First Bite: Sushi Nori

New work, new lunch locations. Sort of.

My former office is a bit far from the malls and other food establishments if you were to walk (driving and parking are out of the picture because of the strict one hour lunch break). But my new office is just a couple blocks away. The temptation was so high that I went out for lunch on my first day.

I was thinking of having lunch at Tenya but the Market Market crowd was too much to handle, even on a weekday. I then remembered this sushi place I saw in SM Aura's pricey food court a couple months back. Sushi sounded really good that day so off I go to the pricey food court.

Hello, Sushi Nori!

There was only one other customer ahead of me when I ordered the Sushi Santi Temaki Handroll (PHP149). My order was ready to be picked up after a few minutes.

The size of the temaki which was stuffed with salmon, kani, tamago and cucumber was quite small but surprisingly filling.

Since enjoying the handroll would entail mess, I opted to not put soy sauce on my temaki. And I was glad that I skipped it as the sauce which tasted like teriyaki sauce, was a bit too salty and masked the taste of salmon and kani.

Love at First Bite: Asakusa Home of Tempura

I have been dying to visit this tempura place at The Grove for months but it gets cancelled every single time. I blame the lazy weekend bug! There was one time though when we finally braved the Saturday traffic and we were greeted by… a closed sign. I heard my heart break and my tummy whine the moment I saw the glass door signage. But the Year of the Monkey seems to be my year as when R and I visited The Grove during Chinese New Year for dinner, the place I have been eying for months was open. OPEN! *insert creepy mega giant smile here*

Hello, Asakusa! 

The foodie in me found it so surreal that I finally managed to get inside the “home of tempura”. It was a long wait and I hope that it won’t disappoint.

Famished, we ordered Salmon Salad (PHP208), Emperor Tempura Set (PHP578) and Gyudon (PHP288). For beverage, we settled with the complimentary house tea.    

Service was quick as it was not even past the 5 minute mark when the salmon salad was served.

I loved it! The fresh salmon cuts drizzled with what seemed to be teriyaki sauce went really well with the crisp veggies and tempura flakes. The contrast between the soft and crunchy textures was delightful as well. Though flavor was a tad strong as appetizer, it was still a great starter!

Gyudon was served next and we were perplexed with its appearance. It did not look like the gyudon we know. The meat looked a bit too dark. Tastewise, the flavor was overpowering. It was too sweet for gyudon. 

Restaurant Discovery: Osaka Ohsho

There are only a few times when I am willing to wait for a table when I'm hungry... when I traveled far just to get there, it's a new place, or there's a long line and it made me VERY curious. And last Saturday, it was because of the last two reasons.

We noticed a long line in front of a restaurant I haven't seen before. It looks... Japanese. And true enough, it's a restaurant that claims to serve the number one gyoza. It's Osaka Ohsho. I asked how many people are in line and there were a party of 12 before us. Yes, it's a long line but in my mind, long line means good food. And since we were not so hungry then, I had my name listed and waited.

It took an hour for us to get a table and we would have missed it if we didn't return. We were up next and we did not get any message from the front host.

As soon as we sat down, I already have dishes in mind. I remember the host mention the Black Vinegar Chicken set (PHP360) to be one of their bestsellers so I chose that while C went for a katsu set. I also got a half order of the Osaka Ohsho Salad (PHP195) and Fresh Mango Yakult (PHP125).