Hello, New Hatchin Grocerant.
New Hatchin Japanese Grocerant is a grocery store and restaurant in one. It has been around for quite a while in Makati and it finally opened a store along Katipunan last April.
I was thrilled when I stepped inside the store. There were several shelves filled with familiar wrappers and there were chest freezers too with some frozen goods like kani, ice cream and even wagyu cubes. Do manage your expectations though with the options here as this is far from Don Quijote. Many of the Japanese products I hoard when abroad are not available but there are a bunch of other items here that piqued my interest.
Drinks are a bit on the expensive side as a small can of juice costs PHP44. The taller can I got costs PHP61. No photos though as I was in a hurry to get back to our table as some of the dishes we ordered were already served.
First on the table was Chicken Yakitori (PHP180). One order comes with three skewers. I loved that the chicken chunks were big and each one was flavorful.
It had that lovely teriyaki-like sweet yet savory sauce which was well complemented by the smokiness of the meat.
Next served was Tuna and Salmon Sashimi (PHP405) which looked a bit underwhelming. However, each slice was fresh!
I just find this to be a bit expensive for over PHP400.
It took a long while before our Kaisen Donburi (PHP395) and Nagaoka Legend Salmon Aburi (PHP360) were served. We can't help wonder what took the kitchen so long to prepare these when these are cold dishes. The only thing I could think of was that they ran out of Japanese rice.
But the Nagaoka Legend Salmon Aburi was worth the wait! The torched salmon sushi was nothing short of blissful. Topped with ikura, this dish was worth every penny!
My bowl of Kaisen Donburi looked like a mess. I never get anything plated ugly in Japan so this dish got a bad impression right away. I also couldn't help think how other restaurants which offer something similar (i.e. poke bowls) offer salmon and tuna bowls at way lower price. But I realized how much salmon and tuna chunks were in my bowl after a few spoonful. I could barely finish it and had to ask R to help me. I guess this makes it a value for money dish as it could be shared by two.
My other favorite here was Sui Gyoza (PHP205). I usually get pan-fried gyoza and never gave boiled dumplings any thought. But this one from Hatchin was delicious! Each bite was oozing with meaty flavors and it didn't feel like I was over-indulging.
R's parents also got Shoyu Ramen (PHP335). I didn't get to ask for some but based on how well they ate it, it must be good.
To cap our meal, I got a pack of Daifuku (PHP174) which includes Mitarashi Kushi Dango (sweet soy sauce), Matcha Dango and Red Bean with Matcha Dango. I found Mitarashi Kushi a bit weird with its slight salty taste but the other two were great!
We also had ice cream from the grocery part of Hatchin. I wasn't able to take note of the price nor take a snapshot of it but it was really yummy!
R's parents told me that its Makati branch is better. But I wouldn't mind going back here for more of its ice cream and for those hard to find Japanese goodies.
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