Luxury food hall The Grid has recently opened at Power Plant Mall’s new wing, serving up gastronomical fare like tapas from Ramba, tacos from La Chinesca, lobster rolls from Bun Appetit, and comfort food from Happy Ongpauco-Tiu, amongst others.
The Grid, the new food hall concept from gastronome entrepreneur Charles Paw and Power Plant Mall, has recently opened, capturing the attention of discriminating foodies for their wide selection of premium food fare. Paw is no stranger to the food industry. His company, the Tasteless Group, is responsible for Hole in the Wall, the popular food court at Century City Mall. With The Grid, he takes the food hall concept and elevates it to a whole new, luxury experience.
Opened to the public last July 9, the crowd at The Grid is quickly rising. Paw and his dedicated team have decided to create a concept that is the complete opposite of what Hole in the Wall is, and it is working. They’ve stripped every stall of any form of branding, opting for a simple format with just the chef’s name and the title of their eatery displayed outside. This, Paw hopes, would put the focus back on the food, rather than diners looking for the most Instagram-worthy stall and basing their choices off of that. Menus at The Grid are also very straight forward, simply writing the food choices on chalkboards and exhibiting them in front of their respective stalls.
The food hall is inspired by European markets, with a beverage center (by EDSA Bldg.) located at the center. Here you can get your artisan coffee or even beer and cocktail fix. In a way, it feels like a large buffet in a 5-star hotel, serving food through different ateliers, with dedicated master chefs looking over their specialty dishes. Seating is available for roughly 320 people. Although it seems like a large number to accommodate, the seat plan at The Grid has been done very well and it hardly feels crowded at all. Tables are spaced far apart from each other, allowing diners more privacy. Booth options are also available for those in larger groups. The interiors of the eatery are sleek, following a very industrial design. This is fitting with the theme of Power Plant Mall, which was once an actual power plant.
The most impressive thing about The Grid are the food masters that Paw has been able to bring together. Stall 1 is by Bucky’s, the popular Poblacion eatery. They serve chia bowls, porridge and soft serve ice cream. It is followed by Asian concept Flower Boy, whose Pad Thai, crab omelets and pork chop could satisfy any oriental cravings. Move on down to Tsuke-men for Japanese food fare such as tsukemen, ramen and gyoza. Stall 4 is run by chef-entrepreneur Happy Ongpauco-Tiu. Her new concept, Le-Chon, serves comfort food such as lechon porchetta and angus beef belly.
The Beef offers steak, burger steaks and teppaniaki. Stall six is occupied by Chef Josh Boutwood, who will soon be serving premium burgers. SM Aura restaurant Ping Pong Diplomacy has found a new home in The Grid’s 7th stall, serving baked rice, fried rice and noodles. Ramba is at stall 8, serving their distinct tapas and pintxos. By Wednesday this week, Bruce Ricketts’ popular Mexican restaurant La Chinesca is opening. Stall 10 is yet to be occupied. Bun Appetit serves its signature lobster, crab and shrimp rolls at 11. Rounding it off is EDSA Bldg., at the center, with stall number 12. There are three retail shops at The Grid—Workshop by Le Petit Soufflé (another of Tasteless’ concepts) who sells bread, cakes, and pastries, Happy Barrel which sells wines and cheese, and also a chocolate shop.
The Grid is located at the 2nd floor of Power Plant Mall’s new wing. It opens on weekdays at 11am and closes at 10PM from Sundays to Thursdays, and 9PM from Friday to Saturday.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SOME DELICIOUS DISHES FROM THE GRID…
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