We may be thousands of miles away from home but we bring with us that “party culture” that is uniquely Filipino. Remember the pansit houses back home, like Amber’s, which you can call to place your order for one large “bilao” of pansit? Or perhaps a “bilao” of spaghetti? Those short-order bilao, complete with banana leaves and straws, are now in Dubai—through Little Manila.
Little Manila has recently launched its bilao offerings from Binalot: the pansit bihon, pansit canton, and the Pinoy-style spaghetti—which are good for the entire barkada.
The Filipino Times got to try all of them to see if they pass the Filipino taste test, which measures how close they are to what we have back home: And we’re happy to report that they hit all the right spots.
The pansit bihon and the pansit canton are loaded with all the sahog that you can think of: squid balls, lots of chicken, carrots, baguio beans, cabbage and kikiam, among others—with generous slices of lime on the side. It’s the Filipino description of “hindi tinipid”. The common issue I personally have with pansit is that some are just really dry and lifeless, without any flavor—at all. But Little Manila’s pansit bilao is tossed with the right thickness and flavor of sauce, which blends well with all the other toppings.
The prices are also not too heavy on the pocket. The small pansit bilao, be it canton or bihon, costs Dh45, and that’s already good for 4 to 5 people. The medium bilao, which is good for 10 people, is Dh75, while the large one for a group of 15 is Dh95. Imagine celebrating with more than 10 of your friends and spending less than a hundred dirhams.
The spaghetti bilao, on the other hand, deserves a thumbs-up. It captures the Pinoy spaghetti we are all fond of: a little sweet and as cheesy as cheesy could get (well, a spaghetti version Italians couldn’t really understand). Little Manila’s spaghetti sauce is meaty (again, “hindi tinipid”) with a thick mound of grated cheese on top.
For its price, this generous spaghetti serving is worth it. The small spaghetti bilao good for 4 to 5 costs Dh50; the medium one good for 10 is Dh85; and the large bilao for 15 people is Dh110.
All the bilao servings also come with the pandesal from Little Manila’s in-house bakery, the Bread Shop.
The good thing about Little Manila being a restaurant with an array of Pinoy food brands under one roof is that while waiting for your short-order bilao, you can help yourself with Kwekie Shop’s fish balls, squid balls or kwek-kwek, or quench the hit with Fruitas’ Jumbocado, which is really a must-try. It is a tall cup of halo-halo with the base being a thick, creamy avocado shake. It’s genius in a cup perfect for summer.
If by any chance you couldn’t wait for your order in the store, you can call Little Manila at 04-299-9315, to place an advance order. Just indicate what time you’ll be picking up your order. A delivery system is still in the works, but Little Manila Restaurant Manager Henry Macaso said it will be available to all soon.
Little Manila is at K6 Building, Al Muraqqabat Street. Muraqqabat, Deira, Dubai. And moving closer to where the Pinoy communities are, it is set to put up branches in Satwa and Abu Dhabi within the year.
