WHEN IN MANILA, you should not miss dining in the best restaurant in the Philippines – an extension of Malou Fores’s home kitchen – Mamou.
Trivia: Malou Fores’s nephew used to call her Tita Mamou and the rest is history!
You might find the seats charming – these are miniature versions of Malou’s dining chairs at home, who by the way is the sister-in-law of Cibo’s Margarita Fores. I could just imagine how good their foods are at home!
(L-R) Mamou’s home brewed Iced Tea (Php 80), Refreshing Dalandan Mint Shake (Php 175) and Grapefruit Spritzer (Php 95)
Regular / Wheat bread rolls are freshly baked everyday here at Mamou. These are so soft and super good. I had to stop myself from eating more. I do not want to fill myself up even before starting our most anticipated meal of Italian, American and Asian dishes.
Palm Spring Rolls (Php 210)
This is Mamou’s version of fried lumpiang ubod, consisting of heart coconut palm, ground pork, chili sauce and garlicky vinaigrette. This would surely get your appetite going.
Healdsburg’s Harvest (Php 325)
The salad was served with a mountain of leafy greens in season, sweet cherry tomatoes, glazed pecans, dried cranberries, cranberry stilton cheese and drizzled with sweet berry vinaigrette. Mamou’s serving was huge – good to share with 3-4 pax.
Mamou Mami (Php 260)
Think Bacolod chicken and beef la paz batchoy with wansoy + HongKong noodles all mixed up with a special ramen noodle soup — *slurp*
Kurobuta Sinigang (Php 395)
No, this is not kare-kare; although, it does look like it. This is really sinigang, believe me! The Japanese black pig stewed in thick tamarind broth was so tender served with Bicol fish paste rice and bagoong (yes, the salty fish sauce). Mamou’s sinigang was pure delight! A must-try indeed!
Kurobuta Mamou-Katsu (Php 355)
The kurobuta pork was flavorful and the breading was just right – crispy and not too thick. I especially liked the applesauce which complemented the Japanese pork and buttered parsley rice really well.
Angus Ribeye USDA Prime Grade Steak (Twin portion – approx 800 grams/28 oz – Php 2800)
REMINDER: Mamou’s servings can get pretty huge for even a group of 4 to share :p
This was one of the highlights of our sumptuous dinner. The meat was cooked to medium doneness – just the way I liked it, charred on the outside with a juicy pink inside. It’s pretty hard to describe how great the steak is so I will just let the picture speak to you and arouse your hungry tummies. Warning: after you taste it, you will long for it.
Mamou’s steak is already heavenly by itself but adding just a bit of Italian sea salt livens up its full flavor. Just a tip: to fully appreciate the taste, don’t add the steak sauce, even the servers would recommend that you go with the sea salt only 🙂 Yes, all the servers know the dishes in Mamou by heart because they’ve personally tried everything on the menu 🙂
What’s more, all steaks come with your choice of two sides: white/red steak rice, corn pudding, creamed spinach or baked mashed potatoes. My personal side dish favorites: the rice cooked in steak fat and yummy mashed potatoes! *yum yum yum*
Lorenzo’s Truffle Cream Pasta (Php 335)
A Mamou steak meal wouldn’t be complete without the famous truffle cream pasta. It may seem quite simple to look at but hey, let it surprise you with al dente spaghettini in flavorful truffle cream sauce and Grana Padano cheese. Oohlala so good!
Key Lime Pie (Php 145) – sweet and milky with a hint of lime
Crispy Milk (Php 275)
Mamou’s fried milk is a popular Chinese dessert – very light and crispy. And, according to Tita Annie, Mamou’s Manager, this is Sharon Cuneta’s favorite!
Pecan Pie (Php 180)
A traditional pecan pie with a gelatinous sticky rice texture as filling that will definitely fulfill the desires of your sweet tooth.
If you are looking for a Surf and Turf meal fit for a royalty, Mamou not only serves the best steaks in town but you can have the best of both worlds by ordering lobsters, too. Steamed live Maine lobsters are served with white/red rice cooked in buttered lobster fat, with malt vinaigrette and lemon butter sauce. This is something that I look forward to on my next Mamou visit 🙂
One thing that I loved the most in Mamou is the service. Tita Annie’s management style is superb – when the staffs are happy, it shows in their service and reflects on the food as well. She always reminds the staffs to: “Treat everyone that comes to Mamou as their Ninang/Ninong. Do everything to make the guests feel special, treat them well and make sure they get a good experience.” Moreover, the management brings the servers to the best restaurants as part of their training. This way, they will know exactly how to be a customer 🙂
FYI: Every year, on Mamou’s anniversary, all profits of the day goes to a feeding program. They’ve been doing this for years now. Even the servers offers all the money they get from the service charge to be given to the program also 🙂 I am most definitely impressed with the values of Mamou!
WHEN IN MANILA, make sure you try out Mamou – simply the best restaurant in the Philippines. Great food and excellent service all in one place.
Mamou: A Home Kitchen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamouahomekitchen
Operating Schedule:
LUNCH:
Mon – Fri: 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Sat: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sun: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
DINNER: 6:00 pm – 10:30 pm
For Reservations, please contact Mamou at:
Mamou Serendra
Unit 1C – 15 G/F Serendra, Fort Bonifacio Heights
Tels. 856-3569 / 909-5741 / 0917-816-2668
Mamou too! Rockwell
L R1 148A, Rockwell Power Plant Mall, Makati City
Tels. 822-6218 / 0917-806-2668
WhenInManila photos by JoTan23
Best Restaurant in the Philippines: Mamou
