Persia Grill Serves One of the Best Kebab Restaurants in Manila

Middle eastern cuisine is very new to me. I haven't tried any Iranian - inspired restaurants before because I always thought that my palate will never get to appreciate their food. Last Friday, I joined a group of bloggers to dine at Persia Grill, one of the most - promising restaurants that serve authentic Persian dishes in Manila. It was a mixture of excitement because I will taste soemthing new and fear that I might not like it for some reasons. It turned out, I enjoyed every single dish we ate and really looking forward to dine again there soon.

Persia Grill, belongs to the top 10 most recent suggested must try Kebab restaurants cited by Spot.ph, a lifestyle online site.  I was happy to know that the venue chosen for our food review out of the eight branches they have is the one in Ace Hotel & Spa at Kapitolyo, Pasig which is very near to me.  I arrived early and had the chance to enjoy the ambiance of this restaurant in a lesser crowd. The space inside is only good for around 25 persons and outside can accommodate about 15 persons. It brings an aura of brightness and the design exudes a hint of the culture and heritage of Iran. 

I love the glass walls that allow the natural light to come in and therefore saving them electricity cost. I also love the idea of using horizontal blinds instead of curtains for a more middle eastern look. The wooden tables also depict some Persian arts that really put accent to the total branding of the place.

The Persia Grill is owned by Kian Kazemi, an ex-PBB housemate and now has a travel series in Youtube called "Kian is NoWhere". His father is Iranian and mother is Filipina. His roots in Iran was the main reason why he put up a restaurant that serves Persian dishes in the metro. He also does not forget his Filipino roots by putting a twist in the menu such as the chicken barbecue and the leche flan which he said is his mother's favorite dessert for them.

Now on to what we ate!

Four dips

Peta breads

Peshganza Junior (P250) and Family (P395)

This is peta breads served in 4 dips: salad oliveyh( potato dip with chicken, egg, dill pickles & olive oil)  baba ganoush (freshly roasted eggplant mixed with olive oil and persian spices, hummus ( high in fiber, mashed chick peas & olive oil) and must O'khiar (classic cucumber, garlic and Persian yogurt dip).

Fallafel  consists of 4 pcs (P185) 

Deep fried patty made from beans and ground chickpeas. This one reminds me of eating a patty sans the bun!

Chicken barbecue P175

Served with Java rice and some veggies. This one is not exactly a Persian dish but offering a Filipino dish with a twist.

Beef biryani (p345)

Served with  Basmati  Biryani rice, vegetable salad and yogurt. You can choose whether you want lamb or chicken. I am a bit thrilled how Iranian rice looks like! It is longer and more slender compared to the ones we have here. Take a look at the photo!

Sizzling ox brain (P140)
Yes, you are reading it right! This is an ox brain. Reminds me of our very own "sisig". Both of them have similarities in looks and taste.

Kebab (P275 for 2 skewers and P655 for 6 skewers)

A Persian restaurant cannot be called such if there is no kebab in their menu. This is grilled kebab skewers of chicken and meat marinated with Persian herbs and spices.

All-vegetable Musakka (P225)
A combination of eggplant, chick peas, tomatoes, onions, olive oil served with Pita bread and yogurt.  Reminds me of our very own menudo. 

Persian Rice (P175)
Steamed-cooked Barmati rice with low glycemic index meaning very good for health buffs specially sugar - conscious people.

Beef sharwarma sandwich  (P85)

I have seen a lot of shawarmas in sidewalks and malls. I never tried to taste them. This one I had the courage to take a bite (i don't eat beef at all) . I would say this is the most neat-looking and clean among them all. This is a combination of veggies, beef and pita bread used as wrapper.  

Creamy Yogurt Shake (P65)

This is their best -selling drink.  No wonder. Tastes so good and since this is made of yogurt we all know this is good for our health.

For our desserts we had pastillas cheesecake (P 130), leche flan (65) and must o'asal (yogurt, honey and rolled oats). Need I say more about these tempting sweets? 

After our sumptous lunch, we tried "Shisha" or sometimes called us "hookah" which is smoking in a water pipe with a bowl, smoke chamber and hose. You have to inhale the air coming from the inside the bowl then smokes comes out after you exhale it from your mouth or nose.

This actually gave so much fun to the group. Of all the food reviews I have done, this is something different I appreciated the most because I only not just taste what Iranians eat but also I learned a bit of their culture through this. Shisha is a favorite pasttime of Iranians instead of drinking liquors which is prohibited in their country.

For more information, you may check their website at http://www.persiagrill.com.ph/ or check their official Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/persiagrill