MIAN RESTAURANT AT MARRIOTT: A FEAST ON BOWLS
The
tagline says “Come in hungry walk out
happy”. Many restaurants claim the
same but only a few lives up to it. And
Mian Restaurant surprisingly did.
Along
with my childhood friends, we were at Mian Restaurant of the Marriott Grand
Ballroom for an instant reunion and to feast on a variety of cuisine served on
bowls.
Chopsticks
and rice bowls may appear to have restrained our appetite for lunch. But it actually didn’t. It was more than sufficient with its huge
serving and delectable taste.
The
bowls were not what I imagine it to be.
These bowls are good for sharing, maybe up to three persons (depending
on appetite). Our gastronomic treat was
divided into five sets. These are: small
plates, soup bowls, rice bowl, noodles and dessert. We were supposed to order one for each.
Sausage
empanada was first on the list as part of the small plates. I’m not a fan of empanada so there’s nothing
special for me to comment about it. It’s
just that it’s more or less similar to the empanada of Vigan City composed of
local sausage, egg and the vinegar dip.
So if you love Vigan empanada, then you’ll definitely love the Mian-version.
 |
| SAUSAGE EMPANADA (PHP195.00) |
The
Chef’s Beef Noodles came as our choice for the soup bowl. I like the tenderness of the braised beef and
how the rice noodles complements with it.
 |
| CHEF'S BEEF NOODLES (PHP395.00) |
 |
| BRAISED PORK BELLY (PHP375.00) |
We had Braised Pork Belly for the noodle section and ordered two rice bowls. The braised pork belly has tender meat mixed with pickled vegetables and udon noodles. If you know me well, you'll know which ingredient I segregated for this serving.
On rice bowls, we had the all-time favorite Filipino
cuisines Pork Adobo and Beef Caldereta. It turned out to be two of the groups’
favorite.
Beef
calderata with its tender slow braised beef is easy to love. What’s there not to? With all the perfect seasoning complementing
the root vegetables, the tomato-based stew covered half of my estimated cup of
rice. It was delicious and
appetite-inducing.
 |
| BEEF CALDERATA (PHP395.00) |
And
of course, no questions asked, even without any recommendation, my default order
will be adobo when presented at the dining table. Anything cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and
garlic is a no-brainer choice for me. Mian's version comes with quail eggs.
 |
| PORK ADOBO (PHP325.00) |
Fruit
salad and mango pudding is part of the restaurants’ dessert selections. But both were not available during that day. And so we heeded the staff’s offer of the
famous Filipino dessert halo-halo.
The
serving size came in as a surprise. We were already full from the main
courses of rice bowls, noodles and dumplings, when another bowl was served.
The halo halo was served on a huge bowl. It was by far the largest serving size I have
experienced for a halo halo. It tasted not too sweet that I and my friend
Diana were able to manage finishing the same slowly. Main ingredients composed of shaved ice, milk
and varied fruits topped with vanilla-flavored ice cream and leche flan satisfied my palate without
the worries of too much sugar intake.
The
medley of flavors that suit the Asian taste is the selling point of the Mian
Restaurant. But it will definitely not
only attract Asians as even Westerners can enjoy the great food and the
over-all dining experience emitted by its well-lit and well-ventilated spacious
dining area.
The
dining experience taught us not to underestimate what a bowl of cuisine can
provide for a meal. The live kitchen is a guarantee of freshness and authenticity of the cuisine.
Mian Restaurant
Marriott
Grand Ballroom
Number
10, Newport Boulevard, Newport City
Pasay
City
(02)
988-9999
Opening
Hours: 11AM to 6PM
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