Fancy First Bite: Senju

I noticed that I hardly blogged last month and it wasn’t exactly because I was busy with work (though I did get busier). I started to eat out less. Yes, I have been eating out less and less these days. *cries* I usually find myself stuck in a home-office-home (with lots of chores in between) routine. But R wants to change it by inviting me to…

Senju.

Okay, I wasn’t able to take much photos as I wanted to act less touristy given I was at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel. I wanted to act… classy. (*insert canned laughter here*)

R and his parents took charge of ordering the food and they chose a lot. They ordered Aburi Shake, Shake Sashimi (PHP575), Uni (PHP325), Ebi Tempura (PHP505), Saba Shioyaki (PHP515), Unagi Maki Tamago (PHP325), Agedashi Tofu (PHP395), Crazy Maki (PHP715), and Kuro Buta Sirloin (PHP850).

Dinner started with a mouthwatering appetizer… Gindara Teriyaki. The soft and sweet dish sure made me crave for more.

First served was the aburi shake and it was lovely though I think Tsumura has better aburi shake.

The shake sashimi was delightful as well. The slices were just right and it had a soft and smooth texture.

The unagi maki tamago had a slightly sweet taste which complemented the salty freshwater eel.

R is not a fan of Agadeshi Tofu but we split one chunk. It was pretty good too. I loved the sweet taste of the mushroom sauce and the silky texture of the tofu with the crunchy breading.

The saba shioyaki or grilled mackerel was great as well. It was moist and had the nice fresh texture. Drizzling it with lemon juice made it even more divine.

R told me that Senju used to serve crazy maki in a more interesting way—snake-like. This time though, it was still snake-like, only it was a straight snake. It was really good. The prawn tempura with crabstick, omelette, cucumber, salmon skin and crunchy topping was a two thumbs (and toes) up dish! I went to heaven with the mix of different textures.

The Ebi Tempura was nothing extraordinary and I guess ebi tempura is pretty much the same everywhere unless they do something fancy or interesting with the breading.

The beef was so-so for me. The chunks I got were not that soft. I guess it was also because I was looking forward to a more garlic-y dish.

My favorite though that night was the uni (sea urchin). True, it doesn’t look appetizing and some people find it weird or too exotic but I love it. The soft and squishy texture on top of Japanese rice wrapped in nori was exquisite. (Shoot! I’m craving for uni now.)

I would definitely visit Senju again for uni (and perhaps Senju’s bento box meals).

P.S. We got complimentary dessert! Yay for free ice cream!

Senju is located at 2^nd floor, Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, Mandaluyong City.

Photo of  Aburi Shake and art direction for Kuro Buta Sirloin with rice by R. Lim