Buendia Food By The Court can satisfy various cravings. Jeeves de Veyra

MANILA — What started out as a big patch of idle land has now become a sprawling complex that combines two Filipino favorites: food and basketball.

Buendia Food By The Court, which opens to public Friday, is the first food park in Makati and the first to have a basketball court right beside it.

“The original concept was a dampa-like food court. The millennials in the company brought the seniors to a food park and convinced the board. It’s now the next generation running this food park,” recalled SUDECO vice president for marketing Jocelyn De Leon.

Besides food, company president Paul Elauria also saw a demand for basketball courts. This was also a way for the company to turn their idle land into a contributor to the community. The fully covered basketball court is open on all sides. Featuring a shower and flooring made out of vinyl laminates to create a hardwood effect, this is a first-rate sports venue available for rent.

A first class hardwood floor basketball court is available for rent. Jeeves de Veyra

The star of this complex is, of course, the food park. The tenants are a mix of some familiar names from other foodie pop-ups in the metro and some first-timers. Even though not all of the spaces in the food park are occupied at this time, each and every culinary craving is covered by the purveyors in the food park.

Buendia Food By The Court is open from 5 p.m. to 12 midnight and is located at the corner of Bautista Street and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue.

Here’s what you can expect at Makati’s first food park.

The first stop on Buendia Food By The Court is Brother’s Blends, which serves cold pressed juices and brews with organic coffee beans. The cappuccinos and lattes are made from barako so expect a strong kick.

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Besides chicken wings, BMW (Burgers Meet Wings) has an interesting assortment of burgers which can be differentiated by the color of the buns. The beef burgers can come either with the Green Bun made from pandan and malunggay, or the Blueberry Bun. The Chicken Burger comes in the Lemon Yellow Bun. And last, a pink strawberry bun is used with the fish burger.

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Mad Subs specializes in — what else — subs. The owner is particularly proud of her Taco Sub, spicy chili con carne with lettuce and cheese served in hoagie instead of a taco shell. They aim to have a Sub of the Week. For this opening week, it’s pesto chicken. Besides the subs, it also serves Japanese donburi and gyoza.

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Bakmi Nyonya won the 2014 Next Big Food Entrepreneur contest with its take on Indonesian food. This is its second outlet with a structure. It offers the popular Indonesian fried noodle, Bakmi Goreng, and other specialties like Beef Rendang and Nasi Goreng. Shown here is owner Lucy Garcia with the Bakmi Goreng.

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Turkish food is the main draw at Jack’s Joint. Ox brain and kebab are served with a side of spiced rice. The beef shawarma is a bit different from the ones we are used to. Instead of slabs of meat, a mound of ground beef is used for the filling and cooked on the vertical grill. The result is filling that is always tender and never chewy.

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There is only one dish at Rojak Salad. This healthy food park option is a Malaysian salad that is on the sweet side with crunchy vegetables and fruits like jicama mixed in a spicy-sweet sauce topped with shrimp and peanuts.

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For those looking for their Japanese food fix, Little Kodo has a menu of Japanese favorites including donburi, okonomiyaki, gyoza, maki, and ramen. Its version of takoyaki makes for a perfect snack.

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Rouche Grill stands out because it has a small airconditioned dining area apart from the food park chairs and tables. Inihaw na liempo, chicken sate, pasta and pizza are part of its hearty offerings.

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For super tender slow cooked pulled pork belly and peri-peri chicken, Barrel Smoker is the place to go.

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When at LaMexa Cantina, the Cheesy Mari (7-cheese nachos) is the go-to dish for those who love cheese. Buendia Food By The Court’s food park drink staple, Iced Tea In A Goldfish Bowl, can also be found here. Mojitos and margaritas will be added soon.

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Korvits Grill pushes recipes with goat meat as a less saturated and lower cholesterol option for protein loading. Must-trys on their menu are the papaitan, kilawin and the adobong kambing.

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Goto Pinoy has traditional Filipino favorites on their menu. The standout is their Chicken Skin Goto and the Champorado topped with a generous amount of bacon.

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The steamed buns from Shangkee Chinese Buns are made with mantou bread with a filling of either asado pork or teriyaki chicken. These make for light tasty snacks.

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SisigMNL is also by the people behind LaMexa. Its sisig is sufficiently spicy and a perfect partner to ice cold beer. The spiciness of the MaLing sisig works and mingles with the sweetness of the Chinese luncheon meat.

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Tapaddiction is an alumni of other pop-ups in the metro known for its USDA tapa. New on the menu are the Tapa Cheesesteak and Tapa Carbonara, which uses tapa being used instead of bacon to add that touch of saltiness.

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Head on over to Ice Cold to wash all that food down with its selection of cold beer, soft drinks and other alcoholic drinks.

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