19 June 2022 is Father's Day. A day to celebrate to thank the Lord and celebrate for the life despite the challenges specially the pandemic. I suggested Watami, a Japanese restaurant which I found to be serving good and tasty hotpot. My first Watami experience was at Shangrila Mall when Apple and UP friends, Gil, Chuck, et al met for a reunion with Annette, my niece living in the Netherlands.
So we had lunch at Watami at UP Town Center, QC. We ordered pork curry, tempura, chicken wings and the shabu shabu hotpot. I realized after tasting the hotpot that it was not the same hotpot that I enjoyed during my first Watami experience. The Sumu Hotpot was phased-out by the resto according to the manager at Watami when we visited the Shangrila Mall branch in one dinner. I told the manager that it's the Sumo Hot Pot which I craved for, why did they removed it from the menu. Anyway, back to the original story on Father's Day lunch. We enjoyed the Watami food except the Shabu Shabu Hot Pot. Food rating is 4/5.
A rare opportunity to eat out during the pandemic with the family. A small Japanese resto. along Scout Santiago, QC is Nomiya, Izakaya. I was looking forward to grilled dishes like yakitori but there were none. We were not disappointed though. The maki, ebi tempura, agedashi tofu and seafood with vegetables were great. Looking forward to our next visit. Kampai!
From 1988 to 1994, I was a Monbusho scholar at Nagoya University, Japan pursuing a graduate degree in M.Eng. and D.Eng in Civil Engineering. Doing research and studying the academic courses are stressful activities for a Filipino student in Japan especially if he/she is not well versed with Nihonggo. To make life in Japan fun and enjoyable and to relieve the stress, you have to interact with you Filipino friends - students and working Pinoys. To remember those years with my friends in Japan, I compiled my photos and covernted them to digital images to produce these photo-videos. Thank you to all my friends - Filipinos, Japanese and other nationalities.
NAGOYA ADVENTURES - 1: Highlights are Nagoya Expo Design, Nagoya Port, Tsurumai Park, Osu and Nagoya Castle. Activities include biking around Nagoya, Games at Meidai Gymnasium, O-bon Odori festival and Pinoy gatherings at my apartment.
NAGOYA ADVENTURES - 2: Highlights are trips to Higashiyama Zoo, Toyohashi, Gifu and Inuyama.
NAGOYA ADVENTURES - 3: Highlights are Kyoto Golden Temple, Nagoya University Foreign Students' Nights, and Pinoy "Kainan" at Nagoya University Foreign Students House.
Wilcon City Center along Visayas Ave., QC is a convenient place to visit. It has a very spacious parking area. It is also a one-stop shop - there is an appliance center, supermarket, Wilcon hardware, barber shop, sports bar and drug store. We have tried the restaurants - Inengs, Siyudad by Barrio Fiesta, Pancake House, Giligan's . Recently we discovered Sushi Moshi, a small eatery that serves reasonably priced and good tasting Japanese dishes. We ordered seafood ramen, spicy tantan ramen, kara-age, seafood tepanyaki, chahan and sushi. We were satisfied with the serving and taste except for the sushi where the rice was not perfect but so so. Price range: P100 - P300. If I have a reason to visit Wilcon Center Mall, aside from purchasing hardware, that is to eat TanTan ramen at Sushi Moshi.
If you go to Hokkaido, specifically at Sapporo and eat ramen, you will always be served their specialy which is miso ramen. But here at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, the restaurant's specialty is a ramen with its soup broth which is very special in Kyushu not Hokkaido - tonkotsu or boiled pork bones. Anyway, we tried the branch at UPTC, QC. And we were not disappointed with the quality and taste of the ramen. The price which is almost the same as in Japan is a little bit expensive (P 350 for a ramen and P500+ for a set). But at least you need go to Japan just to taste an almost authentic ramen. Let's enjoy the ramen! Taste so good!
Awase-Aji Ramen, their specialty - thick creamy tonkotsu soup with noodles cooked just right
Kara-miso Ramen - spicy miso ramen just like Taiwan ramen
Set C - Ramen, Fried Chicken, Rice Bowl
Small Ramen and Fried Chicken and small Rice Bowl Set
Our Valentine lunch after biking at the UP Oval ended at the Katsu Cafe. Actually we plan to have lunch at our favorite KEN AFFORD but it's gone - not anymore at its original place at the road intersecting Katipunan Avenue to Miriam College. Katsu Cafe is a small restaurant besides Flowers by Sylvia. The resto is small (like the small restos in Japan) and simple, decorated with walls of wooded planks and tables good for about 12. So I asked what's their specialty - isn't it obvious - KATSU ofcourse. So we ordered fish katsu set ( a set consists of miso soup, unlimited rice, salad and the main dish) - price is about P200+. We also ordered tempura set, tonkotsu ramen and kakiage. While waiting they gave us the seeds to crush. When the food orders were served, we were impressed. The tonkostsu ramen was awesome - good soup, soft meat, noodles just right and one whole boiled egg. The tempura pieces were large. The fish katsu were soft and tasty. And what is unexpected is that their salad is dressed with the goma sesame seed dressing which is not common in the Japanese restos here. We observed that the orders of pork katsu looks also good. So we promised that we will return to this place. The Katsu Cafe experience was indeed a good valentine treat for me, Apple and Julia.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Tempura Set
Fish Katsu Set (Tempura not included, there was food sharing!) and the sauce mixed with crushed sesame seeds
Apple enjoys crushing the seeds for her fish katsu sauce
Julia and the background of beer - they have Kirin Beer on display
Fluffy and Teddy are Julia's favorite stuff dolls. They joined Julia and
the family in their Japan Summer trip at Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe
last May 2015. Enjoy the trip and the humor of Julia, Teddy and Fluffy.
"Fluffy and Me - Our Adventures at Japan" is a slide presentation written by Julia to record her summer vacation trip at Nagoya and Tokyo, Japan. Fluffy is her favorite puppy who joined us in our Japan trip. Enjoy this slide show with Fluffy and Julia as the main characters.
Sapporo Ramen. I love Ramen. In my visit at Sapporo, Japan last Sept 2013, I tried the Sapporo's popular and traditional miso ramen. "This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Hokkaido, features a broth that combines copious amounts of miso and is blended with oily chicken or fish broth – and sometimes with tonkotsu or lard – to create a thick, nutty, slightly sweet and very hearty soup (Wikepedia)." There are various ramen shops in Sapporo. There is even a ramen alley in one department store where different shops serve their own variations of ramen, We tried one shop called Shin.
Miso Ramen at Shin (Sapporo, Japan)
Shin's menu of ramen
Instant Ramen. I even brought ready to eat ramen from the Sapporo airport to share authentic ramen to my family. There are also instant ramen noodles from Japan which can be bought in supermarkets here that taste like those in Japan. You just have to add additional garnish, meat, veggies and egg and you have an almost authentic ramen which is better than those served in restos here in QC and Manila.
Instant Japanese ramen from supermarkets (left: Sapporo ramen and right: Hakata ramen)
Japanese instant ramen (from Sapporo) made authentic by adding meat and egg
Ramen Reviews. I am now in search of the best ramen in Metro Manila. There is one ramen shop located at West Ave., Quezon City - Ramen Cool which we tried recently. Their ramen is good and their servings were generous. A lot of slice meat and noodles. Not so expensive (P165 - P290). We tried shio and miso ramen. The resto is new, hence the service needs improvement.
RCool Ramen (Miso Based). Very nice. The soup is tasty and lots of mixed ingredients. Rating (4 out of 5)
Pork Shio Ramen. A little bland but serving is generous. (Rating 3 out of 5)
Ramen Cool
Various choices at Ramen Cool.
Another new ramen resto is Taisho Ramen at SM North. The shop takes pride of its Hakata ramen which originated from kyushu. Hakata ramen features a soup based on pork bones.. I tried their ramen and I was disappointed It tastes like local instant noodles. The instant noodles we buy at the supermarkets tasted better. Poor quality of noodles. The sesame seeds didn't help improve the taste.
Taisho's Hakata Ramen. Rating (1 out of 5)
The search for the best ramen in Metro Manila continues.... Any recommendations?
Cooking a curry dish using instant Japanese curry roux
Curry is a popular dish in Japan which was introduced by the British. One common curry dish is the curry rice. It is basically rice mixed with vegetables (onions, carrots and potatoes), meat (chicken , pork or beef) and the curry sauce. Instant curry roux is now available in supermarkets (Japanese section) or specialty stores. I remember tasting a very delicious curry rice in one of our overnight trips in Japan. I sometimes craved for the unique sweet and little spicy taste of curry (the taste is different from the Indian or Thai curry), that's why in one of my visits at a Japanese store in QC, I bought one of the curry sauces available. In our simple dinner, Apple sauteed onions and chicken, followed by the carrots and potatoes. Water was mixed and the curry roux was poured on the mixture until the mixture became rich. Add a little salt (or patis) and pepper. Apple served the curry rice with scrambled eggs. The Japanese eat curry rice using only a spoon. So we served the curry rice with spoons only. The kids asked "where is the fork?" I told them you don't need a fork to eat curry rice. Curry rice with scrambled eggs. A simple dinner but yummy!
I love spicy ramen. When I was in Nagoya, Japan, one of my favorites is the super spicy "Taiwan Ramen" which we usually eat during Sundays after a tiring activity like bowling or volleyball. So when I read that Ramen X serves spicy ramen, I made it a point to try their version. There are two branches which I visited - one at the Centris Walk and another at Trinoma.
Ramen X. Affordable Ramen. Price from P149 - P189.
Kimchi Ramen. Price: )149.00. Shoyu based soup with slices of pork and kimchi. Not so spicy. I give this a rating of 3/5.
Karaage. Price: P59.00. The chiken karaage is crispy and soft but little bit salty. rating: 4/5
Oishii Ramen. Price: P149.00. Rating: 4/5. According to their staff, this is their best seller. So when I visited their branch at Centris Walk, I ordered it. It is shoyu and miso based with slices of pork so that the soup is oily which I like. The vegetables are fresh and the noodles are just right and more than enough to fill your tummy. It is not as spicy as the Taiwan ramen but it is good.
Four Bloggers: Apple, Andy, Geof & Julia blogging about Good Food and Living in the Philippines (and other places) . Enjoying modern life without spending too much.Food. Restaurants. Books. Movies. TV. Gift and novelty items. Places to go. Events. Discount and bargain places.
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