OCTOBOY – Banawe St, Quezon City

Address: 670 Banawe St, Quezon city, Near China Bank

Tel no:  409-2704, 583-5496

Operating hours- 11am to 11pm, monday to sunday

Capacity: 10 pax..dont know if they have a 2nd floor though

Parking: Street Parking

A new eating place in the busy street banawe that is said to specialize in Japanese delicacies like okonomiyaki, takoyaki and yaki soba

Place is quite small yet was ablt to fit few tables for dine in customers.  It is said to be open till midnite, so perfect for the late evening snack.

I love takoyaki, but the authentic kind like the ones I tried in Hongkong Gindaco which is a franchise from Japan. Let see how Octoboy will fare

Everything is made to order which guarantee you hot and fresh food.

Takoyaki- 6 pieces for 90 pesos, a bit more expensive than the ones we get at the malls like “samurai balls”. Size was fairly adequate. It was moist inside with a piece of squid that was just cooked perfectly. It was good, not as good as the ones in Hana in Makati cinema square but definitely better than the takoyaki of KOZUI.  Funny thing here, they name their restaurant  as  Octoboy but they don’t serve Octopus meat… WHY???

Okonomiyaki- P245.. a bit expensive.. comparable to the price of okonomiyaki at KAGURA in little Tokyo. How does it taste like? They used the same batter for the okonomiyaki and takoyaki, which shouldn’t be the case.. It has a  tad too much cheese, lack the ginger flavor  and it was oily. I hope they would reprice this dish to be around P150-160… because I really think it is a bit overprice.  To those who don’t know what a okonomiyaki taste like, go to Little Tokyo in Makati, and proceed to Kagura for a real okonomiyaki experience for the same price range, but Octoboy would lower the price then I would give this okomiyaki another chance.

They also serve rice meals here, as of the moment, I would recommend the Takoyaki balls…  and hopefully they would put octopus instead of squid….

Watami Japanese casual restaurant

More than 10 branches in Hong Kong.. visit  http://www.watami.com.hk/eng/shop.html

Been eating here everytime i am in hongkong and when i am not craving for chinese food.   If you guys like OMAKASE, you will defintely love this place as they play on different ingredients in making their rolls

Breaded scallops croquette- fried perfectly, making it crispy without being oily. The inside has scallops flakes and mashed potato.

Seared Scallop Maki- THe scallops here are cooked using a handheld flame burner, i love how they combine sweet mango mini cubes with this dish. Looks so pretty also

Sweet ebi maki- sweet ebi, defintely fresh and crunchy. THe mayo has something mixed to it that i couldnt figure out what. Another lovely roll

Chicken Teriyaki Maki-  this as just okay, the chicken was juicy which was a good thing.

Spicy Tuna Maki- love the freshness of the tuna and the onterplay of the crunchy veggies on top.

TRy this place out when you are in hongkong, sometimes its better to dine here in the afternoon because they have promos.. well, almost all japanese restaurants here are their opwn promos in the afternoon to lure the pre dinner crowd.

Jozu – Tomas Morato Quezon City

Address: 233 Tomas Morato cor. E. Lopez Jr., Near ABS-CBN Compound

Quezon City, Metro Manila

TE NO: (02) 376-6351

Parking : Available in front of the resto, Also w Valet Services

The Villavicencio clan open this little restaurant last 2008, claiming it to be a a japanese grill place and a sushi bar.  THe place sprawns 3 dining areas. With a open(covered w glass) kitchen so u can see the food being prepared.

To those who dont knw the Villavicencios, they are the one who owns the Triple V group. Kamayan, Saisaki and Dads

With no really great japanese restaurant in Quezon City, we decided to give this place a try even if i dont really agree in eating here. It was Moms Choice…

Place was bustling with people..  service was fast and efficient..

THere were a section for buffet and a  section of alacarte., but u can combine if you want also.

On the Table

Spicy tuna on wanton Chips(126)

Kani Salad (130)

Buffet (P550)Plate of Appetizers, MaKi- california maki, salmon w cream cheese maki, Tamago, MAki with Kani and ASparagus slices, Seared Tuan Tataki

2nd plate- Main Course( Green Gyoza, TEmpura,  CRispy Yaki Soba,  Kani Bacon yaki

3rd Plate- MAin Course- Tori Chisu MAki,  Beef Cubes Teppan,  Agedashi TOfu, Tori Yakiniku, Fried

Well, this place is no different from Saisaki except they have much better tempura. Love the Seared Tuna Tataki,  Tori Chisu Maki, the Tender Beef Cubes Teppan. Aside from that.. nothing really to write home about, but if you love saisaki.. then visit this place..

Kimono Ken Japanese Restaurant

When it comes to Chinese food htere are the Casual Chinese restaurants like North Park, Superbowl etc. THe Japanese counterparts are Teriyaki Boy, TEmpura Grill and this restaurant. What differs this restauran from the other two mentioned? 1st they dont mention on their name any specialtiy. Teriyaki boy has its Teriyaki, and Tempura grill has its.. Tempura.

On the table

Crunchy Kani Maki P135- love the play of textures, creamy, and crunchy. It like solo servings of kani salald

Gyudon- P185 Soft beef slices. wonderful sweet soy mirin sauce.  mix everthing together withethe hot rice and you have a complete meal here

Oyakodon-P160 Tender chicken cubes mixed with onions, veggies topped on rice, another meal by itslef

Spicy Shake SaladP190-   i love how they make the salmon crispy without drying it out and taste like chips of wood. THe dressing was also very good. Could use a bit of spicy kick though

Tofu SteakP170- this pales in comparison with TEriyaki Boy’s verysion

Karaage specialP160- special meaning having bits of squid and shrimp. Bits land talaga. However it was fried perfectly. not oily but beautifully crisp

Asparabacon makiP150- What can go wrong with a dish with bacon. Nothing:)

Chicken TeriyakiP175- compared to Tboy this was just OK

Beef TeppanyakiP295- this dish could have been better if the beef was more tender. However aside from that flaw, the marinade penetrated the meat very well and the taste was very good

Chicken KaarageP145- this was just okay. Fried with a sweet and spicy sauce.

I prefer the food here as compared to TEmpura or Teriyaki Boy. Except for a few dishes. Overall this places served decent japanese food.

Nippon Japanese Restaurant – Tomas Morato

Address: 2/F Forum Bldg., Tomas Morato cor. Sct. Limbaga

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Tel No:(02) 927-0649

Parking – Limited Spaces in Front and side of the restaurant

Quezon City is not really known as a Mecca for Japanese Cuisine. I think Makati Holds that title. There aare only a handful of Japanese Restaurant that i would recommend to people. This place is good , not really great, but good.

Located at the 2nd floor of Forum bldg, on top of Wan Chai Chinese Restaurant.  This place has been open for nearly 4 yrs now. and it has been dishing out consistently good japanese food.

On the table

Mango Avocado Roll- nice creation, the avocado huggin the maki, giving it a velvety buttery texture. Yummy

Kani Salad- This was just okay, there were more cucumber than kani..

Fried Breaded Scallops- another jsut okay dish, nothing special.

Tempura- this is the way i love my tempura, light batter, nothing heavy, not oily. Bigger could have been better, but i am not complaining with the size of ebi thay used.

Katsudon- a meal in itself, tender pork slices, nice sauce. great

Maki with Spicy Tuna- love this roll, the tuna pieces were indeed fresh, the spicy element was present, ingredients were not scrimp

Beef Amiyaki- tender. love it

Squid Butteryaki- another dish i always order here. Swuiid was cooked perfectly. Fried then sauteed in butter. THe breading absorbing the butter. Yum yum

Salmon teriyaki- the do it differently by breading the salmon, not something i like, but still enjoy it..

Definitely one of the better Quezon City Japanese Restaurants.

Mezzaluna – Serendra, Fort

Mezzaluna is stricly speaking a italian is translated as Half Moon. Its a cooking instrument used for chopping. THis restaurant in Piazza Serendra had a change of chef since the last part of 2008. Was it for a good Change? I would think so. THe current chef is Chef Seiji Kamura. One of my favorite Japanese Chef, More into the neo Japanese Style of Cooking however still keeping the strict Japanese code of freshness and cleanliness.

On the Table

Bread(priceless)- warm bread.. very good.

Chorizo Picante P250- made in house, thsi serving was already half eaten as i arrived late for the dinner. Nicely spiced. Cooked perfectly. Served with bread toasted in the chorizo and olive oil

Ebi Haru Maki P380- Shrimp Spring roll, using rice paper as the wrapper then fried. Not oily at all, the shrimp was cooked through. THe differetn vegetables used was very fresh

King Crab Salad P360- doused with home made wasabi dressing. THe crab meat was sweet and moist. THe green was fresh and picked without any bits of discoloration. THe dressing suited the dish nicely.

Baked Japanese Oyster P560- the difference compared to our local oysters is the size. Baked with a spinach cream sauce. this was good , good good.

Margherita Pizza P290- one of the better pizzas in the Serendra Area. Thin CRust. THe difference of their margherita is that they added anchovies giving it a salty kick which was very good.

Duck Salad- marinated in sake, mirin and light soy sauce, also cooked in the marinade which penetrated the whole breast. Made the duck taSte less gamey

Strawberry Napoleon Pie- a wonderful and beautiful dessert, layers of puff pastry and whipped cream plus the strawberries glazed with reduced balsamic syrup and mint. Lovely dessert.

Would definitely be back here to try the other dishes. Good food. Great company.

Cebu Food Chronicles – Little Nonki

Japanese food is perhaps my favorite Asian Cuisine. Nothing beat the way of the japanese. Light, flavorful, delicious.

No trip is complete without trying out a famous japanese restaurant in the area. A lot of suggestion was made but i ended up here.

On the table

Fried squid pieces(priceless)- nothing to brag about, just enough to start the saliva flowing

Spicy Tuna Maki- fresh diced tuna, seasoned with hot spices then rolled in a maki. The tuna was really fresh, the spicyness of the tuna gave me just the right level of heat.

Grilled Salted Salmon- be sure to spread the top with the grated radish to cut the saltiness. Cooked a little more than i would want. I prefer it to be a little bit undercooked. i love the crispiness of the skin though…yummy

Maki(forgot the name)- for got the name of this dish, sorry, nice presentation, and the flavors of the filing was excellent

Ebi Tempura large ebi tempura. as u can see in the pic, its as long as my chopstick, and take note, it is not a thinned out shrimp, they use real prawns here.  The breading was okay, not too heavy not too light.

THis japanese restaurnt was just okay, not as authentic as the likes of Kikifuji, Tsumura. But it is very affordable. Any japanese restaurant suggestion in Cebu?

Tatami Japanese Restaurant – Serendra

Address: G/F Serendra, Bonifacio Global City

Taguig City, Metro Manila

TEl NO:(02) 901-1870

Parking: Basement PArking Available

Serendra was built with the vision of having restaurants of different cuisines. Until now i think they are still true to their vision. THere might be more than one coffee shop though,.. hehe

Here is the only Japanese Restaurant in the complex. Even High Street doesnt have a japanese resto… correct me if i am wrong please.

Tatami– which in japanese means, the type of  flooring usually used in old japanese houses, made from wooden soft rush straws.

Salmon Sashimi P250- fresh salmon slices..no fishy odor.. good quality salmon.

Beef Rolls- this was just okay, nothing unusual.

Angus Rib Eye Fried Rice P170- this was highway robbery, i think the beef here was less then 5 grams, so miniscule, the rice wasnt even off great quality.

Assorted Seafood Teppanyaki P315- For a high priced japanese restaurant.. where have they learn that Squid balls considered as seafood???????

Everytime i pass here, the people eating here are becoming less and less. I think its just a matter of time until this places closes shop. Unless they revamp their food and make it better.

Yutaka Izakaya – Quezon City

Address: GF Unit X Aurora, Quezon City
Near UERMMMC
Tel No: 7136558

Parking Available in front of the restaurant

Amidst all the great japanese restaurants in Makati City, there is a small Japanese restaurant that is slowly carving a name in Quezon City. Slowly because,  this restuarnat has been there for the past 7 years and yet, a lot of people still havent heard of the place, so give me a chance to share with you my find.

This restaurant is tucked quietly among the rows of schools near SM City Sta Mesa, interiors are mostly made of wood, to give you a very izakaya atmosphere, but sadly they dont servfe much alcoholic drinks here to be branded as a genuine izakaya.

On the Table

Kani Salad-

u have the usual, kani strips, the jap mayo, shredded fresh greens, ebiko. mango slices.. but there  more here.. they do their kani salad with cubed tamago.. woohoo….love it

California Maki(90)- for me this is the best bang for a buck california maki..  size is just right. filling is adequate with the extra tamago inside, a dab of mayo on top and the right amount of ebiko hugging the rice morsels:)

Mixed SashimiP 250- a melange of colors and different texture of different sea creature. from the salmon to the tuna to the grouper and lastly to the sea urchin. All fresh.. chilled, never frozen seafood delight

Beef Yakiniku set(P145)– a little oily.. comes with a bowl of miso soup and rice. THe beef was not as tender as i hope it would be. for the rpice. it was good

Ebi Tempura- 5 pieces of medium size prawns, 1 asohos fillet and i veggie tempura all for P180. the batter is just the way i like it, flaky and light, no oily aftertaste.

Assorted skewers- everything weas cooked perfectly, cooked through but still moist and tender inside, the basting was just right to give it a sweet and salty flavor but not overpowering the natural flavor of the meat

TEmpura with sliced beef soba soup- forgot the exact name of the dish, this was very very good, the soba has just the right bite, the soup was light dashi broth.

Agedashi tofu(P50)- one of best looking agedashi tofu in town. Cubed silky tofu, breaded fried then doused with a sweet light soy sauce topped with pickled ginger, spring onions and bonito flakes.. eat everything in one bite to marry all the different flavors…

THe aftermath

Great food, very affordable, great prices.. what more can i ask for.:)

Dusit Thani Hotel – Makati City

Address: Ayala Center, Makati City

TEl NO: (02)8673333

Buffets have been around the country for a very long time, the most popular being the ones started by the Triple V group, which consist of Kamayan, Dads, Saisaki, then a lot of hotel restaurant have upgraded their buffets to have live cooking stations so we are assured of getting freshly prepared food.

One of the hotels with the most number of dining outlets is this 5 star hotel in Makati. Dusit Thani.

Having a wide array of choices, from the ultimate in Thai Cuisine, Benjarong, to the two of the upcoming great restos in their own cuisine. UMU for japanese and TOSCA for italian, Plus the international cafe BASIX they also have Fiesta San Miguel, which serves the best beers in town,

I was very intrigued by the (Family Sunday Brunch) Crossover buffet they are offering. Imagine, 4 hotel restaurants serving their items all at the same time for only P1450 all in.

To those who want to avail of the buffet, here is my story about it.

Process-

Patrons are to register at the lobby, near the Fiesta San Miguel area, then you will get a tag(that looks like a ride all you can from enchanted kingdom,) which will give you the go signal to go to all the buffet stations of all the restaurants

Station

- there are four stations, namely the 4 restaurants. YOu have to choose where you want to be your base station. I prefer UMU for its laid down atmosphere and very spacious interios

Umu Dishes-

This is where we started. THe Sushi and maki bar, the also serve trhis dish which i thought was cubed salmon but later on realiuzed it was ebiko in in cubed form, which was good actually. THe maki weres also nice, ver nice japanese rice used.

Umu- grill station..

various yakiniku prepared in front of you. also available is the delectable GINDARA teppanyaki.. melts in your mouth, the sauce penetrating the fillet . yummy

The grill skewers were also very good,

the beef was tender, the chicken succulent, the chicken sakin was well.. fattening. If u can see in the pic, i also got a fried lapu lapu collar bone, this was a loetdown cause it was over cooked and dry.

THe beef sukiyaki was heavenly, thinlly siceld well marbled beef, tender tender tender:)

The Tempura Station

was dishing out HUGE prawm tempuras, the coating was light and delicious:)

Next stop-Benjarong,

- THis is the restaurant Dusit is most proud of. With their Executive chef really hands on with the food here. Everything is prepared according to the strict standards of the chef. Food here is not as spicy as the usual Thai restaurant, but you can have it cooked to as spicy as you want it to be.

Here is the chef in action

cooking the PAd Thai was you order it, and believe me , it was fantastic, Just the right amount of all the ingredients…you can ask her to adjust the level of spicyness.

Benjarong- There is also a fried food station

which served arguably the best Shrimp Pancake in town, crispy on the outside, moist and juicy in the inside

Next Stop- Tosca= For me, the best new italian restaurant in the city. They serve bottmless sparkling wine which u can add mango juice and make it to a bellini.. refreshing

Pizza Station-

serving freshly prepared single size italian pizzas, Chewy crispy outer crust, topping u can choose from there.

Tosca- Risotto Station-

Two kinds of Risotto , cooked in front of you. Asparagus and Shrimp /Zuchinni(too bad walang mushroom). THe italian chef was looking at the way his sous chef was cooking. So Rest assured of the quality.

THe shrimp and zuchinnis

was a little was a little wet but the asparagus was perfect. Creamy and cooked al dente.

Tosca- they also have a grill station with different seafood and meat, i chose the sea bass which was just excellent. Grilled perfectly, seasoned well, a few more pieces of this and the 1450 price tag is already worth it..:)

Tosca- other items on the tosca spread

are the different smoked salmon, ribs, fish(overcooked) and a pasta station as well

Next Stop-Basix-

trying to be at par with the other live station buffet restaurant such as Circles, Paseo Uno etc. They have different Stations as well, Roast Station, Dimsum, MAke your won Taco Station, Shawarma Station, Chinese Station, Grilled Station, Crepe Station Etc ETc

Here is the chinese STation,

where the chef will makew you a duck roll, i was intrigue by their use of Melon Slivers instead of the usual cucumber slices. It was good.. nice contrast…

Basix- freshly cooked curry prawns

skewers whic are excellet\nt, fresh ingredients. Good flavor. ONe letdown though teh Roast Beef, it was cold, and overcooked.. sayang.. but i think this is just an off day..

Now for Desserts:

Tosca: Flourless Chocolate Cake-

Topped with Vanilla Ice cream. Cooked in a turbo brioler, i had my doubts, but once u get a spoonful… wow… i am not a chocolate lover but this one is good. Beside it ia creme Brulee.. it was okay..

Other Dessert Offering-

this beautiful plate of flan with a shot glass with mixed fruits in a fragrant syrup. It was beautiful and taste good. Next plate is addorted goodies like mango crepe pouches, Chocolate comething and flan with fruits

Last Plate: Mango Crepe

topped with Vanilla SAuce and Strawberries

Drinks- drnks are included, here in UMU you will be served with Greentea which they brew in house themselves, Tosca has the sparkling wine, Benjarong and Basix have their own ice tea conconctions..:)

What can i say about the experience- it was a revelation all the restaurants have a complete offering, meaning from appetizer to soup to salad to main courses and desserts.

for 1450 all in, it was worth it. My choices(not to be missed) are the Sea Bass, THe Pad Thai, Tempura, Sukiyaki,Gindara Teriyaki, Shrimp Pancakes, Prawn Spring Roll, Pizza, Risottos, Smoked Salmon, Tom Yum Goong, Flourless Chocolate Cake

Some interesting notes: Dusit has a lot of offerings this coming Holiday season

Chritmas eve dinner for each of the outlet UMU 8 course Kaiseki for 3,700. Benjarong 5 course for 1850net, Tosca 4 fourses for 2250, BASIX for 1600net .and Christmas day crossover brunch for 1600 net, a little more expensive but with added surprises..

New year Countdown crossover buffet- for P3800 net, aside from the crossover buffet, u get unlimited open bar drinks and entertaiment coutesy of the New Minstrels so u can celebrate in style and welcome 2009 with a happy stomach:)

Inquire at 02-8673333