3 waiters
1318 S. Main St., Little Rock
Drive Time: Seconds from the Main St. exit on 630.
Turnaround Time: Twenty minutes for appetizers, 30 minutes for entrees (for a group of five diners at noon)
Food Sales: Unavailable.
To those of us hoping for signs of economic and cultural life in downtown Little Rock, Manila Garden is an encouraging sign.
Located near the corner of Main and 14th Streets, at the site of the late, lamented Calabash, Manila Garden has opted for a spare — almost bare — look, with a few colorful fans and framed posters. But what it lacks in ambiance, the restaurant makes up for in the quality and preparation of the food.
The menu is primarily Chinese, Phillipine, and Polynesian, and a lunch buffet is available.
Appetizers include Wonton rolls ($2.95 for six), a fried wonton skin stuffed with vegetables and pork, and eggrolls (two for $1.95). Too often eggrolls are limp, greasy and oversalted. Both the Wonton rolls and the eggrolls at Manila Garden have crisp and surprisingly ungreasy wrappers with tasty, fresh fillings.
Among the entrées, the best was Pancit Bijon ($5.95), a dish of rice noodles tossed with sautéed vegetables, large shrimp and pork.
If you like pot roast, you’ll want to try the Beef Mechado ($5.95), admirably tender strips of beef and stewed potatoes with a flavorful sauce, served with steamed white rice. The rice, which accompanied most of the entrées, was firm and the grains individualized, unlike most restaurant rice.
Shrimp tempura ($7.95) came with about half a dozen large shrimp, sliced sweet potatoes, broccoli flowers and onion slices, and was slightly bready but otherwise very good.
The only noteworthy disappointment of the meal was the Chicken Curry ($5.95). The chicken breast “nuggets” were dry, and the cook had been a little stingy with the sauce, which was only faintly reminiscent of the cumin, coriander and turmeric that make curry curry.
The lunch buffet, available weekdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., costs $4.95 and includes spicy chicken drumettes, egg foo young, rice noodles and sautéed vegetables, vegetable puffs and egg drop soup.
You’re better off ordering from the menu, even if most entrées cost a dollar more than the buffet. The egg drop soup is particularly dreary — very bland and overly corn-starched.
Unfortunately, though the food is for the most part pretty good, the service is not. Manila Garden is seriously understaffed, and for lunch customers in a hurry it is a dangerous place to eat.
It took over half an hour for entrées to arrive, and one order disappeared entirely. Silverware and napkins were not at the table when the food was served and had to be requested. The check took almost 15 minutes to write up.
If the staff is not the epitome of efficient service, it is extremely friendly. When things went wrong or took longer than they should have, someone was there to apologize. That makes up for a lot.
Not much is lacking to make Manila Garden a fine ethnic restaurant of the variety Little Rock so desperately needs. The food is there. The location is there. If the service improves a bit, Manila Garden could very well become an indispensable part of the local restaurant scene.
Manila Garden also serves a dinner buffet Friday and Saturdays 6-8:30 p.m. It does not accept credit cards but will take your personal check.
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