Manna Kitchen — Restaurant in Howick

Super busy which I’m stoked for Manna/so factoring this into the review despite the stars. Both times we visited at lunch time and outside of supposedly peak hours there was a wee bit of a line, tables were full or uncleared, thankfully there’s a food court outside so if there’s not enough seating spaces which there aren’t - uou don’t have to settle with take away or leaving empty handed.

The wait times are a bit on the longer side-tipping off at 25-30min which is understandable considering the never ending dishes they had to serve on the day we went. I think staff wise there’s only two people (potentially?) manning the front and kitchen so no wonder they’re under the pump. They’ve only just opened over the last few weeks or months(?) and with good tiktok press no wonder business is taking off well.

I didn’t mind wait times too much but partner in food crime was hangry to say the least.

As for food-we got sisig, our usual go to Filipino dish. It did come out fairly with a sizzle, though compared to other sisig dishes I’ve had, the pork chunks were quite big, wasn’t as flavourful as some others I’ve had-and you really notice this once the sizzle cools down and you’re no longer eating piping hot bites. There was also quite a bit of mayo dressing on top which I’m guessing was to bring the sauce and flavour but it was definitely like having bites of mayo-reminding me of at Pierre’s teriyaki chicken which hey I’m not complaining it’s been like that for a while and it’s fraction of the price. Portion was definitely on the smaller side for the price but with the cost of inflation that might be standard for these days. And actually looking at the pics I’ve uploaded there’s not much in it except mayo egg and pork crackling with some springs of spring onion, I’ve had sisigs with a bit more veg chucked in. Graciously they do have Java rice which is a nice swap to try.

Good place to try out for me that loves to tick these places off my list but onto the next...

Food was real good but I feel like it was a bit smaller of a portion than I anticipated. For a $28- $32 of a platter that wasn’t even full and brimming, it was a bit disappointing. Some of the food we ordered went to about $40 and it wasn’t worth it. Could’ve gone to another place that would have the actual sizing the price would amount to. The 8 (only) spring rolls (lumpia) tasted a bit different and didn’t taste like an actual filo dish and still costed a lot than it’s worth. I’d say it’s good for a first time and people who miss home but definitely not worth.

Either way, the people were nice and the atmosphere...

This place looks relatively new and cute! Me & my friend ordered the same, Chicken Inasal, and we were so looking forward to trying it out. But gutted to get served with not freshly cooked chicken. Like, You’d be able to tell instantly if that chicken has been cooked & just sitting there for hours/days waiting to be eaten. coz the meat was literally dry and stringy. Even my friend’s 7y/o son was complaining it’s chewy & spat them out.😒 Told one of the staff about it to avoid similar issue occurring...