Tag: japanese food

Tempura Japanese Grill

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On April 21, 2010

Tempura Japanese Grill
1 Juno St. cor. Makati Ave., Makati City, Metro Manila
(02) 899-1365

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It was a get together that was planned for weeks. Funny though that some of us were late (including me hehehe!). Tempura Japanese Grill is located at Makati avenue and is near our office. It took us quite a time to order. We ended up ordering when everyone was already present. It did seem as though like we had the menu memorized hahaha!

One thing that I really appreciate is that Tempura Japanese Grill has ample parking space plus the restaurant is big enough to cater to a lot of dining guests. The place has such a wonderful ambiance that you could probably sit there for hours without feeling any pressure. The food is delicious too! I also love their new menu items especially Wasabi Tempura (yum!).

We ordered the ff.:

Ebi Bacon Maki (Php 230)

Shrimp, winter mushroom & asparagus wrapped in bacon with Tempura’s special sauce. Hayy, this is truly heaven! I used to order the asupara maki w/c is asparagus wrapped in bacon but this innovation is just wow! Shrimps, asparagus & bacon in 1 menu item. My 3 favorite foods served as appetizer! I enjoyed this dish a lot!

Mixed Maki (Php 180)

California maki, tamago maki, kani maki & tekka maki. If you wanna have a taste of everything, then you should order this. California maki still is my favorite among the rest though.

Karufuru Salad (Php 155)

A fruity salad indeed! Mandarin oranges, apple, grapes with lettuce & fruit infused vinaigrette. Good for people who are on a diet (I think I should be telling myself that hahaha!). I wasn’t able to taste this though, but maybe I should next time 🙂

Gohan (Php 35)/ Chahan (Php 48)

Gomoku Chahan (Php 60)

the difference between this rice and chahan is that this includes mixed seafoods, but there’s not much difference in taste though.

Tofu Steak (Php 150)

This has always been my favorite item to order from the menu. Tofu, shitake mushrooms & ground pork with steak sauce. Very tasty & healthy too!

Ebi Wasabi Tempura (Php 399)

I’ve been raving about this dish. But do take note, you don’t need to add the wasabi into your sauce coz the tempura has wasabi all over it! Prawns deep fried in crispy batter with wasabi, it’s such a great innovation! Kudos to the one who created the recipe.

Spareribs Sansho Yaki (Php 245)

This is another menu item that is very unique. Spareribs Teriyaki – it’s spareribs cooked Japanese style! It was delicious! We all loved it! I believe from all the japanese restaurants out there, only Tempura serves this.

Tori Teriyaki (Php 195)

We didn’t order this at first but my friend Hai ended up ordering it. It’s the ever famous chicken teriyaki… If you’re curious, it’s basically chicken (leg portion) that has been marinated and grilled. But it’s moist, cooked well, and the teriyaki sauce tops it off quite nicely. Delicious!

Brewed Lemon Iced Tea (Php 60)

Once in a while, we need to go out for lunches like these, because of not only the food but because of the very meaningful conversations.. I loved conversations like what we had here at Tempura Japanese Grill coz it brings out whatever is in our hearts. Though how deep the topics are, if my friends are with me, then taking pictures will always be part of it

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.

Sumo Sam

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 24, 2010

Sumo Sam
2/F Rockwell Drive cor. Estrella St., Makati City, Metro Manila
(02) 729-6292

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It was my 1st time to try out Sumo Sam. I thought I was about to try something new but was surprised when I actually saw the menu. I asked the server “Do you have the same menu as John & Yoko?”. She answered, “Yes”. I wonder why the owners did this, having the same menu with just a different name & different restaurant interiors. They can just make this another John & Yoko branch right? Weird.

Their signature short dresses for the girls are still there. I feel bad coz it seems like they have to make their female servers wear that kind of dress which I think is soo wrong. Sumo Sam is a restaurant not a girly bar.

Anyway, this time we ordered a lot of dishes hahaha! Actually more than what we can take into our stomach 😛 We could have just ordered 1 fried rice but the other dishes were all okay. So pretty satisfied still. The food was just alright, not spectacular but still okay.

Here are what we ordered:

Crunchy Squid Teriyaki (Php 158)

If you go to traditional Japanese restaurants, you’d see that they serve crunchy dilis. Sumo Sam’s Crunchy Squid Teriyaki actually tasted the same. The main ingredient though is squid. Very unique, we all loved the dish!

Japanese Fried Rice (Php 178)

Just the typical Japanese fried rice. I wouldn’t recommend you to order this one. Their other fried rice are better (my recommendation? See my review on John & Yoko Wagyu rice).

Meat Fried Rice (Php 178)

This meat fried rice, I really love. It was very tasty & I think it was just enough for us 5 friends. The waitress told us that their fried rice is good for 2-3. So we also ordered the Japanese fried rice. But honestly, I think this is good for 4 people.

Chicken Teriyaki (Php 228)

This was also another good dish from Sumo Sam. I loved how they presented it. Loved how the sauce was perfect for the chicken. Loved how the chicken was cooked. If you’re a fan of Chicken Teriyaki then you should order this when you go to either Sumo Sam or John & Yoko.

Lychee & Rose (Php 148)

Don’t be fooled. This is just lychee shake with cream & red syrup. There’s no rose perse.

Gyoza Soup (Php 128)

My least favorite. Didn’t even eat the gyoza. Just tasted the soup that’s it. I felt this is just way overpriced.

Tofu Miso Soup (Php 98)

Mt. Fuji Steak (Php 368)

Sumo Sam’s Mt. Fuji Steak was a disappointment. I was actually raving about it to my friends coz I was able to try the same dish over at John & Yoko. This one that we tried last sunday? Meat was not tender, it wasn’t delicious at all.

Ika Fry (Php 208)

Great presentation! The squid ring was just okay but I think I was the one who finished this dish. The dish was placed in front of me. Can’t help but just eat that one hahaha!

California Maki Salad (Php 208)

Japanese style salad indeed. Pretty decent.

Assorted Sushi (Php 388)

Ebi Teppan (Php 368)

We got 1 piece each. It was just your normal teppan shrimps w/ Japanese sauce.

It is nice that we have so many different restaurants to choose from when we plan to eat out. I do feel though that the food is getting more expensive. I feel that Sumo Sam’s prices are a bit on the high side. Bringing down their prices like Php50 per dish is more reasonable considering the quality of their dishes.

More pictures from our lunch here.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.

Teriyaki Boy

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On December 5, 2009

Teriyaki Boy
Petron Bel-Air Square, Gil Puyat cor. Makati Ave., Makati City, Metro Manila
(02) 750-3689

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The day we were supposed to attend the Sexy Chef event at the office, we unfortunately ran out of food so we ended up eating outside. We chose Teriyaki Boy mainly because it has good ambiance and they have some new offerings.

I love how Teriyaki Boy always try to come up with something new. Ofcourse this makes their customers want to come back to the restaurant. First it was their crazy rolls, now the new offering is karaage feast.

Here are what we ordered:

Tori Karaage (Php 290)

This was part of the karaage feast. It was boneless chicken that was deep-fried & served with your choice of sauce (Teriyaki, Ranch, Sesami or Chili). I admit, this is not my favorite but it’s like fried chicken 😛 We ordered their to-share version. You can order their go-solo version at Php 165.

Tofu Steak (Php 155)

This dish has always been my favorite in Teriyaki Boy. It is breaded tofu w/ ground pork, onions, chives, shitake & steak sauce. No matter how many times I go to Teriyaki Boy, this has always been the dish to order there.

Asupara Bacon Maki (Php 165)

This is another favorite dish of mine. I think I was the one who ate most of this order 😛 Anyway, this is asparagus wrapped in bacon. 2 of my most favorite ingredients rolled into one. Perfect combination, don’t you think? Just yummy!

Crazy California Roll (Php 175)

This was a different twist to California maki. We didn’t order rice as this crazy maki already had rice. We were all on a diet! 😛 anyway, crazy California maki consists of crabstick, mango, watermelon & lettuce wrapped in rice.

More pictures here.

One thing though that we disliked about the Petron Bel-Air branch was their service. It was just unsatisfactory. First, you have to wait for a waiter to notice you. Then it’s like they are always in a hurry and they just give you what you want without smiling or anything. Another was the longgg wait just to get the bill completed. This has always been the feedback of many who has offices nearby. I hope they fix this because I still go there frequently.