Persian food, especially kebabs, have always been interesting for us. The mix of spices and grilled meats give you a wide variety of flavor combinations and offers a truly exotic experience. Plus, who doesn't love eating meat chunks off of a stick? Okay, maybe vegetarians or vegans fall into that category, but anyway...
We tried out an unfamiliar restaurant: the Arya Persian Restaurant. It's not just the restaurant that's new to us, even its location is: the just-finished Shangri-La EDSA wing. Actually I think there are other Arya branches somewhere in Metro Manila (Greenhills, Podium and Robinson's Manila), but this is the first time we tried their food. It's on the top floor and has a nice view, but it was rainy when we went there so we'll save you the trouble of looking at our gray-sky pics. The server was kind enough to describe the popular dishes in detail, and that's always worth good points in our book.
If you've read our New Bombay review, you'll know that Chesca loves lassi. We tried a glass (plain lassi, of course) from Arya and it was good. Their formulation seemed to taste more of milk though, and we preferred the way New Bombay made theirs. I think it also had a more sugary taste to it, too. I don't mean to call it a milkshake because it still tastes like yogurt, but Arya's lassi has more of a milkshake-y feel to it :).
I had the Royal Joojeh Kabab (just chicken kebab) with pita bread. It was ok, although I was looking for a bit more in the flavor department. I was kind of expecting more cumin to come through. There's some really good garlic yogurt sauce and spicy sauce on the side though so you can put that in to compensate. The chicken was grilled nicely and the portion was pretty big. The pita is in the basket behind the plate; it kind of made the feel quite home-y when we unwrapped the "blanket" the pita was came in. Kind of like one of those old fairy tales.
At close to 990Php, eating here is by no means cheap. We still kind of prefer the taste at one of the Hossein restaurants though. But eating there is pretty heavy on the wallet, even more so than here. If you're looking for some nice atmosphere and nice/good Persian food that won't cost too much, the Shangri-La Arya is a good place to go. If nothing else, the view and the service was great. Just visit during sunny weather.
Arya
6F Shangri-La Plaza East Wing,
Ortigas Centre, Mandaluyong City
