Restaurant Review: Mangan

After attending the Sunday mass at Robinson’s Place Ermita, my stomach started begging to be recharged. I asked Boyet if we could try the restaurants along Jorge Bocobo Street for a change but he insisted on trying out Mangan. I have been to Mangan before with my parents and we were not satisfied with their service. But it has been years ago so I was thinking that things might have changed since their RP branch has been there for a while now.

As soon as we entered the place, I smelled disaster brewing. We were not even greeted by a single staff and we just helped ourselves to our seats. The waiter who asked for our orders was also so inattentive. Boyet asked him something and his eyes were focused on another table while talking to another waiter.

After numerous follow-ups and thirty minutes of waiting, the Tinapa Rice and Tidtad were finally served to us. But to my surprise, the rice was cold. I was expecting that it would at least be hot after waiting that long. Oh well, maybe the rice got cold while patiently waiting in the kitchen to be served on our table. Hmp!

I only eat my mom’s dinuguan because I find others’ either too sour or too sweet. As a consolation, Mangan’s Tidtad (Dinuguan) appealed to my taste buds.

Next to arrive was pinakbet. Though their pinakbet is like any other, an array of different vegetables: squash, ampalaya, eggplant, tomato, okra and string beans, I somehow liked how Mangan managed to retain the crisp of the vegetables. The bagoong was also not overpowering which gave way to the sweetness of the fresh vegetables.

Bangus ala Pobre came last. Boyet initially asked the waiter to describe the dish, but the waiter mumbled the words that only he could understand. So when the dish arrived, I was so perplexed at how hard it must be for the waiter to explain that it is simply bangus topped with garlic sauce.

We were seated beside two old women who were obviously pissed off too because the waiter kept on serving them the wrong food. So when it was time for them to settle their bill, one of them unhesitatingly said “You’re food is quite good but your service is really really bad.” I couldn’t help but giggle after she said that to the astounded waitress. At least, she said what I was itching to say.

When I told my mom that we ate at Mangan, her first question was if their service has improved from our last visit. Of course, I gave her a big NO!

Mangan
Level 1 Midtown Wing
Robinsons Place Ermita