KitKat Uji Matcha

This is probably a late post for almost everyone since people have tried the Japanese green tea version of KitKat already.  About two years ago, my parents came from their trip and they bought the a bag of bite sized KitKat with different out-of-this-world flavours.  

I'm usually open when it comes to different kinds of food.  It doesn't mean that I have to like them.  I've tried and I've made up my mind that I don't like the green tea flavoured KitKat.  I'd rather stick to the original chocolate version.   

More than a week ago, my brother and sister came from Japan and they bought home boxes of Uji Matcha flavoured KitKat (that makes me the only one in the family that hasn't been to that country). Everyone liked the green tea version which until now, could not understand.  

During our visit to her grandparents house, she got this from the small fridge upstairs.  She wanted to try these because she thought it will turn her into her favourite Clumsy Ninja.  I didn't know she could identify the Japanese characters on the box and relate it to her Clumsy Ninja app.  

When she tried it, her face crumpled in disgust but she swallowed them anyway.  She said she didn't want it because it tasted like leaves.  I didn't even know that she knows how leaves taste.  

Ippudo - Try The Gyoza.

I was roaming the mall today and nothing appeals to me for lunch.  I resorted to ratings online to determine which restaurant to try.  And Ippudo came up with almost five stars.

There was so many raves about this restaurant.  When I got there, they couldn't give me a seat inside because I was still waiting for my company.  The receptionist didn't even offered the menu so that I could make up my mind of what to order while waiting inside.  

I'm sure their food was great and wanted by a lot of people (who are aware of their existence) but then why make it harder for people who are already there and ready to take a whiff of their much talked about dishes.  

Well, kudos to the server who knows all about their menu.  For first-timers like me, I really rely on their recommendation.  And he offered a truthful one.  It's like they actually tried it themselves.  They should.  And it's a must.  They should know what is good and what will make their customers come back.

 I'm not a fan of gyoza.  It hasn't impressed me from previous dining experiences.  However, theirs was different.  There were two types of gyoza that they're offering and for the life of me, I don't remember which one we had chosen.  The photo above shows (you) the readers which one. And I highly recommend it to those visiting.  

I'm supposed to rave about the noodles. However, my mother chose the ramen herself and denied me of the chance to choose the spicy ones.  She chose the "creamy" ones instead.  I had to order the rice topping, Unagi - another recommendation.  And so, I have to come back for the ramen that I wanted. 

And I'm going back there for the Gyoza too!

Ambiance: 5 out of 5

It really looked like a Japanese レストラン (resutoran) considering that Malay-looking Filipinos are serving our food.

Taste: 4 out of 5

It was truly a burst of flavours. Authenticity is a must if you're trying to eat food that you can only get if you travel miles away.

Service: 4 out of 5

The servers know about the menu. However, it took time because when we ordered additional food, they failed to note it down hence, we have to ask for it twice before they made it appear on our table.

Cost: 2 out of 5

I'd have to say it was overpriced. We paid around two thousand pesos - the amount for a week's grocery for one bowl of ramen, two order of gyoza, two rice toppings in a hot metal bowl. It was just too much. The servings were really good for one.

Tokyo Cafe: Omurice

Valentine's Day is a big deal for me and my husband.  We make sure that we stay out of the house and join the rest of the huge population of Manila to dive in all that traffic and long lines in the mall.

Even if we are on a very tight budget, we were able to spare some for a movie and a late lunch.

This year, we decided to dine in the relatively long-standing small Japanese restaurant in the bridgeway of Megamall: Tokyo Cafe.

I had previous encounters with omurice in other restaurants but it didn't make that much impression on me as much as their version of the dish did.

Sticky rice was made more stickier with the chicken ala pobre that they mixed in their omelette rice.  It was so tasty that it was good by itself.  The serving is for two to three people.  The egg was cooked just the way I liked it - cooked midway to well-done (if there's such a thing).

Ambiance:  3 out of 5
I prefer to dine in a quiet place to enjoy the food and company.  However, it is in the most crowded part of the mall and the restaurant is so wide open, you can hear the noise from outside.  However, I love their white furniture against the white walls (and from what I remember, some apple greens).  The seemingly clean place is totally appealing.  

Taste: 3 out of 5
I haven't tried all of their dishes.  The omurice gets the 5 out of 5 score.  However, the food presentation in the photos in their menu (particularly the sandwiches) wasn't the actual thing you'd get.  We also ordered the interesting-looking sandwich, but when it came to our table, it was poorly prepared.  It was a far cry from the photo in the menu (which was the main reason why I ordered it).

Service:  5 out of 5
I didn't have to ask for anything.  They provided all that we needed.

Cost: 3 out of 5
The price is affordable.  However, if the other dishes was like the sandwich we got, then they are over-priced.

Dinner At Omakase

Everyone was craving for Japanese tonight.

My sister sent me a text message to get ready because we were going out for dinner.  I told them not to choose any restaurant that requires a dress code because I was wearing my pambahay shirt.   So we all headed to the nearest Japanese restaurant which is right across the village gate.  So we took the 10 minute ride.  It took that long to go through the traffic in the main road during rush hours.

I had already something in mind what to order during that 10-minute ride.  Crunchy spicy tuna salad is always my favorite in any Japanese restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant, I saw two of my high school batchmates in the table near the entrance.  So much for dressing down.  I hope they didn't see me or recognize me.  There's something about meeting people from high school again.  It makes me so uneasy.  But that's another blog post in the making.  

So here's what's on our table:

I ordered the JSC(?) Platter which was good for four to six persons depending on the appetite.  I love the one with smoked dried fish sprinkled with sesame seeds.  It comes with a Japanese mayo dip (which unfortunately, I missed trying out).

Here's the bottomless raspberry iced tea.  I usually don't order iced tea anywhere but the word raspberry made me want to try it out.  I ended up shivering.  I don't think I'm used to ice cold drinks anymore.  Anyway, there was a tinge of raspberry flavor in it.  (Honestly, I haven't tried eating raspberries for real in my entire life yet so I don't really have an idea how raspberry flavored drinks are supposed to taste like.)

For the love of soup, I ordered their Omakase soup.  Since it bears the name of the restaurant then it must be good.  It didn't fail me.  I love sipping through the warm broth of vegetables and seaweeds.

                 Here's my brother's Gyudon that I didn't bother tasting so I cannot say how good it was.

Since they were taking a long time deciding what to order, I ordered us a basket of shrimp tempura.  It tasted like any tempura in any Japanese restaurant around the metro.  It was only special because it is what it is - tempura.

My cousin's tonkatsu and salad on the side.  I didn't try it out because I was immersed in eating sushi that I failed to notice this until I was downloading pictures from my camera.  She took this picture awhile ago without my knowledge.

Spicy crunchy tuna salad.  Bow! 

Super love this!  

Must order this in any Japanese restaurant.

Not in pictures:  Yakisoba.

The Great Miss:

Something bad happened while we were dining in that I almost lost my appetite.  I overheard our waitress tell the cashier out loud, "Ang dami kasing additional orders".  Well, I for one know for a fact that we keep ordering one by one so it was probably tedious for her to get our orders.  But I really stopped eating when I heard her.  I motioned for her but the cashier got off her post and approached me along with the waitress.  Here's what I told them as far as I can remember:

"Miss, bawal bang magbigay ng additional orders?"

"Kasi narinig ko nagrereklamo na yung staff niyo eh."

"If bawal mag additional, hindi na kami mag o-order, sabihin niyo lang"

"Kasi Miss, kahit sinong makarinig sa sinabi mo, ma-o-offend."

What the concerned waitress did was approach me herself and apologize.  She was really trying to ask me to overlook the incident.  And I implied that I'm going to let it pass.  I also told her that if they're to complain about their work, she should do it in the proper place (behind close doors) and time (after closing hours).  

I was an employee myself and I have encountered difficult people before.  I understand that she wanted to air her work woes but she has to do it tactfully next time.

After that, I got my appetite back and raved about their food relentlessly.