When In Manila, we can end up visiting a variety of mid-class or high end restaurants and still never find that classic bulalo our lola (grandmother) used to cook for us, or maybe that delicious kare-kare our yaya (nanny) used to prepare. The delicious recipes different chefs come up with are awesome, but nothing compares to a good ol’ classic home-cooked meal; dishes we grew up loving and now end up craving for. These are the dishes that perfectly define what comfort food is all about. The types of food that bring you back to a special memory or person with just the smell of it. This, is exactly what Namana had in mind when they first opened their doors to the public last November.
“Namana”, derived from the Tagaolog term ‘mana’, (which means inherit) describes something precious and priceless that had been passed on to generations of families. “Namana’s” menu is a collection of favorite traditional home-cooked dishes from different provinces. Chef Joma Tuano and his Culinary team, worked together to “enhance” each recipe for that added twist and novelty. Using authentic ingredients, the genuine flavor of each dish is uncompromised. In every bite, “Namana” dishes will bring back the taste of childhood and unforgettable memories of home.
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Namana Heritage Cuisine at the corner of SM Jazz, Makati
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Namana is located in that corner where Hai Chix and Steaks used to be. Though it saddens me what one of my favorite steak restaurants is now gone, it also excites me to know that the same owners, chef and staff are still behind Namana. The reason for the change in concept was simply because they were in a residential/commercial area where most people coming by were just looking for something good and affordable. The steaks, though extremely good, were not too affordable for people just looking for a simple meal.
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Photo taken from Namana’s Facebook page
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As mentioned earlier, Namana is all about bringing back those childhood memories. Executive chef, Joma Tuano shares that around 90% of the food they serve are recipes handed down by his parents, grandparents, his nanny or recipes his own chefs/staff members grew up loving themselves. Every dish they serve has a story of how it came to be, and they hope that through they are able to let you be a part of that story every time you dine here. Personally, I think that passion and history is what makes the food at Namana extra special. Food from all regions coming together in one heritage cuisine.
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Namana Heritage Cuisine Entree
Corky Porky (P340) “Roasted pork loin with local herbs and our own special sauce”
I started to enjoy eating pork loin after realizing it could also be soft and tender when really cooked properly. Namana’s Corky Porky was roasted and slow cooked to ensure the meat gets really soft and all the flavors set in. Their pork loin is around an inch thick but was still packed with flavor to the core! Just a little tip though, eat it while it’s hot to really get more bang for your bucks. Also, make sure to include a little sauce in every bite. The sauce looked like bagoong/shrimp paste but it’s not. It’s kind of like Namana’s own soysauce with a sweet salty taste that complemented really well with the pork. The sauce definitely made an already good dish taste even better.
 
Namana’s own version of liempo!
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Pollo Y Ajo (P300/ P450) “Garlic chicken. A traditional recipe of our forefathers. Cooked in almost every household but we make it special just for you.”
Polly y Ajo is basically adobong manok with a twist. Instead of just using the usual soy sauce and vinegar, Namana adds a little tablea chocolate in their recipe for that extra kick. If eaten directly, the tablea might taste a little bit bitter. However, if mixed well, it adds a special twist to our adobo. To top it off, Chef Joma shares that instead of just using regular vinegar, they opted to use Ilocos vinegar which is both sweet and sour.
When eating Pollo Y Ajo, it’s best to include a slice of the sweet banana in every bite. The play of sweet and salty flavors n your mouth will make this dish unforgettable.
Namana’s Garlic Chicken with Tablea Chocolate
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2K’s “Kare-Kare” (P330) “Tripe, beef belly, and vegetables braised in peanut sauce and our home made shrimp paste. It’s salty and sweet just like how grandma makes it”
I love kare-kare! I think it’s a MUST TRY dish especially for tourists visiting the Philippines. ‘Till now, I still think the peanut butter sauce and the shrimp paste make such as oddly delicious combination! Namana’s Kare-Kare is filled to the brim with different ingredients and will definitely not disappoint you. In short, “di nagtipid.” Unlike other restaurants where I’m only able to get 2-3 small pieces of tripe, I was plenty full with Namana’s Kare-Kare. My companions Darrel Diaz and Jose Francisco also shared that they were very happy with the proportions as well as the ratio of meat and vegetables. Moreover, the Kare-Kare was so flavorful that the shrimp paste was no longer required.
The Kare-Kare also had a few chunks of peanut butter in it. Very small but big enough to taste. Being a peanut butter lover myself, I highly enjoyed this. However, others may find this kind of different.
The vegetables in Namana’s Kare-Kare were also crunchy and added texture to the dish
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O.M.G. “Oh My Gulay” (P180) “Our take on the Northern Luzon vegetable stew. Made with our home-made shrimp paste and topped off with grilled meat”
All the names of Namana’s dishes are catchy and creatively thought out, but this has got to be one of my favorites! (First would be P.M.S. which stands for Pork and Mango Salad). Chef Joma shared how he liked the idea of serving food inside some other food (just like the famous bread bowls you’d see everywhere), so he decided to come up with his own by mixing a bunch of delicious vegetables in a small piece of pumpkin. The pumpkins are carefully picked as they want the weight/sizes to be as similar as possible to make sure they give out the right serving every time we order. The serving is not too big, but will do for a single serving.
My companion Darrel Diaz shares that this was one of the best Pinakbet he’s ever had, “saktong sakto pork and vege combi”. It perfectly captures that Northern flavor. If you look closely, you’d also notice how the string beans are all tied in a knot! Imagine the effort the cooks put into this to make sure diners get nothing but the best experience at Namana. Wow!!!
 
I specifically enjoyed the presentation of this dish
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C.O.D. Special (P300) “Deep fried catch of the day with pickled vegetables. Caught from the family farm in Cavite and delivered fresh daily”
The fish is caught fresh daily in their own farm in Cavite and delivered fresh daily! Hence, you can really say it was their Catch of the Day or C.O.D. What I enjoyed best about this dish is that it wasn’t just the typical fried fish, instead, it had some delicious ensalada mixed with it! My companion Jose Francisco shares how the Namana’s C.O.D. Special worked really well for him as it he sincerely enjoyed the combination of the soft and crispy fish with the pickled vegetables and sour mango. Personally, I thought Namana was able to give life to what I’d normally see as a boring meal.
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Definitely a catch for the day at Namana
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Miki Bihon (P160)
The story of how the Miki Bihon came to be was one that really caught my interest. It shows how humble and open to ideas the owners and Chef Joma really are. The idea of the restaurant, more than just a business is to share a memory through food. In every dish you order, you are getting a taste of what Chef Joma’s childhood was like. You are becoming part of that memory. Chef Joma shares that some of these dishes were not his own but part of someone else’s. This Miki Bihon for example is a creation of one of their chefs in Namana. He comes from Nueva Ecija and adds a little of his home grown recipe to the mix. The Miki Bihon quickly became a crowd favorite for us as it was unlike any other pancit I’ve had before. There was a slight sweetness to it that was somewhat addicting. Moreover, each and every strand of that bihon absorbed most of the flavor used in preparation that I no longer felt the need to add calamansi. It was just perfect as is.
The sweet Miki Bihon from Namana taste nothing like regular pancit! I LOVED its uniqueness!
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Complimentary Soup
When dining at home, or even in Filipino restaurants, Filipinos have the tendency to crave for soup. We enjoy the free soup cadrinderias give us just to make the rice a little wet or to add a little sauce to our fried dishes. The owners of Namana therefore thought it would be just right to adopt that custom in this heritage cuisine. Now usually in carinderia’s, the soup would be tasteless, only consisting of mostly salt and garlic. In Namana, the soup was delicious that I wanted to ask for more. (heehee)
Chef Joma offers us a complimentary bowl of soup during our talk
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I enjoyed my first visit to Namana so much that I decided to go back a second time with a different group of friends. Some of these friends had just flown in from Singapore from the holidays and were looking for a good place to talk and eat. I quickly suggested Namana and hoped they’d love it as much as I did. As soon as they had their first taste of the complimentary soup, they had already made up their minds that Namana was indeed a great choice for our holiday get together. We ordered the Corky Porky, Sisig, Laing, and Miki Bihon. We all loved the dishes so much that we were able to quickly finish all our food as soon as it arrived! Moreover, one of my friends who had her baby with her was extremely happy with Namana’s high chair! It was a very cute, casual and child-friendly seat. Not one that forces to be in-theme with the restaurant but uncomfortable for the child.
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See the cute high chair for baby Lexi?
Namana has such a nice ambiance for reunions, get-together, parties etc. It’s the type of place you could take your date to and one you can bring your whole family to! Moreover, if you have any friends coming home to the Philippines looking for delicious Filipino food, Namana is definitely a must-try! Not only will they get to try some of the Filipino favorites, but they’d also get to try it the way we enjoyed it as kids! It’s like bringing your friends to your own home.
Namana: The Heritage Cuisine
SM JAZZ MALL
G/F Jupiter Street, Cor. N. Garcia
(02) 553 5987
https://www.facebook.com/namanacuisine
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