Yesterday I went to The Podium for a simple errand for my cousin Sha who asked me to buy her a few bottles of squid ink from Terry’s Selection. This quick shopping trip led me to the 5th floor for lunch at Madeca.
Madeca is located at the 5th floor cinema level of The Podium mall. It had a quick service format. You go to the counter to order and pay for your food and wait for the server to bring the food to your table.
Their menu is typical for a Mexican fast food place but what made it unique was the use of Filipino fillings like sisig, lechon kawali & salpicao for the soft tacos and burritos. You can also have it with rice or Mexikanin as they call it.
Madeca menu
I wanted a light lunch so I ordered soft tacos instead of the heavy burrito stuffed with rice. A regular order included 2 soft tacos with the SAME filling. I wanted to try different fillings and luckily I ate past 2:00 pm and was able to avail of their happy hour promotion. I ordered two single tacos.
I first ate the sisig taco. I really liked the thin and light flour tortilla. The flavor from the pieces of sisig (pig’s snout, cheeks, and ears, liver, etc.) really stood out. There were some crunchy pieces while others were chewy. It seemed like pairing sisig with mashed beans, salsa, sour cream & cabbage was a perfect match. I liked it so much I suggested to the manager that they also make sisig nachos like the one I ate at Señor Sisig’s food truck in San Francisco.
sisig soft taco P85
You can’t really see the sisig in the picture but I promise you that you will taste it.
I wasn’t as impressed with the nondescript beef salpicao. It was tender enough but I wasn’t fond of the texture and flavor of the beef. I did like their salsa which had a strong tomato taste which I suspect came from a little tomato paste. It was a little spicy too.
The chips that came with my soft taco were fried flour tortilla and not corn tortilla. It was very crisp although it had a little oily aftertaste after I finished all 8 chips.
salpicao soft taco P95
Madeca
5th Floor Podium Mall, 18 ADB Ave., Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong
telephone: 234-5233
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