Two rice bowls, a couple of noodles, some soups, plates of appetizers, desserts, and drinks; a food feast more than good enough for eight persons. We were at Mian, one of Marriott Grand Ballroom’s in-house restaurants (a hop away from Marriott Hotel Manila) and we were only four in the group. How we’re gonna finish everything off boggles the mind.

MIAN ASIAN RESTAURANT AT THE GROUND FLOOR OF MARRIOTT GRAND BALLROOM

WATCHING THE ACTION AT MIAN’S OPEN KITCHEN

The restaurant is located at the ground floor of the ballroom, just right off the lobby. They serve mostly Asian dishes set on a modern interior setting. From where we were sitting, an airy open niche beset by bamboo enclosure, we can see the staff preparing our meal on the open kitchen.

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MODERN INTERIORS

MIAN’S DINING AREA AT MARRIOTT HOTEL MANILA

We really didn’t expect to be flooded with so much food, thinking Mian’s serving size to be on the small side. We based our assumption on the food photos posted along the walls of the restaurant—we were quite mistaken. Once the dishes arrived on our table, we were flabbergasted at how huge each bowl was. Everything, except the appetizers, are good enough for two; a definite case of getting more than we can chew.

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SHRIMP LUMPIANG SARIWA ~ PHP195.00 | PORK JIAOZI ~ PHP150.00

To start off, we asked for four dishes of their Small Plates. Since they only have four selection of appetizers on their menu, we ordered everything; Pork Jiaozi (which looks like Japanese gyoza), Sausage Empanada and a double helping of Shrimp Lumpiang Sariwa.

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SAUSAGE EMPANADA ~ PHP 195.00

The clear winner for me on this set is their empanada, which is filled with garlicky local sausage (think Vigan longganisa), egg, and vinegar dip. It’s very similar to the Batac Ilocos empanada, except its shell is made of dough. Everyone on the table agreed that we should’ve taken two servings of this instead of the lumpia.

CHEF’S BEEF NOODLES ~ PHP 395.00 | PORK MISO RAMEN ~ PHP 295.00

Next came Mian’s Soup Bowls. We asked for their Chef’s Beef Noodles, Pork Miso Ramen and Shimp, Pork and Vegetable Lomi Soup.

The beef noodles got praises from my eat mates, which they compared to Vietnamese pho. Problem was, I don’t dig pho. So this is really not for me. The ramen on the other hand all got voted down, it maybe that we took too much time taking photos that it wasn’t as warm as it should’ve been when we finally got to dig in.

SHRIMP, PORK & VEGETABLE LOMI SOUP ~ PHP 275.00

The hero for this set for me was their lomi; granted that I don’t even normally eat lomi. Mian’s version of this afternoon soup snack has none of that icky consistency that makes me stray away from this dish. Coupled with copious amount of egg, pork, shrimp, and veggies—what’s not to like? I love it!

CHICKEN GUINATAAN ~ PHP 325.00 | PORK ADOBO ~ PHP 325.00

We were starting to get a bit full when three Rice Bowls arrived; Filipino favorites like Chicken Giunataan, Pork Adobo, and Beef Calderata. They only have three on their menu, and as before, we got everything.

BEEF CALDERETA ~ PHP 395.00

It was all thumbs up for everyone on the table, but if I were to choose a winner, it would be a very close run between the adobo and calderata. Both have very tender meat (tenderized 24 hours, no less), but the latter simply melts in your mouth like no other Filipino beef dish I’ve tried (and it’s very cheesy too!). I was also a bit distracted by the tukneneng (coated quail egg) served with the adobo, which I felt didn’t really belong there. So yeah, caldereta it is!

PANSIT CANTON ~ PHP 295.00 | BRAISED PROK BELLY ~ PHP 375.00

By now, declarations of fullness can be heard all over the table—the serving size proved too generous for us! But we’re not about done just yet. Two more bowls of noodles, Pansit Canton and Braised Pork Belly, were slid down our table even before we can let out another burp.

The canton, a usual favorite, disappointed me. It was a tad too salty for my taste, although a squeeze of calamansi quickly evened out the flavor. The pork belly on the other hand, which is set with udon noodles, proved to be quite superb.

MANGO PUDDING ~ PHP 120.00 | HALO-HALO ~ PHP 220.00

And finally, with our tummies groaning in protest, we came to the last set of our Mian food binge. Desserts.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you’d know by now that I’m not really that keen on sweet stuff, but Mian’s Halo-Halo and Mango Pudding, made me find a few more spoonful of space within my tummy. The pudding, which is mixed with tapiocas, pomelo shreds, and bits of mango won this round for me.

MIAN RESTAURANT CUTLERY SET

I like the fact that most of the dips and sauce included with our meals were left quite untouched, a testament that the servings themselves are good enough even without resorting to additional flavor enhancement. Good job, Mian! A small advice for those planning to eat here though, don’t be a glutton like us and practice restraint, do not over order! Lol.

~ BIG THANKS TO MARRIOTT MANILA FOR INVITING US TO TRY MIAN

Mian Restaurant - Marriott Grand Ballroom
Address: Newport Boulevard, Newport City Complex, Pasay City, Metro Manila
Contact Number: (02) 8988-9999 loc. 5055
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat, 11AM to 6PM
Mian Restaurant Menu
GPS Coordinates Map: 14.521404, 121.016752

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