April 11, 2021

Manzil Al Taam

Having teammates from India is something I am very thankful because I treat them not just colleagues but friends as well. And with my conversations with Naveen and Deepak during work breaks (greetings to my teammates Naveen, Deepak, Ankitha, Ankit, Noel, and Jeetesh all the way in India!), mostly if it's not about COVID, it's about food! Imagine how hard it is for me every time they discuss about their biryanis and chapatis in the middle of the night when I have no idea how to make it but definitely would like to try it! Luckily, we have a place at the city's suburbs which is known for its Indian and Middle Eastern offerings!

Chapati and Hummus

The first time I tried Manzil Al Taam, it was through my dear cousin Ate Carmeline sometime last year, who ordered a wide array of dishes including different kinds of bread that I really love! Ate Carmeline is the kind of sister who always shares to us, to me, all the yummy things that she know. Thank you Ate Meh for always, love you!

One of my best friends, Lea, celebrated a party yesterday in remembrance of their grandmother's birthday. Being based in Kuwait for years, she wanted some samosas served on their table. I saw it on pictures and I thought, okay, the wait is over! So I messaged her and she encouraged me to order via delivery (since Manzil Al Taam only does delivery on this lockdown). 

The person was nice to talk to via Facebook and the process was a breeze, understandably was the queue due to the volume of their customers, I had to wait for a good 1-2 hours but I readily called earlier before our Merienda (3 pm meal in between lunch and supper). I ordered quite a few goodies for me and the family and a few more flatbreads that I'll throw on the fridge and toast up on the coming work nights. I bought a couple of chapatis and a couple of parathas.

Vegetable Samosas

These were the ones on Lea's lunch table that made me wanna order. These are deep fried vegetarian samosas that has peas, lentils, and diced carrots inside. It comes with a tamarind sauce which gives a tangy contrast to its savory filling. I have to say though, the tamarind sauce is completely optional since I tried my first pyramid without it and it's already good as it is! But of course, I also had to try it with what it's supposed to be paired with and I did not regret it!

My Dad's favorite Shawarma

This one is not Indian but Turkish, the Shawarma. Toasted Pita bread filled up with slices of beer, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, and lavishly blanketed with a creamy yogurt based sauce. Almost everyone in the Philippines is a lover of Shawarma but I would say this one is quite authentic (okay I haven't been to Turkey or the Middle East but I know for a fact that the recipe of the ones sold here at malls and stalls are engineered to jive with Filipino taste, one that is rather on the sweet and savory side rather than with all its exotic and awakening spices! 

This one is definitely the later, it was good and filling because for its price of 85 pesos, it's double the size of the ones sold by Turk's, a famous Shawarma chain here that sells theirs at 60 pesos.

Flaky Paratha and Masala Sauce

Okay, so the one on the first photo, the chapathi, is completely different from the paratha, though they look somewhat similar at first look. The chapathi is a soft and unleavened flatbread which is also called roti in other instances. Manzil Al Taam sells their masala sauce as a bundle with their Chapati (120 pesos) so do not be misled by my photo above that I paired it with paratha. 

Paratha on the other hand is a layered version of the chapathi, though the layers are not really thick, rather truly thin and made that several of it sticks together per piece. Oh I love both of them but the paratha has this buttery taste that I really like so I love pairing it with Masala for a hearty balance of light and dark. the chapathi above, I will be pairing it with Hummus so that its simplicity can match the hummus. But that's just me okay, you can mix and match and they would all be yummy!

***

If you are in General Trias area and you are craving for some Indian and Middle Eastern food, Manzil Al Taam is just a DM away from your Facebook Messenger! They only serve through deliveries on this quarantine period so better send them a message to enjoy these goodies! This is not a sponsored post whatsoever, just wanted to share how I enjoyed their food, I hope if they will read this, they'll be glad. Linking up their Facebook page and contact details below. They deliver via Lalamove on your expense so even if you are a little far from General Trias, they can cater your cravings!

Manzil Al Taam
Lancaster New City,
General Trias, Cavite
+63 46 458 9277

39 comments:

  1. Indian food is commonly available here, and we also frequently cook it ourselves. It is very enjoyable indeed!

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    1. You got it right brother David! My best friend living in Toronto said he has a looot of good spots for Indian food that we can try when I visit (if all this diseases would end).

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  2. This all looks so yummy Stevenson. I like Indian and Middle Eastern food, but I rarely have it because not everyone likes it, especially my husband. He is funny because he doesn't like food mixed together. But you haven't shown any curries where its all mixed, so maybe there is hope. Thanks for explaining and sharing these. It was a fun post, even if now I want one of those samosas. Happy new week. Hugs-Erika

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    1. Oh dear Erika! I also have a friend like that who doesn't like food that is mixed! Especially our Valenciana which is a rice dish but with all different stuff mixed together with chucks of chicken and pork and potatoes and other root crops! And thank you dear Erika that you like it! Have some samosas!

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  3. I love Indian food, as long as it's not too spicy.
    My favourite snacks are samosas but we usually buy similar ones but with meat as well. Some parts of India have a potato samosa which I don't like.

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    1. Oh dear Sami, now you make me think of the samosa and put some ground meat in it! Ughhh that would be yumm! Ohhhh I'm not also that in to potatoes except if theirs fries or mashed HAHA

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  4. So much of this looks really delicious. I've never had a samosa (yum!) but I'm very familiar with schwarma, which I love. Now I'm hungry!

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    1. Same here! I looove shawarma so much dear Jeanie! I can't help but crave as well whenever I go back here HAHA

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  5. I've never really tried Indian food, although we have several places that offer it. I always thought it would be too 'hot' and spicy for me. Maybe I will get adventurous one day and try some :))

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    1. you got that right dear Margaret, it has a lot of spices but not in the hot level of Thai food hahaha, I encourage you to try it once :)

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  6. Hmmm, these look amazing - I have had some Indian food over the years. There are a lot of Indian food outlets here in N.Z. Even in this small town we have a couple of Indian restaurants!
    Stay safe
    Blessings
    Maxine

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    1. Oh that is amazing! We only had ours a few years back and I am thankful they did open up :) Stay safe dear Maxine!

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  7. Dearest Stevenson!
    I had colleagues from India, too!
    Oh, and I love the food (haha, surprise, eh?!)
    Hmmmm, this all sounds soooo yummy!
    You scare me a bit. I had a Turkish colleague and his wife made the yummiest non-sweet treats to share for his Birthday always!

    Boy, am I glad I just had something to eat (boring leftovers), this all sounds so good!
    Can´t wait for restaurants to open again, a virtual hug to you, lille Bro!

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    1. Ohhhh! You love non-sweet treats right! Same here, would love to eat with friends again soon :( Cheers to our appetites And a big hug to you too dearest Iris!!!

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  8. Oh, P.S:, I certainly listened to you and started a bucket list here.

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    1. OMG OMG OMG! I Looooove your Bucket List dearest Iris!!! Make sure you add more, I'm constantly thinking of nice ones to add to as well on mine :)

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    2. You MUST be my brother, there is no other explanation!

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  9. Amo las somosas y quiero porbar un poco de comida india. Genial entrada Te mando un beso
    Enamorada de las letras

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    1. Muchas gracias JP y te sugiero que pruebes más comida india, esta deliciosa. Enviandote abrazos de vuelta!

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  10. Love Indian food! In the Los Angeles area there were several, so when we moved to Sacramento we did without, but hope to find a restaurant in Austin soon:) This looks so delicious! Just running by you a possibility that wordpressers have taken to since the takeover of the block editor(for your timeless Thursday). They let their participants link by "copy and paste" of the permalink in the comment section.don't feel you need to do this, but here is mine:)
    https://thejeshstudio.wordpress.com/2021/04/13/time-on-the-patio

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    1. Oh you got that right dear Jesh! I remember having my first and only so far Peruvian food also in Los Angeles near Olveira Street! Ughhhh I really love trying on different cuisines :)

      Thank you so so much also for the suggestion dear Jesh, Will look into it :) Have an awesome weekend!!!

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  11. These look tasty. I do like a lot of Indian food and it is very popular here in Scotland!

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    1. they really are Ananka! I am also happy that my brother liked the Samosas too :)

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  12. The spices used are so tasty and not all are too hot!
    The vegetable samosas look delicious.

    All the best Jan

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    1. You got it very exactly Jan! I looove spices, I love hot and psicy food but all the other spices make me happy too :)

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  13. I am so glad to have just eaten dinner before reading this post and seeing all that delicious looking food, Stevenson. I will admit to not having tried a wide variety of Indian cuisine, but thanks for the info.

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  14. How delicious it is and makes me miss wanting to taste Indian food like Shawarma and other menus. For the first time I got to know the types of Indian food when I was invited to a wedding reception for a native Indian who had a wedding at a hotel in Jakarta.

    Interesting entry, Stevenson.

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  15. Yo Brother, Thinking Of You As That Massive Surigae Brushed My Your Parts - Could Even Imagine 190+ Mile Per Hour Winds - Hope Your Well - Sending Positive Vibes - Stay Strong

    Cheers

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  16. You make me think that all food is global! I'm fascinated by your selections and how widely your food choices range over the whole world.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  17. Hola Stevenson como estas!!
    Se ven deliciosas esas comidas tipicas de la India, y en esta cuarenena muchos nos estamos haciendo cheff preparando nuestras propias comidas!!
    Conozco el Shawarma pero con otro relleno.
    Un abrazo desde Argentina.

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  18. Hey Stevenson, like your recommendations. I had some Indian food a while back and liked it. Hope everything is doing alright by you and you're doing fine. I go for my first vaccine jab tomorrow and hopefully that will be fine. Lookig forward to getting it over with. Stay cool and safe, nice to hear from you after a long silence. Life can get in the way sometimes. :)

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  19. Just checking in that you are ok? You've gone a little quiet of late. Hoping you are just taking a break rather than caught up in all this terrible pandemic that's taken hold. Take care.

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  20. Middle Eastern Food is really one of my favourite. So yummy.

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