Migas Mercado Set Lunch Makes for an Affordable Midday Indulgence

When your friends chant "Let's go to Migas!" that no longer only means you should don some stylish threads and brace your liver for a dousing of flashy cocktails. The spot that lures so many Beijingers to splurge on upscale Spanish eats before dancing the night away under a panoramic backdrop of CBD, have begun to pad out their affordable lunch options, for which its Nali Patio location had also previously been known for.

READ: Migas Sanlitun to Shut Down After Final NYE Party

In the same vein as the business lunch at their now-shuttered flagship location, their recently launched set lunch menu is just as bright, bold, and inviting. Part of that appeal is the fact that it's more in line with a mini brunch in terms of the quality of the dishes and their level of indulgence (not to mention a cheeky list of cocktails in the corner for anyone hoping to head back to the office with a buzz). You're probably not going to come here on a slow Monday with your project teammate, let's just say. It's more of a late-week treat for a special occasion, though the RMB 118 price makes this set menu a steal for what you get.

Below, we break down our favorite elements in this new set meal.

Pan of fried squid with slow-cooked egg and ink sauce

The squid in this starter dish boasts a crisp exterior and pillowy interior, and its sauce is rich with a tinge of enticing sourness. Then there are the eggs, each a firm white little clump bursting with creamy yokes. Impressive as their texture was, those eggs are practically bland in comparison to the fatty squid and flavorful ink sauce, though be forewarned, overindulgence in such could leave you grinning at your teammates with a maniacal, black smile.

Other options for this course include the fisherman soup, "coca" Catalan-style flatbread with black sausage, porcini mushroom and alioli, green salad with fruit, "Ajoblanco" chilled almond soup with prawns and sour grapes, or smoked mackerel over potato salad with tomato and spring onion. 

Seabass

The seabass main course was also a winner, thanks to its delicate flakiness and a sauce that was a perfect melding of sour and acidic notes to make the subtle flavors of the fish pop. The sprinkling of diced potatoes absorbed enough of that sauce to be rendered silky in texture and captured heat from peppers to bring a slow burn to the fore.

Among the other options for this course are: sausages with roasted vegetables, duck breast with mushroom rice and black olives, and creamy pasta with a mix of vegetables and slow-cook egg as well as seafood paella (for an extra RMB 15 charge), "Bacalao Ajoarriero" codfish and vegetable stew (with an RMB 20 extra charge), and slow-cooked wagyu beef brisket (RMB 30 extra).

White chocolate cheesecake

To round off the meal, the white chocolate cheesecake is composed of a crisp and sturdy crust, far less flaky than expected, and a between creamy and gooey filling, its sweetness juxtaposing with the enchantingly tart raspberry on top. The dense and custardy strawberry sorbet on the side was all the more indulgent, complimented with slices of fresh strawberry.

One downside, however, is that the desserts are an extra RMB 38 to the set lunch's price. Though the cheesecake was sweet and satisfying enough to warrant the fee, and other options like Catalan cream with vanilla ice cream, opera cake with cocoa crumble and chocolate sauce, and fruit salad with lime and ginger sorbet also sounded tempting, you could argue that dessert small should be included in the set menu itself.

Otherwise, this set lunch satisfied and the style and skill of the staff was on full display throughout. We've certainly burned many a calorie on the Migas dancefloor over the years, and with Mercado now firmly on its feet, it's time to put it back on the shortlist for an indulgent midday, midweek meal and not just an upper- to fine-dining spot followed by cocktails.

For more information on Migas Mercado's set lunch menu, click here.

Hungry for more? Check out the Beijinger's breakdown of dining discounts, promotions, and happenings
in our events section.

Photos: Kyle Mullin