The best new meat-ing place: Mamou in S Maison at Conrad Manila

Mamou at the Conrad Manila is the unofficial high-quality steak restaurant of the hotel, and that possibly extends to S Maison. Mamou’s provenance speaks for itself; as the Mamous that have cropped up across Metro Manila have become the byword for those seeking the best steak lunch or dinner in the city. If there’s a mantra in real estate that goes, “Location, Location, Location,” with Mamou, we’re talking “Meat, Meat, Meat.” And while many contend, Mamou has carved its own niche and remains a strong favorite.

Malou Fores (right), the driving force behind the acclaimed Mamou restaurants, and her husband Jorge “Oye” Araneta Fores, who is in charge of finance and marketing for the chain.

A recent showcase lunch at Mamou in S Maison at Conrad Manila brought home how there’s also a variety of main dishes that one can partake in and turn into new top picks. And there’s a bevy of starters, salads, pasta dishes, and desserts that allow us to think beyond those mouth-watering, undeniably good steaks. 

Mamou in S Maison at Conrad Manila offers a diverse array of dishes that can easily become new favorites, complemented by a selection of starters, salads, pastas, and desserts.

The Barcia Strips are crispy pork strips best served with vinegar. It’s your “sosyal pulutan,” and we say that in a good way. There’s a Truffle-Flavored Vegetable Mushroom Dip that’s served with Whole Wheat Melba Chips - a delicious concession to starting healthy before we go all-carnivore.

The Healdsburg’s Harvest is an ideal salad of seasonal greens, sweet tomatoes, glazed pecans, dried cranberries, English Stilton cheese, and a berry vinaigrette. It’s a refreshing mix of greens, fruits, and nuts. And if you decide to forego salad and head straight to a pasta starter, try the bestseller, Lorenzo’s Truffle Cream; spaghettini, with Italian Grana Padano cheese - its simplicity belies just how good this is. Or have the Pasta Cipolla, sweet onions with an anchovy sauce - a white cream sauce pasta that really hits home. 

Now we get to the serious eating part of the lunch. Go-to dishes include the Angus Ribeye United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Prime grade steak and the 28-day dry-aged USDA Porterhouse, accompanied by sides such as corn pudding, creamed spinach, and/or red steak rice. 

Angus Ribeye Steak 

Wawa’s Prime Rib is slow-roasted and served the old-fashioned way, with baked Yorkshire pudding, a common British side dish. If you really want to avoid the meat, try their Steamed Sea Bass fish, as caper and balsamic infusion really help bring out the sea flavor in a very fresh manner. And if you want something different, yet very comforting; do try the Kurobuta (Japanese black pig) Sinigang, choice morsels of tender pork, served in a tamarind broth, with Bicol fish paste rice. 

The Cuban Roast Pork and Chicken is another recommended dish, served with cinnamon Philippine saba banana and black beans. The new best-kept secret is their Lamb Curry with mango-cranberry chutney, which was excellent.

Leave room for dessert! There’s the dreamy Crispy Milk, and their Key Lime Pie with the German “schlagsahne”; “schlag” is the heavy double whipped cream that goes so well with the tartness of the pie.

That’s Mamou in S Maison at Conrad Manila in a nutshell, all the old favorites, now mixed with some new dishes that are really worth exploring. Plus, a view of Manila Bay’s sunset!