First Bite: Teppan Okochi

We've been searching for good wagyu places for almost a month now ever since our favorite Buta + Wagyu closed. We've been to Wagyu Japanese Beef which was said to be very close to our love but we found it different and underwhelming. This time around, we decided to go with Teppan Okochi, a new Japanese teppan restaurant raved by many. 

Hello, Teppan Okochi. 

It was a sudden decision for us to dine here as we originally planned to have dinner at Edsa Shangri-La's Senju. However, R's dad suggested that we try something new so I thought of Teppan Okochi which is just two months old. 

Second Bite: Dohtonbori

R’s parents have been so nice to me and they always invite me to join them dine at great (and fancy) restaurants. I have always wanted to return the favour and kept thinking where to bring them for lunch. And thanks to looloo and Dohtonbori, I managed to treat R’s parents for free! 

Hello, Dohtonbori!

I decided to treat R’s parents during Father’s Day and tried to make a reservation at Dohtonbori for lunch. However, Dohtonbori does not accept reservation on weekends. And so, this marked a Sunday morning Amazing Race. 

We got to the place at 11:30 a.m. and I rushed to the second floor of the building where Dohtonbori is located as I was scared we might ran out of table with chairs. R’s dad cannot dine at the tatami area as he might have difficulty standing up. I was lucky that I managed to score the last table with chairs! (Note: The okonomiyaki restaurant opens at 11 am.)

R’s dad was famished so we quickly ordered the following: Mixed Okonomiyaki (PHP290), Quattro Formaggi (PHP240), Dohtonbori Pizza (PHP340), Grilled Salmon Chanchan (PHP380), Sukiyaki (PHP190), Steak Yakimeshi (PHP390) and Kiwami (PHP390).

We were offered the Father’s Day promo where dads get a free mug of beer. But there’s a catch. This promo cannot be availed with any other discounts and that includes senior citizen discount. Since the discount we will get from being a senior is more than the cost of a mug of beer, we decided not to avail of it. (Oh, and you cannot use your gift certificates too if you avail of the promo which was weird since gift certificates should be considered as cash.)

Since Dohtonbori was so busy that day, speed of service was not at its peak. Though water was served while we were ordering, our request for hot and cold tea was forgotten and we had to follow up more than thrice for it. 

The ingredients for our first dishes also arrived after 20 minutes. Yes, ingredients. We had to wait for a few minutes for someone to prepare the okonomiyaki for us and it took around 8-10 minutes before the dishes were cooked. 

I felt so bad as R’s dad was so hungry already. He ate the salmon chanchan a few minutes short of the ideal cooking time. Nonetheless, it was still good and he liked it! He even asked to have the salmon skin placed back on the teppan plate to make the skin crispy. 

The Mixed Okonomiyaki and Kiwami were prepared next and both were well-loved! 

I loved the different textures in the mixed okonomiyaki. 

The crunch and chewiness of the squid, pork, shrimp, octopus, tempura bits, cabbage, spring onions and red pickles led me to okonomiyaki heaven.

Foodie Alert: Ippudo is now in BGC

I love getting random messages from P as it always mean great news and usually involve food. And yesterday was no exception. It was about Ippudo Uptown Mall BGC's opening this time. Well, sort of. P said that Ippudo is looking for people to participate in the ramen place's two-day stress test. I immediately said that I'm willing to participate as it simply mean that we'll act like usual customers during Ippudo's simulation. 

Hello, Ippudo!

We got to Ippudo early and there was quite a line outside. Since looloo saved us some seats, we went to the front of the line and told the host that we're looking for Denise. Apparently, the ones in line were all for the stress test and probably mentioned her name too, only are affiliated with other groups or probably friends of the owners.

Well, they were just doing some last minute preparations and after a short wait, we got in.

Luckily, C, R1, R2 and P got the table right beside ours so we got to chit chat for a bit over ramen among others. 

R who has never been to Ippudo ordered Akamaru Shinaji (PHP495) while I went with Shiromaru Motoaji (PHP490). We also got Okonomiyaki(PHP270) and Deep-Fried Gyoza (PHP220) as appetizers and Matcha Creme Brûlée (PHP160) for dessert. For drinks, we opted for Watermelon Shake (PHP115) and Lemonade (PHP110).

Service was quick and we got our drinks in less than 5 minutes. We were also served house water before that. 

R's lemonade had a nice tangy taste which was refreshing. 

My watermelon shake was also good. It wasn't very sweet and did the job in quenching my thirst. 

Our other orders arrived right after. 

The okonomiyaki was quite sweet because of the okonomiyaki sauce. 

I loved the harmony of textures of the yam, egg, chasu and black konnyaku (potato). But I felt that the flavor was too overwhelming for an appetizer. 

The deep-fried gyoza was scrumptious! It had a lovely meaty taste and it was flavorful enough even without the ponzu sauce. Don't let the chili and spicy mayo stop you from ordering if you have low tolerance to spicy food like me. It wasn't spicy at all.