Savory Discovery from Mann Yann

The days are headed towards the end of 2012 and I have nothing better to do but browse the photos that have accumulated in my hard drive throughout the year. I have not been too keen on documenting everything this year unlike the previous year. I don’t even see much random “artistic” shots unlike last year. Some photos even remain "un-uploaded". No matter how few [note: few here is very subjective (wink) ], I think I have snapshots of memorable occasions and of food that have impressed me.

One album that caught my attention was our dinner in Mann Yann at The Link in Makati. I am pretty sure that it was in Mann Hann and not Mann Yann that I have been to before though the latter is familiar because we used to pass by its branch in Glorietta 1 before it was closed for renovation following the Glorietta 2 explosion in 2007. But I guess these restaurants, plus Mannang, are owned by the same company. Whether I have been there or not, what’s important is that this year’s visit to Mann Yann left me with a fond memory of a new dish.

Mann Yann is your typical Chinese restaurant with a typical Chinese menu of dim sum, pork, seafood, and rice. And since we were in a typical Chinese restaurant, we ordered these as usual:

Beef and Broccoli

This mildly sweet beef and broccoli tastes like any other good beef and broccoli with tender meat, crisp broccoli flowers, and thick sauce that went well with the Yang Chow fried rice.

Shrimp Tempura

How can tempura not be a staple? It’s one of the few food Baby R loves! And just like any other tempura she loves, Mann Yann’s is also fried to an enjoyable crispness but leaves the shrimps perfectly cook— neither too tender nor tough.

Baby R's eyes say how much she loves her tempura. I think that's her third piece alredy.

Yang Chow Fried Rice

Chinese restaurant means a platter of Yang Chow fried rice. We have our favorite Chinese dishes but we randomly pick from these favorites depending on the number of diners but I don’t think it’s forgivable to order any other rice but Yang Chow fried rice. It has no replacement. Though Mann Yann’s Yang Chow fried rice isn’t the best there is, I don’t think it’s a disappointment.

Star of the night

While everything else was pretty much the same, this steamed fish fillet was something new, wonderfully new, to me. These cutlets may seem too tender and vulnerable, but they are very much capable of carrying a pleasant garlic flavor that will make you close your eyes and savor every bit of it. I didn't want to be too obvious but I really closed my eyes a second or two longer than a blink. Yeah, that dramatic. [HAHA] I actually felt like one of the hosts of lifestyle shows who say the mandatory "Mmmmmm" after tasting a dish.

Kidding aside, this dish really got me. I googled and printed several recipes already and have been planning to cook it for months now. Problem is, I feel like watching Lifestyle Network when I'm at the R's. I am that TV-deprived when I'm in my dorm. [HAHA]

The aftermath

Mann Yann's interior is not something to boast of (so I did not take pictures of it) and the place is small that it gets a little too cramp during peak hours. But that's no biggie. What I'm after are the good food it serves and this wonderful dish I discovered through them. Judging from the "aftermath" photo above, we'll definitely see Mann Yann again.