Food and Friends at Arya Restaurant (The Podium)

This relatively new restaurant at the Podium in Ortigas was quite an experience. Arya, this new Persian restaurant, opened its first branch at the Promenade in Greenhills. It opened its restaurant in Podium last May 2009. Upon entering the place, you will be greeted by decoration and ornaments that speak of Persian or Iranian heritage.



Iranian cuisine or Persian cuisine, just like the Philippines, has various flavors and specialty dishes that come from different regions of the country. When we were talking to Shin, the owner of this newly built Persian restaurant, he mentioned that Filipinos would always think of Iranian cuisine as “spicy”, when in fact, it has “spiced” and not “spicy” dishes. Although, he said that he and his wife who is the chef of Arya, had to modify some preparations to satisfy the Filipino palate. For example, when preparing lamb, Arya makes sure that the lamb is fresh and not “malansa” as how we say it in Filipino.



For starters, we got to try the soup of the day, which was Onion soup (Php 105). I was surprised that the onion soup was cream based and had a yellowish color. I would normally see a “thinner” version. The soup was a mixture or onion, dill, and other spices topped with bread croûton. A regular order of Arya’s soup would be good for two people.



Next came the Shirmai or Roti. It was made out of whole wheat unleavened bread that was served with curry sauce.



The Arya Dip Platter (Php 245) was an interesting and colorful dish. The dips were served in a single platter that was divided into four parts, each quarter was filled with a different dip. The dips were Hummus (chickpeas with olive oil, lemon, etc.), Motabal (eggplant), Tzitziki (cucumber yogurt) and Mirza Ghasemi (eggplant casserole). It was served with bread, as well.



If you are a vegetarian, you will love it here, since all their appetizers have no meat and are all made from delicious vegetables. We then tried the Arya Salad (Php 325). It was served in a huge dish than can be eaten by 3-4 people. It was a mixture of crunchy romaine lettuce, pasta, cucumber, olives, walnuts and capers. The salad dressing was balsamic mustard sauce. The big dish was full; Arya restaurant did not scrimp on ingredients. This salad made me full! Since it’s a delicious cold salad and looks appetizing, you may tend to overeat. Remember to save some space for the main course.



We recommend that you try the Lamb Biryani (Php 505). The lamb shank was so tender that it easily fell off the bone. It was served with Biryani sauce and Biryani / Jasmin rice. This dish is definitely something that would crave for.



We also chose a dish from the Kebab combinations in the menu. We ordered the Chicken Sultani. You can choose from beef, lamb or chicken. It was a combination of Kebab Barg (diced meat) and a Kebab Koobideh (ground meat).





Other than chicken, they also have other kebabs that you can try – healthy choices of fish (Mahi Kebab), beef and lamb.



These kebabs can go well with what the owner fondly calls the Dr. Shin’s tomato. It’s basically peeled tomatoes, cucumbers, a pinch of salt, a lot of pepper, some hot sauce and a dollop of yogurt.



To go with your dishes, don’t forget to order this Persian restaurant’s yogurt shakes. Do try the Arya Yogurt Smoothie, Yogurt Strawberry Smoothie or the Mango Fruit Smoothie.

For dessert, we tried the Date Cake (Php 220) and the Fig Orange Cake (Php 170). Both were made from natural ingredients and the sweetness came from both Fig and Dates.





We had the Arya Chai (a combination of green tea and black tea) and the Chai Darchini (cinnamon). It was the perfect drink to go with our desserts.



Exploring Iran through its various dishes was filling! What I like about the place is that each dish was well presented and the waiters were all attentive and friendly. I guess they follow the good example of the owner, who values building relationships and winning customer loyalty by serving quality and delicious dishes. It’s no wonder that the big names in the food industry, showbiz and even politics visit Arya.

To date, Arya has three branches in the Philippines (Greenhills, Podium, Midtown Wing of the Robinson’s Place Manila). They are coming up with a new branch at the Alfresco area at Robinson’s Manila.

If you want to have a delicious tour of Persia / Iran, do enjoy the dishes at Arya!

Contact Details:
Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center
Tel. No.: 5846266

Ground Floor, Podium Mall, Ortigas Centerr, Pasig City
Terl. No: 5713962

2nd Floor Midtown Wing, Robinson’s Place
Tel. No.:5673800

*a big shout out to our friend blogger who was with us (EJ and I) — Jonel, Jo, Jean, Miggy and Annesy! Thanks to the owner, Shin, for the good conversation and all the ‘laughs’!

ARYA Restaurant with other Bloggers

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