japanese food

Food Post: Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant at the New Glorietta

March 4, 2013 by Leah Leave a Comment

Have you been to the new Glorietta Mall? It’s so nice to see it open again! It’s more spacious now and looks like a big hotel.

We were exploring this new mall last January when we came across Watami, a casual Japanese restaurant located just outside the mall, beside Holiday Inn & Suites. I’ve heard a lot about this Japanese restaurant which is said to be the town’s newest favorite.

The ambiance of Watami was very modern and yet cozy, just like Ramen Bar. It has bright orange walls, too.

Since it was just AJ and me, we ordered rice meals for each of us. My Beef Rice Bowl with Hot Spring Egg in Tokyo Style (P195.00) has a honey sweet taste that reminds me of our very own tocino. The egg yolk is not cooked by the way (just the way I like it!), so when I mixed everything in my bowl I got this sticky version of a beef rice which I loved to bits! I think even kids will like this because it’s sweet and the texture’s not dry.

AJ ordered Pork Rice with Egg Yolk in Stone Pot (P225.00) which, as its name suggested, was served in a clay pot. The heat of the clay pot cooked both the rice and egg until well-done so be careful with this one and transfer to another plate once cooked to avoid the tutong or rice crust at the bottom of the pot.

This one has a garlic-soy sauce taste and is equally good (and plenty) as my rice bowl. Those who have a strong salty/savory palate will love this.

We also tried their Deep Fried Tofu with Tempura Sauce in Stone Pot (P175.00) which is their version of agedashi tofu. The tofu cubes were fresh and fried to perfection – crunchy on the outside and soft, not crumbly, inside. The tempura sauce that came with it was flavorful and was plenty enough to coat the breaded tofus with its flavor. A total winner and value for money!

We enjoyed our meal at Watami so much that we returned there a few weeks after to celebrate my birthday with my family. We ordered again for all of the above and they all liked it! No left overs!

The best thing about Watami is that you get these really good and authentic Japanese food at unbelievably reasonable prices!

So don’t be intimidated by this fancy-looking Japanese restaurant when you see it at the new Glorietta Mall or at SM Mall of Asia. Check it out and see for yourself why it’s everyone’s newest favorite!

Watami Philippines’ Official Facebook Page

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: food, glorietta, japanese food, watami

Food Post: Suzukin

January 5, 2013 by Leah Leave a Comment

Oh, let me tell you about Suzukin. We always pass by this little Japanese restaurant on our way home but AJ and I were only able to try it sometime last year with our wedding Ninang, Ninang/Mami Caro.

Too bad the place was not well-lit. It looks really small with its low ceiling and dark-colored chairs and tables.

I soon forgot about the cramped space when the food were served. Oh boy, just look at what we had:

Ebi Tempura (P180.00)

Gyoza (forgot to take note of the price)

Gyoza (P145.00 per order)

Yaki Meshi or Fried Rice (P68.00 per order)

Atsuage (P117.00)

Beef Sukiyaki (less than P200.00)

Chicken Teriyaki (P146.00)

I could not point which one is my favorite because they’re all good! And look at the prices – none was priced at more than P200.00 per order (save for the Gyoza and Beef Sukiyaki which I wasn’t able to take note of). Super cheap for authentic Japanese goodness!

By the way, I noted too that there’s no parking space available for their customers since they’re located in a busy street. So we’ll have to park our car at other nearby streets.

Other than that, there’s no stopping us from going back at Suzukin for our Japanese food fix!

Suzukin Makati | 9753 Kamagong cor Sampaloc St. San Antonio, Makati | (02) 896-7143

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: food, japanese food

Ramen Bar

December 11, 2012 by Leah Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since we’ve been to Venice Piazza and we’re happy to be back there 2 Saturdays ago – just for this:

I felt so at home inside this restaurant. It’s very minimalist in design, with orange walls that create a lively space ideal for casual dining.

The menu, which is printed in table place mats, is also “minimalist” in content. There are only ramen bowls, rice meals, sushi dishes, some sweets and drinks to choose. It’s that simple.

The Shoyu Ramen was highly recommended by our server so we got that. The bowl is big, I’m telling ya, and AJ and I are to shy to order one for each of us. So we got one bowl only (for sharing). It’s so good!

Our Shoyu Ramen (P280.00) was topped with tamago (soft-boiled egg marinated for 48 hours), naruto (cured fish, it’s the one with pink spiral pattern), negi (spring onion) and chasyu (sliced pork).

I also ordered the Chicken Namban Rice Bowl (P185.00), in case I will not like the ramen dish (but it turned out to be really good, AJ and I should’ve ordered one for each of us hehe!). The chicken rice bowl meal was also highly pleasing – with deep-fried coated chicken fillet that’s very flavorful (kids will love it!) and a generous serving of Japanese rice. It also comes with a tartar sauce.

I’m so glad to have discovered Ramen Bar. Authentic Japanese food in big servings at very affordable prices!

It’s time you discover Ramen Bar. Check it out at the following establishments: Eastwood Mall (Quezon City), Venice Piazza (Taguig) and Robinson’s Magnolia (Quezon City).

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: food, japanese food, japanese ramen, venice piazza

Crazy Katsu

May 29, 2012 by Leah Leave a Comment

AJ and I purposely went to the Teacher’s Village in U.P. Diliman last week to look for and finally try out this much-talked about Japanese restaurant in Quezon City: Crazy Katsu.

The interiors and colors of the restaurant remind me of Muji.

Crazy Katsu specializes in…what else but katsu dishes! All breaded and deep-fried, yummy!

For starters, we each had a small bowl of Miso Soup (around P50 per bowl) which tasted very plain without the soft tofu.

I also ordered Gyoza (I always do whenever we are in a Japanese restaurant). They were big and full, but tasted more like meatballs than Gyoza.

Thankfully, our main orders did not disappoint. AJ loved his Pork Katsudon, which has a nice sweet taste in it. The serving was just right for the price – in fact, the pork was fillet was thick so I would say this one is value for your money.

As for me, I tried their Chicken Katsu and it rocks! AJ loved it too (better than his Katsudon hehe!) and why wouldn’t he? It was crunchy, spicy and has a very delightful soy flavor! You can’t get all these in typical Chicken Katsu.

I think this one’s the best seller in the house because I saw another table where everyone ordered Chicken Katsu. It tastes really a-m-a-z-i-n-g, for a humble price of P145.00. I totally forgot about the not-so enjoyable miso soup and gyoza when I took my first bite of this Chicken Katsu. It was that good.

Crazy Katsu is located at 81 Maginhawa Street, Teacher’s Village, U.P., Quezon City (telephone number: 435-0030).

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: chicken katsu, crazy katsu, food, japanese food, katsudon

Trying out Hana at Little Tokyo

February 11, 2012 by Leah Leave a Comment

I still couldn’t get the hang of Little Tokyo which AJ and I tried out with friends some weeks ago. So last Monday, to celebrate my birthday, I invited my parents to eat out there again but this time, we tried another restaurant there: Hana.

Hana is popular for their Takoyaki, which we had the first time we ate at Little Tokyo and which I’d love for my parents to try. Apart from this, we opted to order for the more conservative of Japanese cuisine which we all enjoyed, nonetheless.

For our appetizer, we had California Maki:

My dad ordered Katsudon, which he shared with my mom:

AJ and I decided to try their Gyudon instead which is so good, my mom liked it as well. The beef was very soft and tender, not rubbery at all. This dish was the best(!) among all that we ordered.

Of course, the Takoyaki couldn’t be absent that day, and we once again savored these meatballs without the pork meat – because it’s made of octopus meat!

Since it was my birthday, we have to have noodles. The Yakisoba served as my birthday noodles. This one was also good but the serving’s not big for 4 persons.

Between Hana and Oishinbo, I think I enjoyed my meal more at Oishinbo even though it’s pricier. However, I recommend that you try the Gyudon at Hana because it’s really good – even better than that at Sumosam which is also priced higher than Hana’s.

There are still many Japanese restaurant that we want to try at Little Tokyo but I think after Hana, we will be taking a respite in eating Japanese food, as I think I’ve reached satiation point after having my second order of Takoyaki in two week’s time.

Little Tokyo is located at 2277 Pasong Tamo Corner Amorsolo Street, Makati.

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: food, japanese food, little tokyo pasong tamo