Below are four Japanese restaurants I've fallen in love with over time and what I consider their feature food and must-eats (in no particular order):
Sumosam
(Featured food: Uzuyaki Beef Roll and Grilled Salmon Belly)
Everyone has probably heard of Sumosam. One of the most prominent Japanese restaurants in the country, Sumosam was founded and owned by Raymund Magdaluyo, Ricky Laudico, and one of our favorite Filipino hotshot from the 90's, Marvin Agustin. This restaurant specializes on Japanese-American modern cuisine and is considered one of many foodie favorites.
Although, a bit hefty than your regular Tokyo-Tokyo meal, their menu offers more diversity and extensiveness. From ramen, to sushis and maki. To grilled, seafood, sizzling, and rice plates. Form donburi, to bento and pizza, almost everyone from your group can find an appealing meal from their offering.
I admit, I haven't tasted everything from their menu. (Really, huge menu!) I have tasted some and among those, I've chosen their uzuyaki beef roll and grilled salmon belly.
For meat lovers out there, the uzuyaki beef roll will appeal to your palate. Though the beef strips are a bit tough, the undeniable flavor oozes out with every bite.
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| Sumosam's Uzuyaki Beef Roll |
One thing I love about Japanese cuisine is their love for seafood, especially fish. I have always been a sucker for salmon. Every time I see salmon on the menu, I always weasel my way into ordering it or having my boyfriend order it. And so on one of our Sumosam visits, my vision zoned in on their grilled salmon belly. And let me tell you, it was heavenly! Let me break it down: Grilled + Salmon + Belly. Three of my food weaknesses. Although the sauce has a heavy flavor, it did not overpower the soft goodness and rich taste of the fish. The smokey soft fish meat drizzled with this flavorful sauce creates an explosion of taste worthy of gods.
Also, from their menu: |
| Sumosam's Grilled Salmon Belly |
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(Visit their branch in Olympia, Makati Avenue. Probably their biggest and their most unique branch.)
Sumosam
Lower Ground Floor,
Somerset Building Makati Avenue
Makati
Nanbantei of Tokyo
(Featured food: Kawa Yaki and Pork Yaki with Garlic)
I work in Makati and my go-to mall is between Greenbelt and Glorietta. Despite this, I've only been to Nanbantei twice. Nanbantei is one of my recent food finds. This is due to the fact that for the longest time, I refused to acknowledge its glorious presence due to my overwhelming loyalty to Little Tokyo's Yamazaki. Little did I know that Nanbantei will be one of my favorites today.
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| Nanbantei of Tokyo |
This restaurant is an upscale Japanese version of our very own ihaw-ihaw or isawan sa kanto. On a side note, "Nanbantei" translates to "foreigner tea house".
Nanbantei specializes in Yakitori. The concept came from the ubiqutuous yakitori-ya in Japan. Grilled dishes are usually one defining staple of Japanese cuisine. Yakitori means "grilled chicken" in Japanese. Thankfully, Nanbantei serves so much more. Their menu offers sushi and sashimi, yakitori, and yakitori platter sets.
What's pretty unique about this place is their setup. In the middle of the restaurant, the huge grill and the chef are always busy with orders. It's pretty straightforward. You order your yakitori, specify additional requests (e.g. well-done, etc.), they inform the chef who then retrieves your order from his huge fridge and grills it, all done generally within the line of sight of the customers. Upon entering, you will be served with this soybean paste which makes everything, even the vegetables, appetizingly addictive.
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| Nanbantei's Grilling Station |
Obviously, my feature food belongs under their Yakitori dishes: Kawa (grilled chicken skin) and Pork Garlic Yaki (Pork with Garlic flavor).
I absolutely love chicken skin. Right now, I'm at that point in my life where caring about cholesterol and my fatty-food intake are to a low minimum. Since the Yakitori (a la carte) dishes have a serving of only 2 sticks, Borgy and I had to order two. As you can see from the picture, my order is a bit charred. Don't be alarmed--that was a special request (yes, I like carcinogenic foods). Normally, they'd serve the chicken skin evenly cooked. The chicken skin is soft, in contrast with the chicharon variety in malls.
I absolutely love chicken skin. Right now, I'm at that point in my life where caring about cholesterol and my fatty-food intake are to a low minimum. Since the Yakitori (a la carte) dishes have a serving of only 2 sticks, Borgy and I had to order two. As you can see from the picture, my order is a bit charred. Don't be alarmed--that was a special request (yes, I like carcinogenic foods). Normally, they'd serve the chicken skin evenly cooked. The chicken skin is soft, in contrast with the chicharon variety in malls.
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| Nanbantei's Kawa (chicken skin) Yakitori |
The Pork Garlic Yaki is skewered pork slices flavored with garlic. Keyword: garlic. I love garlic. It adds flavor and aroma to absolutely anything. It turns heavily-flavored fatty meat to pieces of heaven. But, Borgy noted, all pork slices should be perfectly cooked to appreciate the flavor.
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| Nanbantei's Pork Yaki with Garlic |
They also have other note-worthy yakitori like Bonjuri (chicken tails). Because, come on! "Pwet ng manok" will always be one of the Filipino's oddball food favorite. From their seafood dishes, they have the Namajake Sumi Yaki which is grilled salmon rolled in bacon. As a salmon lover, I cannot possibly say anything bad about this particular yakitori. It's huge salmon slabs wrapped in bacon. I repeat, BACON. How can one hate that? Although, they could use two slices of bacon per piece, instead of one. :P
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Some will say the dishes are expensive considering the serving size. I would say, if you know what to order, it's enough a bang for your buck.
Nanbantei of Tokyo, Greenbelt
3/F Greenbelt 3,
Esperanza St Ayala Center, Makati
Little Tokyo's Yamazaki Ramen Shop
(Featured food: Chahan Set)
This is probably my first Japanese-restaurant love. This hole-in-the-wall shop within Little Tokyo was first introduced to me by my colleague two years ago. Upon arriving at the place, one would hesitate, as most would in hole-in-the-wall eateries. Right beside the more popular and upscale, Seryna, humbly stands a Japanese grocery shop. Once inside, you will see how the grocery store is split between that and a ramen shop.
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| Little Tokyo's Yamazaki |
The place is very simple with wooden chairs and few shelves casing Japanese books and comic books. On weekdays, you will see this meek eatery filled with the Japanese--casual professionals and formal businessmen alike. The fact that many Japanese folks frequent this eatery is enough to persuade me that this place offers authentic Jap food.
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| Yamazaki's Interior |
Their menu is pretty limited. On the plus side, it doesn't overwhelm the customers. What stands out from their menu, are their ramen and set selections. My favorite is the Chahan set. This set includes their chahan (fried rice), gyoza, mixed vegetables, and soup.
Their fried rice serving was very plentiful and the most delicious fried rice I have ever tasted. I can't even describe it properly with words because it's amazing and bustling with flavors. In every bite, I see the sun rising. According to my best friend, "kanin pa lang solve ka na." One friend of mine didn't like the gyoza, but Borgy and I loved it especially when you create that perfect (subjective) mix for dipping.
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| Chahan |
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| Yamazaki's Gyoza |
The mixed vegetables, just like the rice, was heaven on earth. The vegetables are not overcooked and still perfectly crunchy.
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| Mixed Vegetables |
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For me, this place will always hold my best comfort food: their chahan. I know that among the different Japanese staple, rice identifies the Asian cuisine most. And Yamazaki got this rice right.
Yamazaki Grocery Shop
2277 Fernando St. cor Pasong Tamo (Little Tokyo)
Makati City
Omakase
(Featured food: Jurassic Maki and Shoyu Ramen)
According to research, "Omakase" is a phrase which translates to "I'll leave it to you." The use of this expression prevailed among sushi restaurants when one wishes to leave the selection of meals to the chef's artistic expression. As far as I know, Omakase is not known for providing this kind of service to their customers. Fine with me, though, since their menu is already overflowing with flavors and colors to satisfy a hungry 'artist'.
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| Omakase Japanese Cuisine |
Although Sumosam offers a more extensive menu, Omakase offers a few of the best from Japanese cuisine: donburi, ramen, maki, and teppan. My feature food includes their Jurassic Maki and Shoyu Ramen.
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Between Yamazaki's ramen and Omakase's Shoyu Ramen, I like Omakase's better. The taste is more exciting and varying in flavor. This dish consists of soy-based soup, chicken, noodles, vegetables, and kamaboko (what my friends and I usually call "naruto" haha). Upon first sip of their soup, you will immediately taste the chicken and the hard boiled egg. The chicken is tender and savory. They could use more vegetables than their one or two leaves of what looks like a Chinese cabbage and toge (sprouted mung beans).
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| Omakase's Shoyu Ramen |
They also offer salmon teppan, chicken teppan, and dumplings. If you're in the mood for alcohol, try a warm (or cold, depends on your mood) sake or kiri ichiban.
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| Omakase's Seafood Dumpling |
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| Warm Sake |
Omakase
Ayala Triangle Gardens,
Makati Ave. Bel-Air,
Makati
I can't say one of these restaurants bested the others in general because as I've learned, each of them offers a solid menu. What I got from all of them is the realization that Asian cuisine, particularly Japanese cuisine, offers such flavorful dishes. They probably made a few of the best contributions to the world's cuisine. And not just on food, they've made contributions to literature and has one of the most colorful culture in the world. No wonder Filipinos love their flourishing culture so much. So how about you? What Japanese restaurants around the metro do you love? :)
Waaah! I'm such a proud fan. :) I thank God that He gives you all the resources and skills you need to continue writing. PS. I love Japan and Ramen. :P
ReplyDeleteHi Paula! Thank you! That means so much to me. :') The never-ending support you--my friends--give to me keeps me pushing through.
DeleteGod bless you and eat more! :) Mwah!