Tokyo Sampler

The fennel bulbs are off to Tokyo once more, but this time for a much longer time. There will be more opportunities to dig in deeper into the gastronomic diversities the Japanese capital has to offer. One would expect that Japanese food would be definitely on top of the list, but we've decided to tackle dishes from different cuisines and cultures first, just to show that just about everything is being offered in the world's largest city. 

First stop is hamburgers. There are a lot of burger joints in Tokyo, including McDonald's, Mos Burger, and Freshness Burger. Also the burger steak has been incorporated into Japanese cuisine and figures as the baaga-suteki (バーガーステキ) served with rice and topped with soy-based sauce and grated radish. But a restaurant in Jiyugaoka (自由が丘) makes the difference by making top-quality Western-style burgers from purely organic ingredients. 

The restaurant is quaint. The little space it fits in is typical for a lot of Tokyo establishments. The interiors are cozy and one can find most of the tables on the outdoor terrace. 

Guacamole burger set with fried potatoes and coleslaw (Y1640) was ordered. One first gets to taste the buns which are the most perfectly-tasting hamburger buns there could be. It is utterly delicious and fresh, baked bread at its finest, accentuated by the taste of sesame seeds. The guacamole is made from organic avocados, and the beef is likewise organic, and it is Wagyu (和牛). The beef tastes very fresh. Superlatives are to describe this burger as well as the fried potatoes and the coleslaw, which is light and refreshing. 

Moving on to flashier Omotesando, the shopping center Omotesando Hills has some culinary treats to offer. On the ground floor is kurkku3 restaurant which offers an alternative view on how meals should be eaten - its menu categorizes food according to the good and qualitative effects it can do on the body (not necessarily medical). Dishes are tagged as energizing, or relaxing, or mood-uplifting, and so on.

 

The interiors are cool and swanky and one has a view of Omotesando and the passers-by.  

 

First to be ordered is a bowl of Korean Bibimbap (Y1300), with a kurkku3 interpretation. Bits of tender beef are cooked just right and served over rice and topped with poached egg and assorted vegetables (spring onions most markedly). One has to mix together the ingredients and the dish achieves an organic unity, with the poached egg serving as a binder. 

Then comes a Vietnamese style spring roll stuffed with green leafy vegetables and fried eel (Y550 for 1 piece, cut in half). It is served with hoisin sauce dusted with ground peanuts. The richness of the eel, which is fatty fish in the first place, is subdued by the vegetables, achieving a delightful balance. 

Last stop for this issue is a restaurant in a quieter section of Tokyo. Futako-tamagawa (二子多摩川) seems to be another typical Tokyo neighborhood, appearing more suburban. But with the addition of Rise Shopping Center which has very good shops, there's always a reason to visit this place. 

 

 

On the top floor of Dogwood Plaza (still included in Rise S.C.) are restaurants. The liveliest of the restaurant seems to be the Pasta House AWKitchen. It's lively enough to even attract groups of elderly Japanese, although the place seems to be a bit too modern and gives the impression of targeting younger groups.  

For antipasto, eggplant puttanesca (横浜メスプッタネスカ, Y550) was ordered. The tomatoes are fresh and the taste of anchovies delicately punctuate it. The eggplants are cooked just right with no hint of bitterness.

 

Last is the pasta - an olive oil based pasta dish of rigatoni in ground chicken and garlic sauce with lotus root (Y1100). The sauce is cooked together with a piece of dried chili which adds some heat. The rigatoni is cooked al dente and is freshly-made (not dried pasta). The serving is a bit on the light side and won't leave someone feeling bloated from too much pasta. 

Overall, a good experience it is. 

More to come. 

* Jiyugaoka (自由が丘) and Futako-Tamagawa (二子多摩川) can be easily accessed from Shibuya (渋谷) through the Tokyu Den-en-toshi line.  
* Omotesando (表参道) can be accessed either through the Tokyo Metro on the Hanzomon, Ginza, and Chiyoda lines, and can be reached by foot from 原宿 Harajuku station on the JR Yamanote line.

Quirky Details

A delightful restaurant situated along quiet Luna Mencias Street in Mandaluyong City is "The Frazzled Cook." One can find some lovely eccentricities in the restaurant, including a whole shelf lined with Maneki Neko's (まねき猫, the Japanese cat), and Hello Kitty spoons. 

 

The interiors are cozy and elegant, an eclectic mix of period furniture and more contemporary furnishings. Books and memorabilia adorn the shelves. The menu brings to mind the down-to-earth goodness of a home kitchen with a lot of soul, that is. 

 

First the fennel bulbs energized their palates with a delicious fruit and walnut salad (Php200). Two big slabs of melon, mixed greens, walnuts, and a vinaigrette comprise a nutritious dish. The croutons taste like days-old butter garlic toasts, the locally made ones like La Pacita, which conjure cozy feelings of eating a home-spun meal. 

 

 

Next is the Potato and Basil Chowder with Prosciutto (Php150). The soup is hearty and very comforting especially on a stormy evening. The basil is just enough to provide a pleasant sweetness to the soup and the prosciutto adds a contrast with its innate saltiness.

Next is the tenderloin and sausage pizza (Php350). The pizza is good enough to serve 2 people, but a hungry stomach can devour it all. This is not authentic Italian pizza but a more domestic take on the dish. The crust resembles the ready made pizza crusts one can buy at the grocery store (like Bambi's). The real goodness of the dish though lies on the toppings. Generous portions of tenderloin chunks, chopped sausages, capsicum, and cheese is a definitely a treat. One can drizzle chili oil over it for more flavor. 

Last but not the least is Spicy Cajun Fish with Saffron Rice (Php375). A huge fillet of fish (most probably dory, 500g of it) placed on top of saffron-flavored rice. The fillet is rubbed generously with spices. A salsa consisting of onions, olives, and other spices enhances the flavors. A very tasty and spicy dish indeed! 

Overall, The Frazzled Cook is a very good restaurant; its ambiance and food both have a lot of character. And the fennel bulbs still have a lot of dishes to try out! 

Modern Chinese

An illustrious Chinese restaurant that is most frequented in the Greenhills area and that has been causing a bit of a traffic jam along Connecticut street is the Lugang (鹿港) Cafe. Opened for just less than a year, this restaurant, owned and managed by the Shanghai-based Bellagio group and with scores of branches in mainland China, has been definitely making its mark already on the local dining scene.

 

 

The restaurant is brightly lit and very welcoming, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a sleek and contemporary interior. The overall theme is metallic, with a touch of some traditional Chinese elements like the wooden door and the stone vase. One should be warned that the restaurant is intimidatingly noisy and bustling, like most Chinese restaurants are. Lugang Cafe more or less focuses on cuisine from the eastern half of China, and one can find dishes from Taiwan, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Beijing.

First on the list are the litte dragon buns (more popularly known as xiao long bao 小龍包, Php188). Seven succulent pieces of the dimsum snack are served on a bamboo container with a dipping sauce made from black vinegar and ginger. Tasteful broth is included inside the wrap and one must bite through it cautiously as it can be quite hot!

Next is the garlic pork roll (Php160). The fennel bulbs were expecting a spring roll, but to their surprise, it happens to be thinly sliced pork stuffed with bean sprouts, chives, amongst other refreshing vegetables. And speaking of refreshing, this dish uses meat to refresh the taste buds! The sauce is richly garlicky, and reminds one of the sauce used for lumpiang sariwa. 

A very tasty vegetable dish is the mixed mushrooms in XO sauce (Php280). It's served as a viand and the hint of garlic and chili goes very well with steamed Jasmine rice. The XO sauce (a mildly spicy sauce made from dried scallops) enhances the flavour of the dish with its blend of spicy and salty. 

Next is the beef with chinese crullers (Php290). The combination of textures and flavours makes this dish a very comforting one indeed! The heartiness of the beef, which is quite tender and dense, is supplemented by the cruller (a Chinese pastry which is deep fried and resembles a doughnut), which is crunchy and airy. The celery is a little contrasting detail but fits very well into the dish. 

 

A perfect way to end the meal and at the same time rinse the palate is green tea ice cream with red beans over shaved ice (Php180). Resembling the Japanese kakigori, this dessert is actually more like an afternoon refreshment than a meal ender, but does the same job very well. The green tea ice cream though tastes more like vanilla than green tea. 

Overall, Lugang Cafe is a great place to go to for delicious and affordable Chinese cuisine, with the milieu in mind, of course. 好之了！ 

 

Hungarian Rhapsody

When it comes to Central European food, perhaps the most iconic is probably Austrian and German cuisine. Sausage, pretzels, roast knuckles, and sauerkraut come to mind - not to mention the ubiquitous potato which appears in so many variants. Not so much of these can be had in Manila, more so that the restaurant Schwarzwalder (Black Forest) which for the last 20 or so years have appeased hungry locals with their cozy German food closed down. 

A rather new and quaint restaurant with great potential that serves Central European cuisine is Magyar (which means Hungary in the Hungarian tongue). Hungarian food is the main focus of the menu, but some pasta and pizza are also offered. The restaurant is located in Paseo de Magallanes, which can be quickly accessed through SLEX. 

 

 

In addition to a regular menu, the fennel bulbs were presented with an adorable scrapbook detailing the various dishes as well as insights regarding Hungarian cuisine, culture, and history.  

For starters, Langos (Php110 for an order comprised of two pieces) was ordered. Langos is deep-fried dough and eaten in Hungary as a snack and it is topped with cream and cheese. The texture is similar to that of a doughnut. 

Next is the beet salad (Php140). Mixed greens, beets, vinaigrette, cheese, nuts, and oranges are tossed together. This is delicious, and the combination of the sweetness of the beets and the sourness of the vinaigrette go very well together. One must be wary of the beets as it can stain clothes. 

 

Next is Lamb Paprika (Php325) which is lamb stewed in paprika and wine, amongst other flavorful ingredients. The taste does not differ much from the Filipino caldereta. It is served with spaetzle, which are soft egg noodles commonly used to accompany dishes in South German, Tirolean, Austrian, and Hungarian cuisine. Also, it is light, and one would need another serving of it to become full. 

 

The evening's piece de resistance however is the pork chop Debrecen-style (Php285). A generous portion of pork chop which seems to have been firstly fried and then baked to utter perfection is served over salad greens. Lightly pink meat is revealed once one slices through it and the taste is just to be savored. The taste of apples comes to mind. The Debrecener sausage (named after Hungary's second largest city of Debrecen, this sausage is heavily spiced with paprika, marjoram, and garlic) at the center is just heavenly. This must be the best pork chop dish in town!

 

And what a more fitting way to eat all the lovely Hungarian dishes than with a bottle of Czech-inspired beer (Php75). Note that this is locally brewed. 

 

For dessert, apple strudel (Php185) is a delight to be had. The thin layers of pastry have just the right texture and the filling, consisting of apples and raisins and spiced with cinnamon is just delicious. More so with a scoop of vanilla ice cream daintily garnished with a thin chip of dried apple.

 

More than a Coffee Shop

The fennel bulbs have lately heard about a nice coffee shop that offers more than what the other run-of-the-mill coffee shops can whip up. Subspace, located along F. Ortigas Jr. Avenue (formerly known as Emerald Avenue) in Ortigas Center does not just serve coffee, snacks, and pastries, but it also is a showcase of interior design. Customers get to sit on designer chairs and watch Korean shows and series being projected onto a white wall whilst sipping coffee. 

 

Coffee shops have been gaining popularity in Asian countries like Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, where tea is definitely more popular than coffee. A lot of these coffee shops have also become venues for interior design ingenuity and for exhibiting artworks by local artists. Subspace brings the same Bohemian feeling to Manila, and the result is a cosy nook with an ambiance where one can just revel and get transported to different spaces, as it were. The Korean soap-series, The Coffee Prince, comes to mind.

Now, the fennel bulbs have a favourite drink. 

 

It's a purple potato latte (Php125, small), which is coffee topped with purple potato flavouring (which we conjecture to be either in powder form or an essence). It's delightfully sweet, but the overall flavour of the coffee is preserved.

 

And a slice of carrot loaf (Php45) to go with the lovely coffee. 

Indeed Subspace is a place or rather a "space" where one can just have an intimate conversation with one's friends or just be alone and soak the good vibes.