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.
It tasted more like beef teriyaki (or sweet tapa) to me. Don’t get me wrong, it was a delectable dish. But I ordered gyudon so I expected it to taste like gyudon.
It tasted more like beef teriyaki (or sweet tapa) to me. Don’t get me wrong, it was a delectable dish. But I ordered gyudon so I expected it to taste like gyudon.
Last served was
our Emperor set and it didn’t look as plentiful as I have imagined. (I got
slightly deceived by the name emperor thinking it would be so grand.)
The set comes with
two black tiger prawns, scallop, shiitake mushroom, kani, fish, zucchini and
French beans plus traditional and special tempura sauce. If you customize your
tempura set and order the same pieces (e.g. scallop, tiger prawns), you’ll be over
by a few tens.
Looks sure are
deceiving. Though the set looked mundane, the taste was definitely otherwise.
The batter was not oily and definitely crunchy. The tiger prawns were huge,
fresh, and had a nice subtle sweet taste. The scallop was pretty enormous too
and bang for the buck even if you buy it ala cart at PHP145 per piece. It was
undeniably fresh and oh so moist even when deep fried. The other fried goodies
were great too but the one that definitely stood out was the scallop. For the
dips, the special tempura sauce was a lot thicker and had a more powerful
taste. Though great, I think it would complement katsudon more than tempura.
I’d stick with the traditional sauce.]
Overall, it was a
great meal. I will definitely go back for more salmon salad and tempura! (R
already tried to go back for more last week but failed as Asakusa is closed
from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM. Lunch starts at 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM and dinner service
starts from 5:30 PM to 10 PM.)
P.S. Signal is so
weak in this area so if you are meeting friends here, try to confirm the time
and location before leaving your place. Or ask the friendly staff for the Wi-Fi
password. Most establishments have complimentary Wi-Fi for patrons. (Woohoo!)
Asakusa
is located at The Grove Retail Row, The Grove by Rockwell, 117 E. Rodriguez Jr.
Avenue, Ugong Pasig City.
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