among others, priced from P800 to P950, good for 4-6 pax. They also have ready-to-cook meals (P475-P685) consisting of similar Pinoy favorites for the whole family.