On my family’s recommendation, we ate at Manam on the first day of our vacation in Manila. It’s a restaurant specializing in Filipino comfort food. They serve the classics as well as Pinoy dishes with a twist.

As we were a big group my family including my parents, sisters and their kids, we were able to order and try out several dishes.

We got Ensaladang Kamatis and Kesong Puti – House made kaesong puti, fresh basil leaves, native tomato wedges, extra virgin olive oil. My dad loves kaesong puti and this was an ingenious way of using it.

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Crispy Sisig – Pork jowls and cheek, chopped and served on a sizzling plate. My girls have always wanted to try this since it is hard to come by in NJ. This was the best sisig we’ve had from among the many restaurants in Manila.

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Garlic Rice and White Rice. Yes, Filipinos need their rice and we chose to get two kinds.

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Sinigang na Salmon Head sa Miso and Guyabano. We got this upon the recommendation of my other sister. I was skeptical at first on how it would taste since I was not a fan of guyabano. But this came out surprisingly good. It reminded me of tom yum soup. Unfortunately wasn’t able to take a photo.

Sinigang na Baboy sa Sampaloc – Pork shoulder simmered in our house-made sour tamarind broth. This is a classic dish and a favorite among the kids.

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Sizzling Corned Beef Belly Kansi. This is one of Manam’s specialty dishes, it was really tasty and beef fork tender.

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Chicken Inasal Skewers. This is just an ok dish for me, I’ve had better inasal at other restaurants.

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Crispy Pancit Palabok – Crunchy glass noodles with chicharon, fried garlic, shrimp,
baby squid, and tinapa flakes, with a thick and savory house-made rich shrimp sauce poured over. This was at standout dish, the presentation was one of a kind and the taste was even better. I have to stop myself from finishing it.

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Kare-Kare with Oxtail – An oxtail, tripe, and peanut stew, served with house-made bagoong on the side. This was another winner and a favorite from among the dishes we ordered.

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We ate at Manam a second time since we really love the food here but at different location. We ordered Kare-Kare and Sizzling Corned Beef Kansi again and had the following the dishes too.

Adobong Kang Kong – Local morning glory, adobo-style, stir-fried.

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Pancit Lomi – Thick noodle soup topped with fresh shrimp, pork belly, liver, squid balls, chorizo, and mixed vegetables.

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For dessert we had Bibingkang Galapong of Salted Duck Egg and

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Namnam Halo-Halo

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We will definitely miss this restaurant and will surely be back if we visit Manila again.