Favorites: Japanese Food

This year, I was able to sample a lot of good Japanese food being employed in a Japanese company.  There is (in order of preference) Tsukiji -which I have featured a few months back, Saisaki (still one of the best buffets), Isshin (where you can find great ramen,) Teriyaki Boy, Tokyo Tokyo and Chote Shop in Little Tokyo.  I have even tried Japanese burger in Sango! The Burger master. (No, I was not yelling that is how they call themselves.)  The burger is not exceptional though, mas gusto ko pa ang Hotshots.

But my favorite Japanese Restaurant is not entirely Japanese - it's actually Euro-Japanese and this place is called Mr Kurosawa.

Named after acclaimed director and Asian of the Century - Akira Kurosawa, this restaurant is a fusion of Eastern and Western cuisine.  They pay tribute to the exemplary works of Kurosawa the artist by making the menu cinema inspired like I'm The King of the World, Crunchy Hollywood and The Poseidon Adventure.  There are also those named after famous celebrities like Beef Di Caprio, Denzel Tuna Sashimi, Coppola Couscous, Smoked Salmon Spielberg Pizza, and Wild Mushroom Tarantino Salad.

Do you think those frames are hanged on the wall? Nope they are actually attached to the ceiling!

The branch where my family and friends had our Mr Kurosawa experience is at Resorts World Manila.  We came in early which was a good thing since the place was packed by lunch time.

The Iced Teas are in a variety of Red, Green and Blue (yup, the RGB color model.)  I was faithful with my Red Iced Tea while the ladies in the picture above had the Blue Iced Tea.  Except for my daughter who enjoyed her favorite Mango Shake.  There was even flavored Yakult! but I dare not try since Yakult gives my tummy an oil change :-)

We had the Tuna Sashimi to start off and while waiting for our entrée.  The sashimi was quite ok though I may say not the best sashimi I had tasted.

My daughter being a fan of cheese based pizza had the Four Cheese Yamamoto which is Pesto based and composed of 4 cheeses (mozzarella, che-vital, provolone, parmesan) we had the jalapeno and nori strip taken out which the unsmiling waitress faithfully complied.

But the one that took the cake is the big platter named "I'm The King of the World" which is composed of Tuna and salmon sashimi (again), green chicken (deep fried bite-size chicken, sprinkled with aonori seaweed,) chicken and ebi japaella (japanese-paella rice,) mixed tempura, oyster teppan and house salad.  Everything we ever wanted to order!

There is one dish that stood out from here and that is the Japaella.  Mr Kurosawa have hit a home run with that one.

We didn't have dessert there as we need to walk off all the calories gained first.  Next time, I might try their ramen.

All in all, good food and even greater concept!  And to our waitress if this post reaches you, please try to smile :-)

P.S.

Tip: For me, one of the best if not the best Ebi Tempura in town can be found in Buma Seafood Market and Restaurant at the Hobbies of Asia right there in Macapagal Blvd. Pasay City (you'll pass by it when going to MOA if you come from Buendia.)  Just choose from the fresh large shrimps at the mini market and ask the server to have it made to tempura.  Best partnered with Sinigang sa miso with mustasa and big bowl of rice.  Yum!

My Tsukiji Experience

One of the most wonderful places to eat in Makati is the Milky Way Building at the corner of Paseo De Roxas and Pasay Road.  It houses the restaurants El Cirkulo, Milky Way Café, Azuthai and Tsukiji.  While I have eaten at Milky Way and El Cirkulo ages ago, this week I had the honor of eating at this very good authentic Japanese restaurant.

Tsukiji is located at the 3^rd floor of Milky Way and once I’ve stepped inside I immediately smelled the aroma of Japanese spices.  It’s like going back to Japan all over again.

First of was an appetizer of Aka Baku or Pickled Red Radish and Kimuchi a kind of Kimchi while sipping red wine.  The Aka Baku is a bit sweet and not at all overwhelmed by the vinegar.  The Kimuchi though is spicy but still slides down well to the throat.

A few minutes more and my favorite part came, which is the Sashimi.  There were seven kinds of sashimi in one big platter, which of course includes my favorite Tuna and Salmon sashimi in different varieties.  Here there are also squid, scallops and shrimp sashimi. Good fresh sashimi would almost as if it melts in your mouth.  Again this brought back memories of my Japan trip 3 years ago, as the Sashimi is so fresh and well made that you think that you only need to go to Japan to experience it.  I remember that when I was in Japan, the chef pleaded with us to finish the sashimi in the next hour or else they would lose their license.

Next off came the main course (and another bottle of red wine.)  Our gracious host treated us to Yakiniku (grilled meat.)  The trick is you have to grill the meat yourself according to your liking. But the best part is that the beef is a well-marbled Ohmi Wagyu Beef, which is already marinated, in their special sauce.  The slices are just about paper-thin but even if you grill it too long it doesn’t seem to burn up.  I knew that quite well because one of my companions forgot to turn his beef over.  Mukhang nakalimutan eh gusto ko na sanang kunin J

To compliment the beef we ordered Kani Salad.  (Yup no rice for that evening, parang diet ulit, yes!) Their Kani Salad is by far one of the best I’ve ever tasted.  Composed of shredded cabbage with crabmeat drenched in Japanese mayonnaise one order is too much that I wasn’t able to finish it all. Even the Japanese that I was with was quick to note that they used real crabmeat!  (So meron palang fake na crabmeat?)

At the end of this meal, we ordered Milky Way ice cream for dessert.  My two companions ordered avocado but I got intrigued and ordered their Atis (sugar apple) ice cream instead.  Wow! It does have Atis bits on it. 

For a nightcap, we were served some hot green tea.  But then again this means that this pleasant dining would have to come to an end.  So we called it a night as we give our final Kampai!  But after that I have to go back to the office and resume my quarter-end closing.  Did I just say that we finished two bottles of wine? Oh dear, hello headache galore.

Excuse me for the lack of pictures, as I was in General Manager mode when this splendid dining experience happened.  Can't be just snapping pictures of the food in front of my boss now wouldn't I? When I go back there it would have to be Blogger me instead.  To know more of what I am talking about, do check out www.tsukiji-restaurant.com.  They have an electronic version of the menu that looks exactly like the menu in the restaurant.