New Bites at Tsuta

Christmas is fast approaching and its cool night breeze never fails to make me crave for a hot bowl of soup or ramen. And I sure am glad that Tsuta was our last stop for our FOODEE Crawl.

Hello again, Tsuta.

Tsuta has been one of the most talked about ramen joints since it opened last December. It was hard not to be curious about this place given it is the first ever ramen shop to earn a prestigious Michelin star. 

First Bite: Yayoi Philippines

It is so hard to resist good food especially when your foodie godfather invites you to the media launch of a Japanese restaurant. This time, the invite was for Yayoi, a reputable Japanese restaurant with branches all over Japan, USA, Australia, and now in Manila. 

Hello, Yayoi! 

I've heard about Yayoi from one of my friends working in Ortigas. He was quite excited to try this place out since he was starting to get tired of the usual restaurants in one of the busiest malls in Manila. And finally, it is open to the public! 

After crawling our way out of EDSA for half an hour, we finally reached SM Megamall and scurried towards Yayoi. And we made it just in time! 

We were greeted by the friendly PR team and owners of Yayoi. We were quickly ushered inside and I couldn't help gush over the mix of traditional Japanese ambiance with its wooden walls and technology through the iPads stationed on each table. (The iPads serve as the menu and platform to place your order.)

After feasting on some Edamame (PHP120), we headed to the photo table and joined other bloggers, media personalities and Instagrammers take some mouthwatering photos of Yayoi's highlighted offerings. 

Our orders were served after the welcome remarks of the hosts and we soon indulged in some serious Japanese dishes. 

First served was the Mix Toji Teishoku (PHP425) or breaded pork loin, deep fried shrimp and sukiyaki beef simmered in special sauce and egg served with rice, miso soup and two sides. 

I loved the sweet and salty taste of the sauce which complemented the succulent katsu and breaded shrimp. I also enjoyed eating the egg base with Japanese rice while slurping some hot miso soup. The tofu side dish helped balance the taste and avoided the main dish from being cloying. 

I Yab U Yabu: The House of Katsu

New restaurant. Long lines. So much buzz. I JUST HAVE TO DINE THERE. Yes, that’s pretty much my train of thought whenever I go out.

There’s this new Japanese restaurant at SM Megamall Atrium and the traffic seemed to be endless. My boss, Frannywanny, was the one who introduced Yabu: The House of Katsu to me and I instantly fell in love with it even without trying the food yet. Tonkatsu? Katsudon? KATSU?! LOVE.

As an ultimate Japanese food lover, I’m always open to try new Japanese restaurants (or eat all you can places—for salmon sashimi!). My first attempt to dine there was a total failure as we went during lunch break and the line was crazy. I didn’t know that I had to reserve to make sure we could get a table. The second attempt was a failure as well as I tried to invite my mom to have lunch there and she told me that I kept on bugging her to make salad for me yet I pig out all the time plus our lunch out trips were starting to bother her especially when she receives her credit card bills.

But my long wait (fine, it wasn’t really long but one week of waiting for katsudon was quite hard for me) was over. I managed to invite a few friends to check the place out with me. (Actually, I was even willing to reserving a table for one as I cannot wait much further.)

Woohoo! Finally, Saturday! 

A friend and I met at around 12:30 pm (at the brink of me passing out due to hunger). I was so glad that we managed to get seats right away (and we should since I asked for us to be waitlisted for 12:30 pm). We managed to get a table right beside… Gabby Eigenmann’s! (Just sharing.)