Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Restaurant Discovery: Saboten

Japanese food seems to be extremely popular these days with ramen and katsu places popping left and right. Every time I pass by The Fort or walk around Shangri-La, I see a lot of new Japanese places I just have to try. And yes, Saboten is in the list.
It has been a while since I last saw M so I set a date with her to catch up. We were supposed to have lunch with T but T suddenly backed out as he had to meet his friend. *sad*

We met up a bit past 2 p.m. and I was surrounded by food as early as 11 a.m. so I was tortured for over 3 hours! >.<
 
Anyway, when we arrived at Saboten, the place was still full and we were on the wait list. But since we’re second, we decided to wait. It wasn’t long till we got a table.
I got mesmerized by the Grated Radish Katsu so I ordered the Loin Set (PHP395). But since ordering just one viand isn’t my thing, I convinced M that we order Saboten Special Set (PHP525) too. The Special set includes one deep-fried shrimp, 65g loin cutlet, 30g tenderloin cutlet, and one crab cream croquette. For dessert, we ordered one Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Cake (PHP195).
 
Service was quick given that the place was packed.
 
First served was a huge bowl of cabbage and some pickled cucumber and radish.
M and I enjoyed it so much that when the first dish arrived, we were a bit full. But the dressing was just too addicting!!!
 
Now for the moment of truth, the Grated Radish Katsu…
I was pretty disappointed that it tasted like typical katsu. The radish’s taste wasn’t strong enough to make it stand out. I tried pouring more sauce and adding more radish but it tasted pretty bland. I kept on getting more to see if my taste buds just fell asleep but M agreed that it was bland. 
But the clincher here was that some parts of the katsu were not cooked well. I couldn’t even chew it. I guess I have to skip this next time.
 
The Saboten Special’s serving is a bit too stingy for the price. True, we get a bit of a several dishes but this is not ideal for sharing as the “bits” were a bit too small. Well, at least for me. The katsu were slightly dry for me. But the crab cream croquette saved the day! It was really good! Oozing with flavor, it’s my new favorite! 

Now for the dessert…
 
The presentation was very plain but the taste was superb! It was indeed very chocolatey and I love that the bits of hazelnut added crunch to the silky milk chocolate. I could easily finish two orders of it. The nice thing was that it wasn’t overly sweet too. Yum!

I’ll definitely be back for more of that crab cream croquette and desserts! I have my eyes on the strawberry shortcake!

Saboten is located at Ground floor Serendra, McKinley Parkway, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Call 625-2000 for reservations.

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