Dinner at Sushi-Ya

Hello! 

We know that during WW 2 Japanese Empire sided with the axis power (Italy, Germany) and with bombing of Hiroshima, Japan forced itself to isolation.

Kamikaze - Military tactic used by the japanese forces at the latter time of the war. These are pilots that do suicide attacks toward their enemies (as see above)

Who could forget the very famous anime that made our imagination filled with fantasies: Doraemon.

Iconic, magnificent and glamorous Geisha. Listen, Geishas are not prostitutes. They are considered celebrities / artists at that time, although the maikos (apprentice geisha) perform the mizuage it is abolished during the 50s / 60s

Gong Li as Hatsumomo in Memoirs of a Geisha

Mt. Fuji and Cherry Blossoms

Besides the wonderful and rich culture, Japanese cuisine is something that many people like. Btw, Sushi-Ya is not authentic as the japanese restaurants that sprung up like mushrooms here in Manila but Sushi-Ya is affordable and close to authentic japanese food :)

California Maki (P85) Not bad for it's price (if your looking for affordable maki) but of course if you are able to taste high quality sushi from some fancy restaurant, you will know the difference. I have to commend the rice though, it's sticky and smooth but short in taste.

Tempura Udon (P145) noodles are firm and okay. Tempura is okay. The soup is not that tasty, lacks that umami taste of a ramen soup. But then again, given it's price no complain. 

Ebi Tempura (P148) crispy, medium sized deep fried prawns in japanese flour. It's quite nice actually, the shrimp is not that small and you can taste it's meat but the negative side of this is that the tempura are a little oily. 

Birthday Lunch at Yabu, House of Katsu

It's my Birthday!! I woke up around 9 am and feeling great about myself! I realized how blessed I am and how I am loved by many people. I went to the dentist (my cousin is a dentist) to have my teeth cleaned and do some sot of fixing. 

After the dentist, I went straight to SM Megamall to eat lunch at YABU. It's my second time at yabu and their food never fails to satisfy one's craving!

Seafood Set (P545): Salmon, Black Tiger Prawn, Oyster, and Crab. Everything is such a bliss! everything is so yummy! Cabbage was a delight! Rice was white as snow! I ended up asking for 4 service of rice and 3 service of cabbage. =)

Yummy!!

Choco Lava. (P155) So chocolate-y and so yummy! sweet ending! :)

Aftermath. 

Yabu Webstie

2/F Atrium, SM Megamall

Mandaluyong City

631-1192

After Yabu, I went to church to attend Mass and I felt the love of all the people around me, my friends, family, colleague, and especially God. I realized how lucky and blessed I am. 

As I grew older I become wiser, responsible, and priorities are changing. It's such a nice day to celebrate alone (not to emote) to realize things, and to know yourself better. Of course, a small dinner gathering after with my family!

Happy 23rd Birthday to me!! :)

Lunch at Ramen Cool

Ramen Cool with the Folks!! I still like this restaurant because it's cheap and it's a little close to authentic japanese food.

I bought my parents to this restaurant since they are unaware of the wonder of "Kapitolyo" restaurants. (it's street with a stretch of various restaurants). They got curios from all my stories that i told them during my food adventures. They are pretty happy with the serving. =)

Pork Shoyu Ramen. It's a bowl that will pass for 2 if you have someone to share with but not ideally for sharing (It's good for 2 if you have other dishes to order). The taste is nice and savory, the noodles is cooked well, pork is not so soft and not so hard, I love the egg and the savory pork ramen noodles. =)

Kani Salad. It's very fresh and mild in taste. The crabsticks and the strips of zucchini are so refreshing and very appetizing. I just don't like the too much mayonnaise it sort of taste "mayonnaise" rather than kani salad.

Lunch at Yabu, The house of katsu

My family often goes to SM Megamall every sunday to attend Mass and have lunch / dinner. Frankly, I know every store that I could be a tour guide I can tell to what floor am i and what shop am i even my eyes are close. 

There's something new at this mall, and that is Yabu! believe it or not, not a single hour that this restaurant is with no customer. It's always full! luckily today, they have a vacant for 2 person! Me and my mom tried this for the sake of curiosity.

So ok, their menu is all katsu based food. If you are a die hard fan of katsu meal, then you should eat here!

Breakfast @ Starbucks / Lunch at Sakura

I eat at my desk every morning around 7am since I go to office early so I wouldn't be late and be stuck at traffic. 

I ordered my usual turkey sandwich, hot brewed coffee, and I bought a mediterranean tuna salad to try something new. 

usual sandwich which i love.

The salad was so nice! I love the freshness of the leaves, the crunchy bread, and the tuna. It was a good salad especially if your on a diet. try this one. :)

Sakura.

Miso Soup with leaves (I don't know what leaf it is but it's yummy)

I ordered a Scallop bento meal which costs around P280 or $7 which is a little bit pricey compared to Jipan but Sakura's bento is a whole lot mote. The bento comes with the Scallops smothered in a little sweet and very savory sauce, red and white sashimi, salad, and watermelon (didn't touch the watermelon because it tasted so awful!) I love the dish, the flavors, etc. the only complain here is the Scallops. It is frickin' hard! like rubber! so sad. 

Lunch at Jipan

Having kidney stones sucks! you can't have any salty foods or foods with msg. Also, you have to shy away mostly from american, japanese, and chinese food. :( 

Due to my intense craving for japanese food, i went straight to my fave japanese restaurant and bakeshop: Jipan.

Tempura Udon: Large hot soup bowl of tempura and udon noodles. I love the taste of this soup. it's very fresh and invigorating, it's best to eat when it rains and especially during cold weather.  

Shogayaki Teishoku (Bento Set of Marinated Pork Strips, Sweet Egg Roll, Fish Fillet, Vegetable Tempura, Salad, and Miso Soup, w/ Japanese Rice.)

egg roll / salad

Marinated Pork Strips: The pork strips was quite dry but tasty. the texture is nice, but the meat was a little hard but good enough to eat. It's a little salty which is a big no no for me. 

Vegetable Tempura (quite good it was not too thick nor too thin), Fish Fillet (very flaky and very tasty. i love the fillet), Appetizer (odd and yet tasty, sweet and a little sour)

Lunch @ Ramen Cool

I took my lunch at Ramen Cool last Thursday before my checkup at my urologist at The Medical City.

Since this week was so sad, (rushed to the er, then got robbed - RIP BB Torch) i treat myself something i really like. I ate at a japanese resto near our house. 

I ordered my fave: Sukiyaki, Goza, and Cool Mango Iced Tea. btw, prices are cheap for such a cool place.

Sadly, i hardly touched the sukiyaki. I can't eat due to my ailment (later to found out, Kidney Stones!)

I would not give my insights on these dishes as it wouldn't be fair.

Cool Mango Iced Tea

Gyoza

Gyoza (inside)

Hot Tea

Sukiyaki (i forgot to take a picture before i mix it. sad. it looks promising)

Lunch at Shinjuku

after 3 weeks of my busy schedule, Finally! I have time to blog! I miss blogging!

I have this over craving for japanese food. since last week, I have eating to various japanese restaurants around ortigas and makati. 

If you want a good authentic japanese food then Shinjuku is your spot.

Speacialty:

Gyoza

Ramen

Their gyoza is heavenly. The wanton wrap was firm enough to hold the meat inside, it's an obvious high quality of wanton wrapper. The meat filling was refreshing and very tasty. the meat was very soft and cooked just right. Inside, it's very moist and still hot. very very good.

Gyoza (4 pcs costs around 165 pesos)

Beef Ramen ( Regular size only P275) This is a classic ramen. the noodles were rightly cooked. It was very tasty. Although, the ramen was not served very hot as usual japanese restaurant served their ramen, but it was heavenly. My favorite in this dish is the meat cubes, it was oh so soft, juicy and very very beef! 275 pesos is very much worth considering the taste and the size of the ramen bowl. 

Coffee Jelly (P100) it was better than any coffee jelly out there. The jelly was a little firm which I like. the ice cream was sweet and cold. But I hate the sprinkles on top of it, which gives crunch to the smooth dessert. also, the white part in the middle is i think cream, well I'm not so sure of what it is. 

I was a craving for more dessert, when i passed by Paris Delice. They offer variety of sandwiches, salads, and pasta. I'm not so sure if this is an authentic french restaurant. I would love to see french wine on their menu. Anyways, I bought a piece of cake which by the way i forgot the name. i was so stupid! 

The Cake! OH-MY-GOSH. moist, rich, sweet. heavenly. deadly.

John goes shopping

I woke up in the middle of the summer heat. manila is sizzlin' with 35 degrees!

so to avoid the heat, i went to my usual mall - SM Megamall. 

it's quite big and all the things you need, you can find in this mall. although places can get crowded but it's ok.

i forgot to take a picture of my favorite Happy Lemon's Rock Salt n Cheese w/ Cocoa. sad. 

Brunch:

Jipan (Bldg A)

Shogayaki Teishoku (Bento Set of marinated pork-strips, sweet egg roll, vegetable tempura, salad, and miso soup, with snow white sticky japanese rice / the bun is pan custard cream) to my surprise my meal costs: 313 pesos or 7$ and

Pork Strips: Tender, tasty, a little salty, and a little bit overcooked. the taste will burst in the mouth wanting to eat more rice to balance the taste. :

Egg Roll: It's like the egg you can taste on sushi but, this egg roll is far more superior. it's firm and yet soft while chewing, you can taste the egg and yet the sweetness of the flavor.

Vegetable Tempura: the tempura was not promising it's quite ordinary. it was not crisp at all. the winning factor was the sauce to dip, and the flavor of the vegetables.

Salad and Miso Soup: Ordinary. nothing special.

Jipan Restaurant is one of those restaurant that you can eat close to authentic japanese cuisine it's a little bit pricey compared to other japanese restaurant but it's the restaurant that you can eat if you have no money to pay for real authentic expensive japanese food. they also sell high quality breads and pastries which is so promising. 

afternoon:

went to body tune for European seaweed body polish (it comes with scrub in which smells awe full then it comes with seaweed polish that smells like sushi and then Swedish massage)

then went to Nisce skin n' face for regular facial.

Dinner:

Almon Marina (Bldg. A)

My family is very loyal to this restaurant because of it's food quality and excellent service. (well all the staff knows us, so i guess extra quality service is really given)

I'm quite loving alcohol lately and it does bother me but oh well. this one is less alcohol - Bailey's Coffee Cream. which costs 165 pesos

Chicken Mushroom Soup: their soup was very satisfactory given it's price i think it's less than 100 bucks so definitely worth it. 

Main Course: Lamb Kebab 

the meat was surprisingly soft and tasty. it does not have those after taste as many people say with lamb. although I'm disappointed with it's dryness. the rice was so extra ordinary so so good. the mixed vegetables with olive oil was dry and very very soft ( i like it a little bit firm) and it easily breaks. the grilled vegetables was also good and really tasty. 

after quite some time i go shopping with my new mabuhay miles allied bank credit card. 

all these things below are all on sale, so i bought all these cheap.

Face Shop (Anti-Acne serum)

Freebie from face shop (thanks for this moisturizer)

bought vitamins for my health from healthy options

freebies from face shop

sunglasses that i bought from aldo

good bye loreal men, hello face shop men.

50% off dead sea salt butter scrub from ahava (super good quality product, and a great deal!) visit the nearest ahava shop for good quality skin products

my first penguin merchandise and it's on sale! :)