Mangan: A Portrait of Modern Pinoy Cuisine

One of my mom's and my bonding moments happen over our weekend shopping sprees (we're such girls!  Hehehe!)  After work and graduate school (both for me) the whole week, it was nice to know that we could finally have some relaxation time.

During these trips, lunch was also a special affair.  And although we've tried a number of places in our numerous shopping trips, Mangan is, by far, one of our most fave restaurants to stuff ourselves silly.

Mangan

Part of the same company that manages Cabalen and Ebun, Mangan aims to serve local Pinoy fare with a more sophisticated twist.

We never miss out on a few of our personal favorites:

Camote Fritters (complimentary)

Each meal starts off with complimentary camote (sweet potato) fritters.  Not exactly my personal fave but my mom relishes the whole thing with gusto.

Camote fritters

Kare-Kare Buntot ng Baka (Php290)

You may notice that in almost all local restaurants I try, I almost always will order the Kare-Kare (local version of a rich curry dish.)  Many a times I've seen my lola (grandmother) slave over a hot stove, precisely combining ingredients that make up her to-die for Kare-Kare.  It's a tedious process, one I attribute to a hardcore cook.  So in my book, if a restaurant can deliver a real good version of this dish, then the rest of the entrees are just as tasty.

And Mangan has this perfected.

Kare-Kare buntot ng baka

Loads of vegetables and ox meat and tripe and all the good stuff.  Of course it comes with a serving of bagoong (shrimp paste) that perfectly complements this dish.

Tofu Sisig (Php100)

Mangan's sisig has already done through a number of versions.  The earliest one we've tried was one made from ox tongue (name escapes me as of the moment.)  It served as one of our Mangan staples until finally this was replaced by another until it finally settled (for now) to tofu.

We had a few reservations in trying out their Tofu Sisig at first (I admit we'd make horrible Survivor candidates.)  But feeling a little adventurous one time, we decided to give it a go.

And imagine our surprise in finding that we love it as well.

Tofu Sisig

You would never have guessed you were eating a vegetable dish.  A warning though, a serving is good for around 1 (2 at the most) people only since this dish is marketed as an appetizer.

Bottomless Iced Tea (Php70), and Gulaman and Sago (Php65)

For drinks, house blend iced tea.  Enough said.

Bottomless iced tea

I'm a big fan of house blend iced teas.  Hate the powedered ones out in the market.

Their Gulaman and Sago (jelly and tapioca pearls) drink is also a must-try.

Gulaman and Sago

Try out Mangan for a different take on old family favorites.

***

For more information on Mangan and their branches, please visit their website at http://cabalen.ph/html/Mangan.html.