Where to Eat: Little Manila

I’ve heard of Little Manila waaaay before it opened. A close friend has been telling me all about the newest “pinoy” place to be. Great! A new hang out. They will be serving Filipino food, what could go wrong?

Well, things did go wrong in the beginning. I’ve heard several “horror stories” from friends. I’ve read bad reviews. It was awful. Because of that, I stayed away from this fast food joint. 

Fast forward to a few months ago … 

My friend brought me a pack of Ensaymada from Bread Shop – one of the stores in Little Manila. I instantly fell in love with it! I have never seen ensaymada as soft and cheesy as this one anywhere else in Dubai. This was the start of something good … 

When my family visited me in Dubai, I convinced them to eat at Little Manila because I wanted to get some more Ensaymada. I wasn’t really interested in anything else. Then my sister who loves boba tea, dragged me to get some from 50-FifTea. This was another good find for me! You have to try their Boba Oolong Milk Tea!

The Little Manila Promise

Despite the negative reviews, I went back to Little Manila a couple more times. Trying something new every visit.  And every visit, gets better. I talked to one of their supervisors and even their Executive Chef – Chef Joselito Joaquin Jr.

They admitted that the first few months were brutal. The management faced problems with logistics and staffing but they powered through. Little Manila was determined to bring what they promised in the beginning.

[Tweet “To offer memorable dining experience, providing customers with top quality products and services – Little Manila”]

Little Manila Brands

Little Manila has eight brands under one roof. It’s like a one stop shop for pinoy foodies.

1. Binalot
2. Jay-J’s Inasal
3. Fruitas
4. Zagu
5. Fiftea
6. Mochi Creme
7. Kwekie Bites (in house)
8. Bread Shop (in house)

We were invited to dine at Little Manila last week. I didn’t want the opportunity to get some ensaymada pass, so we went. We were served their best sellers:

Chicken Inasal and Chicken Sisig from Jay-J’s, assorted street food from Kwekie Bites, Buko Pandan shake from Zagu, Boba Oolong Milk Tea from Fiftea (of course!), Pansit sa Bilao from Binalot, Jamvocado from Fruitas and Mochi ice cream for Blake (watch her review here – Little Manila Mochi). 

Their servings are big. “Good for four people” can feed up to five, even 6 if you’re not big eaters. When we had Jay-J’s Boodle Fight offer a couple of months back, we were not able to finish the whole spread. We were 6 adults and 2 kids at that time and still we had some food packed for takeaway!

Little Manila Offers

Little Manila is currently offering Binalot boodle style. You can choose between Singubaan (mixed grilled street food) and Dalampasigan (seafood).

Another Binalot offer is the Pancit sa Bilao (bilao is a large woven tray).They come in Small, Medium and Large. All of them comes with a serving of hot Pan de Sal. You have three choices:

• Pancit Bihon
• Pancit Canton
• Filipino Style Spaghetti

We tried the Pancit Canton and it was perfect! It was cooked well, not soggy at all.  The Pan de Sal is so soft and tasty. Another must try item at Little Manila. 

We were greeted with the usual Filipino hospitality, every time! Excellent service with all smiles.

—

For more information, you can check out their website: LittleManila.com. 
Facebook: LittleManilaME
Twitter: @LittleManilaME
Instagram: @MyLittleManila

Little Manila
K6 Building, Al Muraqqabat Street,
Deira, Dubai
+971 04 299 9315
info@littlemanila.com

[wc_box color=”secondary” text_align=”center”]

We have visited Little Manila several times, however we were invited to try their new offer once. As usual, all opinions are based on my experience and in no way influenced. This is not a paid post.  

[/wc_box]