Asakusa, Home of Tempura

So The Grove by Rockwell just opened a new commercial area, situated right behind Starbucks/Hanamaruken/Sunrise Buckets, which almost always equals to new restaurants, and new places for me to go to. One of these new restos is Asakusa Home of Tempura, which opened back in August 2015. I heard great things about this restaurant from so many people, so I decided to check it out. Also, because I do love shrimp tempura (who doesn’t?)

Interior.

Menu shot.

For our tempura, we ordered the Shogun Set, which consisted of three black tiger prawn tempuras. Ironically, this was the last meal that arrived at our table – I think we had to wait for 15 minutes? It came straight from the fryer, though, so the shrimp was piping hot, which I guess was great.

Delicious and spicy Tuna Maki.

Hot Soba for dad.

Fried Rice.

Gyoza.

Tasty and crunchy Chicken Karaage Teriyaki. Comes with a delightful dipping sauce too.

Honestly, there’s nothing really memorable and eye-catching about this restaurant, but I forgive them for that since they’re still new in the scene. Maybe I can visit this place again in the future, and check to see if they have improved the quality of their food.

Ambiance/Interior: 4/5
Staff/Service: 4.5/5
Food: 4/5 (taste), 3/5 (presentation)

Asakusa, Home of Tempura, is located at The Grove by Rockwell, E Rodriguez Jr Ave Ugong, Pasig. Tel no: (0928) 314-2590. Links: Facebook.

The Italian Market (3rd anniversary post!!)

So my parents and I were invited to the wedding of one of dad’s colleagues from work. Luckily enough (for me, anyways) the wedding was held at a church in Pasay – So a trip to Resorts World Manila was pretty much inevitable, hehe. I only had one final resto to visit at RWM which wasn’t located inside their famous casino or one of its luxury hotels – The Italian Market.

Closer shot of the interior. The huge oven that they use for baking their pizzas was imported straight from Italy.

Menu: Small plates, Soups, Salad, Wood fired pizzas, Wood fired specials, Pastas, Wiches on boards, Sunday family roast, T.I.M. specials, Desserts.

Philly Style Shrimp Pesto – Roasted garlic pesto cream, large shrimps, parmesan cheese, and tossed croutons.

Pig & Fig – Prosciutto, red beets, fig jam, apples, arugula, smoked bacon, and cherry roasted tomatoes. The smoky flavor and chewy texture of the crust went perfectly well together with the sweet fig jam, and the crisp apple slices. Definitely one of the more unique pizza flavors that I’ve tasted. A must-try!

Risotto Balls – Yummy fried golden risotto rice, parmesan crust, sweet basil tomato sauce, and packed with oodles of gooey mozzarella cheese. I loved the fact that the dish wasn’t cloying at all, even though there’s so much cheese in it.

Humble Pie – Peanut butter and dark chocolate pie, with a dollop of vanilla cream on top. The taste of the rich peanut butter slightly overpowered the dark chocolate.

Okay, so honestly speaking, The Italian Market wasn’t exactly my first choice when it came to picking the perfect location for this blog’s third anniversary – In fact, I had a bunch of other restaurants in mind, but unfortunately, fate (and a messy schedule) had to intervene, so my plans didn’t really come into fruition. Not gonna lie, I was really disappointed – But hey, at least this year I was able to celebrate it inside one of my favorite hangout spots – And I guess that’s what really matters.

Ambiance/Interior: 5/5
Staff/Service: 4.5/5
Food: 5/5 (taste), 4.5/5 (presentation)

The Italian Market is located at 2/F Newport Mall, Newport Blvd Domestic Airport, Pasay. Tel no: (02) 403-8926. Links: Facebook.

Azuthai

What pretty much convinced me to do a review of Azuthai were two reasons: 1.) I had a seriously bad craving for Thai food which lasted for almost three days, and 2.) According to some people, Azuthai is known to be one of THE best places in Makati to get Thai food, along with People’s Palace. Azuthai has actually won a couple of awards, including one for Best Thai Restaurant in 2010.Their specialty is home-cooked Thai food, prepared by Watee Omanee – A Thai chef who has worked in different restaurants and hotels located in Switzerland, and the Maldives.

Had a rather tough time taking pictures of the interior. Lately I’ve been trying my best to take Interior shots without any people in it, which can be quite challenging sometimes. ^^;

Menu: Azuthai favorites, Azuthai signature dishes (vegetarian dishes, appetizers, soups, salads, curries, noodles and rice), Mains (seafood, pork, beef and chicken, noodle soup specials), Desserts, Beverages, Azuthai weekday lunch set menus, Azuthai lunch and dinner buffet menus.

The menu items were also written in Japanese, which I slightly found weird.

Thai Iced Tea. I’ve heard raves about their iced tea being different from all the other Thai restaurants out there, but… This one just tasted plain to me, TBH. (._.)

A plate of half-consumed Thai Bagoong Fried Rice with sweet pork, dried shrimp, egg, green mango, long beans, shallots, and khao kapi.

Pad Thai with Prawns – Stir-fried rice noodles, prawns, egg, spring onions, and peanuts. A little bit on the sweet side, but still delightful. They also have this small bowl of chili-vinegar dressing that you pour on top of the dish, if you prefer your pad thai to have a little bit of spice and sourness to it – Combine those two flavors with the sweetness of the noodles, and it’s just… Ugh. Amazing.

Crispy Thai-style Chicken Wings, with a bowl of sweet chili sauce on the side. The meat was super fresh, and unlike most chicken wing dishes, you don’t have to worry about swallowing little pieces of bones and getting your fingers all sticky and messy, since there’s only one huge piece of bone found right in the middle of the chicken wing.

Panang Beef Curry – Shallots, peanuts, and kaffir lime leaf. SO. MUCH. FLAVOR. Right after I took my first bite, it was as if there were dozens of different flavors all trying to catch the attention of my tastebuds. The curry wasn’t that greasy too, and the beef had the right amount of thickness.

And lastly, the prettiest plate of Mango with Sticky Rice that I’ve ever seen. The mango slices were reeeeally sour, though. (._.)

I’m so glad that chef Watee decided to travel here to the Philippines to give all of us Pinoys a taste of her delicious Thai cooking. Both the taste of her authentic dishes and the sophisticated ambiance of the resto make Azuthai a great place to go to.

Ambiance/Interior: 5/5
Staff/Service: 5/5
Food: 4.5/5 (taste), 4/5 (presentation)

Azuthai is located at G/F Milkyway Bldg., 900 A Arnaiz Ave cor Paseo de Roxas San Lorenzo, Makati. Tel no: (02) 817-6252. Links: Official website || Facebook || Instagram

Clean Plate by Twist

So restaurants that serve organic food are usually a hit or miss for me. The last organic-themed restaurant we reviewed literally left a bland, unsalted taste in my mouth, so after that incident, I’ve been wary/hesitant about wanting to visit any more organic restos ever since.

Enter The Clean Plate – A sibling restaurant of Twist, that famous comfort food resto located in Tomas Morato. Each time we pay a visit to UP Town Center, I always noticed that this place would be pretty much crowded, filled with both new and regular diners looking forward to eating some delicious – Yet healthy – Dishes. The reviews were pretty much great too, so I though… Why not give it a try?

Interior is slightly cramped…

Menu: All day menu (small cups, appetizer plates, sandwich plates, green plates, salad plates, pizza plates, pasta and noodle plates, breakfast bowls) Main plates (grass fed beef plates, free range chicken plates, free range pork, deep sea and fresh water seafood plates), Beverages, Sweet plates.

Honey Beef Belly Roast – Beef belly + coco/honey reduction + roast garlic cloves, served with a small bowl of red rice. The grass-fed beef itself was quite stringy, and a bit on the tough side. The coco/honey reduction was amazing, though. My mom loved the red rice so much, we ended up buying a sack of uncooked red rice at the grocery later that day. Hehe.

Ox Tail Kare-Kare – Ox tripe + cashew base + organic vegetables + fresh alamang. Also served with red rice.

Chicken + Egg Parmigiana – Free-range ground chicken + roast eggplant + pomodoro + goat’s milk crème + cacciocavallo. Comfort food at its finest – I can imagine myself eating this on a cold, rainy day together with a glass of hot tea or coffee while curled up on the sofa.

And finally, the piece de resistance – Twist’s Famous Cookies in triple xocolat, kimchi nutella, honey walnut oats, and lemon peel cheesecake flavors. As a self-proclaimed cookie connoisseur, I have to say that I absolutely loved the difference in taste and texture between all four cookies: Ranging from chewy and sweet, to buttery, crumbly, and even with a hint of spice. I love it!

The Clean Plate has definitely changed my views when it comes to organic food. It may be a little bit pricey, but I think it’s absolutely worth it – At least you know for sure that what you’re putting inside your body is 100% healthy.

Ambiance/Interior: 4.5/5
Staff/Service: 4.5/5
Food: 5/5 (taste), 5/5 (presentation)

The Clean Plate by Twist is located at UP Town Center, Katipunan Ave Loyola Heights, Quezon City. You can also find them at Trinoma. Links: Facebook.

Eummane Modern Korean

I have always been a fan of traditional Korean food – This blog makes it very obvious. I love barbecuing thin strips of bulgogi over a hot grill, eating bibimbap served warm inside a stone bowl, and slurping on galbi tang soup. But what if you could take one type of Korean food and fuse it with another type of cuisine, such as American or Mexican? That’s what Eummane’s food is all about.

Eummane, whose name translates to ‘mother’s place’, is a restaurant in Estancia mall that serves modernized and fusion Korean dishes. It’s very different from all the other Korean restaurants found all over the metro. They also have a wide array of soju-based drinks and cocktails.

Interior.

Menu: Starters, New dishes, Salad, Soups, Noodles, Main dishes, Side dishes, Drinks list (non-alcoholic, beverage, alcoholic beverages, soju by the pitcher, soju cocktails by the glass).

Seafood Noodle Soup – A medley of shrimp, clams, and New Zealand mussels with kalguksu noodles, simmered in myeolchi dashida (anchovy stock) broth. Loved the combination of the broth and the thick flour noodles.

Seafood Pancakes – Fresh shrimp, squid, and spring onions coming together in a delicious crispy Korean pancake. A little bit on the doughy/greasy side, but other than that, it was fine to me. Although without the gochujang (spicy pepper paste) sauce, the dish was kind of boring.

Uhn Yang Bulgogi – Thinly sliced beef sirloin strips. Sauteed with vegetables and shiitake mushrooms, with Eummane’s signature bulgogi sauce. The meat was a little bit too thick to be called ‘bulgogi’, in my opinion. Could use a little more flavor, too. Just like all beef dishes, it goes really well with sticky white rice.

Soju Battered Dory Tacos – Korean soju battered cream dory fillet, house made guacamole, and sesame coleslaw inside two flour tortillas with a side of mango relish and gochujang sauce. Well, what else can I say about this dish? I absolutely love fish tacos, so this was absolutely perfect. There’s a huge explosion of various flavors right after you take the first bite. Also comes with a small helping of taro chips.

I must say, the size and presentation of Eummane’s food really wowed me… Although some of their dishes could use some improvement, taste-wise. I’ll still highly recommend it though, because of the fact that it’s not just a typical Korean restaurant that serves run-of-the-mill Korean food (anyone noticed that they didn’t give us banchan?) – Their creativity when it comes to making fusion dishes will make diners want to keep returning for more.

Ambiance/Interior: 5/5
Staff/Service: 4.5/5
Food: 4/5 (taste), 5/5 (presentation)

Eummane Modern Korean is located at Estancia Mall, Meralco Ave cor Shaw Blvd Oranbo, Pasig. Tel no: (02) 997-0391. Links: Facebook.