Zomato Sneak Peek: Makan Makan Asian Food Village @ Manila Ocean Park
Ever want to have an insider’s look at a restaurant before going for a visit? Thanks to Zomato Sneak Peek, diners can now get a quick in-depth look at a restaurant right at their fingertips! Just look for the Sneak Peek tab on the Zomato app and take a tour around the Metro’s top restaurants!
I got a special preview on how Zomato Sneak Peek works when I dropped by MAKAN MAKAN Asian Food Village inside Hotel H2O at Manila Ocean Park. Basically, the Zomato team takes the time to sample the menu and get to know the many facets of a restaurant so that you don’t have to do all the research yourself.
We tried some of Makan Makan’s top dishes and found out that the Asian ensemble menu features some of the most famous dishes from well-loved cuisines in the region. Let’s start with some homegrown favorites.
CRISPY PATA: Crispy pig trotters are mainstays in any Filipino feast. Bigger occasions call for a full-blown lechon but smaller celebrations and gatherings usually have some iteration of deep-fried pork with crispy crackling. The crispy pata at Makan Makan was super crispy and less greasy than many that I have tried elsewhere.
Kare-Kare: Another star of the Filipino table is the kare-kare. The rich peanut sauce of Makan-Makan’s version called for some extra rice. I had some pieces of tripe and some slow-cooked almost gelatinous beef skin. The texture was amazing! I love anything that has a lot of collagen just like pig trotters, ox tails and similar cuts. I definitely had my fill of collagen in this meal!
Dimsum Platter: Almost everything in the menu at MAKAN MAKAN Asian Food Village is good for sharing. Even the dimsum can be ordered as a platter. Get a variety of dumplings to share but I promise you, you might want this all for yourself. Luckily, each pocket of goodness is pretty hefty. The hakaw was especially plump and appetizing! A feast for the eyes even before they reached my mouth! This is a great merienda option as well.
Laksa: If you’re looking for some noodles, the creamy seafood Laksa is a good option. It’s a good idea to share this since the combination of the noodles, seafood and rich, coconut-based sauce can get heavy. It’s a rich and satisfying meal or you can share it among friends as a snack.
Sambal Prawns and Sambal Squid: Thanks to Zomato Sneak Peek, I found out that the culinary team behind MAKAN MAKAN Asian Food Village makes their own sambal sauce. The popular condiment which you can find in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, gets a Filipino twist here. It’s not as spicy as the sambal you can find elsewhere in the region. In true Filipino style, this version is slightly sweet. I loved this sauce so much so that I wanted to mix it all over my rice even after we’ve eaten all the seafood!
Braised Homemade Beancurd with Black Mushrooms and Broccoli: I also found out that the Makan Makan kitchen makes their own tofu from scratch! I love tofu and I love having it in as many ways as possible. I’m not a vegetarian but it’s always a good thing to have vegetarian options since more and more people are adapting the lifestyle. The texture of their tofu is bouncy and the flavors were clean. A good vessel to sop up Asian sauces.
Next time you’re looking for a new place to try, check if they have a feature on Zomato Sneak Peek. Learning more about a restaurant’s menu, philosophy, methods and practices might go long way into helping you make a decision!
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