Tikim69: Watami is here in Manila!!! (Mall of Asia, Pasay)

I got an email from the Bistro Group Card that they're opening a new restaurant called "Watami" in Mall of Asia and the next day I immediately went to MOA to try Watami Philippines! :D I got super excited because I am a fan of Watami Hong Kong and it was my first article  here in Mytastybuds!

First branch of Watami Philippines

Watami is a Japanese casual restaurant that feels like an upgraded fast-food. From how I see it, they have a distinct interior that feels expensive and cozy at the same time. Their dark red/wooden modern oriental looks actually reminds me of how Watami Hong Kong looks like.

Watami Bar

I love their couches

Watami

With no further adue, this is what I ordered during my first visit in Watami Philippines.

Pepper beef rice in stone pot P190.00

I ordered their pepper beef rice when I was in Hong Kong, so I got curious if they have the same serving size and quality. The stone pot rice actually reminds me of Pepper Rice but without the sauce.

Self grilled short ribs P295.00

Self grilled short ribs P295.00

Obviously I am a meat eater, I then ordered short ribs just because there's the fancy of cooking your own food on your table! You'll definitely eat it while it's hot!

Tonpeiyaki (pork cheese cabbage and egg) P275.00

I don't remember much about this but it's not on my top list in Watami.

Pizza topped Wyre teriyaki chicken P275.00

Their pizza was unique; it has a crust much like of Pita bread. I like the sauce and the mayo combination but I find the chicken serving to be too little.

Mango yakult P150.00 Kiwi Tea with Agar P145.00

When I was in HK, I also ordered their Yakult drink. I love their Yakult drinks but Evan's order of Kiwi Tea with Agar was better because it has a refreshing taste with Nata Jelly on it!

Watami is one of my favorite casual dining places in HK. They have new menu from time to time and I do hope Watami Philippines will come up with new dishes from time to time just like in Hong Kong. I also hope they offer some cheese dishes that Watami Hong Kong have so that their restaurant would be more differentiated amongst Japanese restaurants in the Metro. One thing is for sure, I'll order their Shorts Ribs and Kiwi Tea with Agar on my next visit!

Quality: 4/5

Taste: 4/5

Ambiance:5/5

Watami Philippines
Address: 2nd Level, SM Mall of Asia (Entertainment Mall), 
               Pacific and Ocean Drive, Mall of Asia Complex,
               Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines
Contact: 836-7141

Tikim 54: Choose Healthy at Agico Vegetarian Cafe (Araullo Street, San Juan)

Not a big fan of vegetables? Are you the type of person who removes your peas in your fried rice and pizza? Do you associate greens with a negative taste? Fear those things NOT! Not all heathy things tastes as bad as you think they are! Head for Agico and discover why!

Agico Vegetarian Cafe

You see, my meals consists of about 60% meat/seafood and 40% vegetables. I like the taste of chicken, steak, and shrimp and when I saw a friend's photo of a veggy sushi from Agico, I got surprised that it isn't green and really looks like your normal sushi! At that point, I told myself that I want to try out this newly opened vegetarian cafe.

Cute wall murals will lighten up the mood if you are anxious about eating vegetables! 

Because of this curiosity, me and my friends decided to give Agico a visit during it's soft opening. We met Andrew Co, one of the owners of Agico, and I got to ask questions about this veggy cuisine and his recommendations for a frist time all-veggy meal! Ü

Andrew Co at the leftmost

Choose from their vast menu of a Japanese themed Veggy Cafe. They have sushi, yakitori's, ricebowls, ramen, and guilt-meat-free BURGERS! If you are a practicing vegetarian, this is your chance to eat on some "burgers".  Andrew's mom is the head chef and she invited these recipes!

Food menu

A cafe isn't complete with unique drink concoctions

For starters, the group ordered some sushi! We ordered a lot since this really intrigued everyone!

Kani Kama (2pcs) P126.00

Ebi sushi (2pcs) P98.00

This Aburi Salmon sushi is one of the cafe's specialty sushi. It's torched on your table and best eaten when hot!

Aburi salmon sushi (2pcs) P126.00

Butayaki Maki (6 pcs) P248.00

Mix mushroom sushi (3pcs) P156.00

For the group's main meal, these are what we ordered. You'll see later that we ordered from different sections of Agico's menu to showcase a piece from each section.

Hanna went for a plateful of Yakiudon. Even the yakiudon has "fake meat" in it so you wont miss meat  much! You can add some Japanese chili flakes/chili oil to add up some heat if you like it spicy!

Yakiudon P248.00

Lance went for the barbeque sticks!

Pork BBQ (3 sticks) P128.00

These is my favorite! A must try!!!

Enoki bacon (3 sticks) P188.00

Evan went for the ramen. It's spicy hot and I love it! The kaarage reminds of chicken nuggets. They might need to have spice-levels cause some might want their ramen mild, spicy, or hot!

Spicy karaage ramen P258.00

I ordered beef yakiniku since this is my usual order in Japanese restaurants. I got curious how it will look like and how it will taste like.

Beef yakiniku Rice bowl P268.00

A cafe isn't complete without a bar of hot and cold drinks. The boys ordered some flavored latte's!

Raspbery & Hazelnut Flavored Latte P120.00 each

Do check this cafe out for an experience! Add some vegetables in your diet and discover the world of meat-looking veggies! 

Taste: 4/5

Quality: 4/5

Ambiance: 4/5

Agico Vegatarian Cafe
Address: #83 Araullo Street, San Juan
Contact Number: 7051997
Website: https://www.facebook.com/AgicoVegetarianCafe

Tikim43: My New Fave Jap Resto, Yutaka Izakaya (Sta.Mesa,Quezon City)

There are 3 reasons for me to keep coming back to a restaurant: 1.Authentic taste 2.Reasonable and Affordable 3.Good Service. Convenience/location is a plus point for me too!

Welcome to Yutaka Izakaya

Yutaka Izakaya along Aurora Blvd.

Inside the restaurant

I always pass by Yutaka Izakaya whenever I go to Divisoria and Sta.Mesa area. One time I was near Sta.Mesa and had a craving for Japanese cuisine;Yutaka Izakaya is the closest one and so I dined there. My first dining experience there was awesome, with a full stomach and a happy wallet it made me come back there for authentic Japanese cuisine.

Yakiniku Bento, my fave!!! P250.00

Gyoza + Yakiniku

Ebi Fry, Tamago, Karaage

I always order the Yakiniku Bento box that comes with miso soup costing 250.00 only! I really like this because there's meat, 2 gyoza dumplings, a slice of tamago (tastes great when you dip it in the yakiniku sauce), 1 ebi fry, 1 karaage, a little salad, and miso soup. This has everything That I want.

These are the other food that Me and Evan got to try on the many times we ate here:

Yakiniku Rice Set P180

Up close

All rice sets come up miso soup and water. I really like the miso soup here!

Katsu Ka-re P170.00

Their Ka-re (Curry) has potatoes with it, their katsu/fried breaded pork chop has a thin crust of crumbs which I think is just right.

Chirashi Bento P385.00

Rice + Japanese Tamago and other toppings

Kani Salad

This is ebi tempura

Chirashi bento has cold fried rice that are topped with diced tamago and cold ebi sushib(kakaiba!). It has Tuna, Salmon, Uni, and Kani sticks, and  Blue Marlin that are 3-4 slice each (kaka busog). This bento also has Kani salad ( cabbage strips, mango, tomato, tamago, pepino dice). Of course, all bento boxes have miso soup. Indeed, a fresh seafood meal. 

Sashimi Set P239.00

Fresh Sushi

If you want a lighter versio of the Chirashi Bento, the sushi set is right for you. It has 3 slices of Salmon, Blue Marlin, and Tuna with rice and miso soup.

Tentoji Set P168.00

Fancy presentation, plus points for me!

Tentoji set is actually Ebi tempura with egg underneath. Served with rice and miso. There's no more tempura sauce anymore since the shrimp is already partly soaked with it. Nice to eat when it is still hot! 

Kani Salad P75

Their Kani salad is not the usual ones you have in mainstream Japanese restaurants because instead of cucumber strips they use cabbage strips with kani, dices of tamago (egg), mango ebiko, and cucumber cubes.

Authentic food, reasonable and affordable pricing,  good service, simple ambiance, and convenient location (for me) this restaurant deserves a 5/5! They also have great FRESH sushi! Evan tells me the salmon sushi here are fresh, he can just eat sushi for dinner :) Oh do take note, you can order and take-out the food but the miso soup is just so small (less than 1 cup but it's still delicous!) Another note is that from all the times that I have eaten here, Unagi (eel is always out of stock, I wish they do something with it or just remove it from their menu if it's permanently out of stock.

This is my second perfect star restaurant; a must try! They have a branch over at Taft near DLSU so go try what I m talking about :D

Taste: 5/5

Quality: 5/5

Ambiance: 5/5

Yutaka Izakaya
G/F 41D Unit X Aurora Arcade, Quezon City
Contact: 713-6558
Website: www.yutakaizakaya.com

Tikim25: Urameshi-ya at Little Tokyo (Makati City)

Looking for authentic Japanese food? Go to Makati’s “Little Japan Town” and rediscover your the real taste of Japanese food! Little Tokyo has been around for quite a long time but because of its far location from Quezon City; I seldom come here. But let me assure you that every visit makes me feel that I am in Japan --- ambiance and food! =)

 

Little Tokyo at night

On my recent visit, Evan and I decided to try Urameshi-ya. It is the Japanese restaurant that has some charcoal being prepared outside its restaurant. Upon entering the restaurant you might hear some Japanese men talking in their native language; the television turned on to a Japanese baseball channel; and see that the dining tables are small and square-ish with space underneath the table for your legs. 

On the table, Evan and I went for the beef set menu. We really couldn’t understand the menu since it’s in Japanese, so we had it translated by the waitress. It is good that the waitress understands or has memorized the menu options [plus good service points =)]. 

Japanese menu that I don't understand. Ask help from the waitress

By the way, if you have eaten in other Little Tokyo restaurants, don’t hesitate to ask the server that you want to cross order from the other establishments, they’ll gladly get you a menu from your requested establishment and take your order! It’s so nice that you can cross-order because each restaurant has a specialty. Cross-ordering allows you to hit 2 birds in 1 stone! Yay for convenience :D and restaurants helping each other :D Since I love okonomiyaki, we asked for Kagura's menu. I went for ordering the modern ebi tama, which has shrimp, egg, and noodles. 

Kagura restaurant: Modern Ebi Tama P280

The set menu includes salad, kimchi, 1 half-sized Japanese rice, 4 selection of different meat, fruits for dessert…I like their salad, it has a unique sauce that’s quite addicting! No comment for kimchi but Evan liked it! As for the sauce, all I can say is "yum.." it adds some kick to the meat and its not that spicy!

Yummy salad, kimchi, and the yakiniku sauce

I love their thinly sized beef dipped with the sauce [yakiniku sauce, garlic, chili paste, brownish sauce] they provide.  The server too is very respectful and accommodating in cooking the food for us; I don’t remember my food being offered to be cooked last year when I went there.

Omakase set menu includes the following

Ready to eat!

I will really recommend my friends here looking for great authentic Japanese food. Sometimes the size of the restaurant doesn’t really matter at all. What is I think important is its unique taste and offereings that sets them apart from other “Filipinized Japanese food”

Taste: 5/5

Ambiance: 4/5 

Service:  4/5

Little Tokyo

2277 Between Pasong Tamo and Amorsolo Street,

Beside Makati Cineme Square, Makati City

Contact: 819-5008/ 819-5009

***I found a website with directions on how to get to Little Tokyo. click here