Umami Hambaagu House

One rainy Saturday, the fennel bulbs decided to have lunch at Umami Hambaagu House (うまみハンバーグ).

This restaurant serves Japanese 洋食 (youshoku or Western-style) cuisine. The main item is evident from the name, and it's hamburg steak. The place is clad in homely colours and the smell of a tidily-kept home greets one's senses upon entering the restaurant.

The menu and the walls had a few aphorisms written on them like enjoying oneself and uplifting one's mood through food. On its menu were items loaded with "calories and happiness", and before one even enters the store, it warns that being "boring" is not an option inside the premises.

The menu is aesthetically pleasing, and the items are named in such a way that they're easy to remember, and all had their appropriate Japanese translations. Hamburgers are paired with various ingredients from tomatoes and cheese to the opulent foie gras. On the last page, the store expresses its intent to keep in touch with its customers.

The fennel bulbs first started out with a cream of corn soup. It can be had by just adding Php60 to the set. The soup was delicious and finishing it up felt good on a rainy day.

Anyway, the fennel bulbs ordered Battousai (バトウサイ, Php345）. It's hamburg steak in bell pepper sauce with roasted tomatoes. Also, Maison du Japon (Php340) was ordered. This time it's hamburg steak topped with Gruyère cheese and caramelised onions. Each order comes with a cup of rice, cabbage in sesame dressing, largely-cut fries, and edamame.

First of all, the quality of the hamburg steak is evaluated. The server at first weirdly commented that our orders would be "well done". And to which we thought that it can be prepared other ways (the rare to well-done spectrum, that is). Our server explained that it should be "well done" since the hamburg steaks (or patties for that matter) are a mixture of pork and beef. And upon hearing that fact which we though as okay, we simply acquiesced. But then again, it was totally superfluous to ask such a question when there was just basically one way for the hamburg steak to be prepared.

The steak was redolent with the flavour of fatty pork. A more refined flavour could have been achieved by increasing the portion of beef, and by using lean primer cuts of both pork and beef, however minced they are. Lean sirloin beef or pork would produce a more refined steak. Hamburg steak is actually a popular dish when one comes to Japan, and more often it is topped with grated daikon. The meat is usually mixed with some flavour-imparting ingredients like sake and miso. But the quality of the meat plays the primary role in creating the hamburg steak, so we think.

The Battousai was dressed in a bell pepper sauce which only faintly reminded us that it was supposed to be bell pepper. The sauce was more yellowish and we failed to see any hues that a green or red or even bright yellow capsicum could have imparted. That specific tartness one tastes from a cooked capsicum was just not there. Overall, the Battousai simply lacked flavour. The Maison du Japon had gratinated Gruyère cheese and caramelised onions on top, and it imparted some saltiness and enhance the otherwise mediocre hamburg steak.

The salad and the fries were good, though. One can imagine that they have used readily-available goma (sesame) dressing for the salad. The edamame is much the same as the edamame served in Japanese restaurants here in Manila - dry and a bit sad, having been transported more than 2000 kilometres away from its source.

From their drinks and dessert menu that guaranteed "only two things: Calories and Happiness," the Kohi-cha Romance (Php140) was ordered. It was, from the name implies, a mixture of coffee and tea.

And despite the theme of trying to conjure happiness, the staff were quite uptight, if not sarcastic and cold. The place has definitely high ideals and it could gain a steady following. But the fennel bulbs would like to suggest refining the basics at first, which is the quality and the flavour of the hamburg steak. Umami means a pleasant savoury taste, and this could also be achieved by improving the taste of the accompanying sauces such that one feels that the dish has organic and harmonious unity.

Also a more relaxed and cozy atmosphere can be achieved by getting rid of the uptightness. Quite sadly, 窮屈ハンバーグ(uptight hamburg) is a more appropriate name for this store.