Mhel’s Bento opens in San Roque

Mhel’s Bento is located along Middle Road near Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School in San Roque. (MARK RABAGO)

A new take-out only food stall has opened to serve residents and workers in San Roque.

Mhel’s Bento started operations last April 10 and primarily sells Filipino and local to-go meals, desserts, and snacks.

Owner Emily “Mhel” Javier said in the few days the new food stall has opened, customers seem to have developed a liking to their special halo-halo.

The unofficial dessert of the Philippines, halo-halo is a cold dessert usually prepared in a tall clear glass and served with a long spoon. 

Mhel’s Bento has a two-table setup for dine-in customers and is open 6am-6pm, from Monday to Saturday. (MARK RABAGO)

It’s made up of crushed ice, evaporated milk or coconut milk, and various ingredients including ube jam (ube halaya), sweetened kidney or garbanzo beans, coconut strips, sago, gulaman (agar), pinipig, boiled taro or soft yams in cubes, flan, slices or portions of fruit preserves, and other root crop preserves. 
Halo-halo, which literally means to mix in Filipino, is usually topped with a scoop of ube ice cream. 

Aside from the $6 special halo-halo, tapioca pearls and gulaman jelly with syrup has also become a favorite at Mhel’s Bento and it only costs $3.

As for meals, Javier said people have been requesting a lot of their homemade tapa, tocino, and imbotido dishes with garlic rice and egg. The so-called silog means (sinangag is fried rice and itlog is egg in Filipino) also comes with complimentary coffee. 

Like all Pinoy eateries on Saipan, Mhel’s Bento also has one- and two-choice breakfast and lunch bentos with the former costing only $5 and the latter $7.

Mhel’s Bento owner Mhel Javier and staff Rainer Llagas. (MARK RABAGO)

While customers don’t really say much about their food, Javier believes action always speaks louder than words as they already have repeat customers since opening 10 days ago.

“Some of our kababayans (countrymen) really miss Filipino food that they could only eat back in our home country. That’s why I’m bringing it here to them by making this type of food available at Mhel’s Bento,” said Javier.

Javier, who has been a cook on Saipan for many years, said she opened the take-out only food stall so she can provide extra income to her family. 

They are also open for catering services and can prepare food for hundreds of people.

Mhel’s Bento, located along Middle Road near Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School in San Roque, has a two-table setup for dine-in customers and is open 6am-6pm, from Monday to Saturday. For more information, call (670) 789-3265.