soba – Jellybeans in the City

Affordable lunch at Komoro Japanese Dining, SM Megamall

While securing school supplies at SM Megamall last weekend, Hubby and I decided to have lunch at one of our old haunts here: Komoro Soba, now renamed to Komoro Japanese Dining.

Five years ago, when our offices are both located in the Ortigas area, this Japanese restaurant was our go-to place for affordable teishoku.

These are Japanese meal sets comprised of white rice, miso soup, tsukemono (pickled fruit or vegetable) and your choice of viand. While the rice serves the purpose of being filling, the miso soup provides the comforts of umami, while the tsukemono helps to cleanse the palate and counterbalance flavorful viand.

Komoro’s version of the teishoku is adapted to Filipino taste by replacing the tsukemono with seasonal fruit which almost serves the same function.

Mixed Tempura Teishoku (Php139). Shrimp, chicken and vegetable pieces dipped in batter and served with tempura sauce.

Tonkatsu Teishoku (Php147). A juicy piece of pork cutlet breaded and deep-fried to a golden brown and served with shredded cabbage, a salad and tart katsu sauce.

Prior to eating our teishoku, we shared a serving of Zaru Soba (Php98), chilled buckwheat noodles served with a light dipping sauce called tsuyu to whet our appetite.

It was a quick tasty meal to fuel us for a bout quarantine shopping.

This Komoro Japanese Dining branch is located at Upper Ground Floor, Building A, SM Megamall, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City,

Another mall-based branchbia located at Lower Ground Floor, SM City Southmall, Alabang-Zapote Road, Almanza, Las Piñas City.

Komoro also delivers Japanese Bento meal sets in Makati and BGC. To order, call +63 2 9858240 or +63 917 5870809 or message Komoro Bento on Facebook.

Sushi to share from Mumei Sushi

Sushi lovers out there will be happy to know that they can just have their sushi faves delivered right to their doorstep, thanks to Mumei Sushi!

Mumei Sushi began operations in 2018, providing sushi sets on consignment to Robinsons Supermarkets in North Luzon.

The Quezon City-based company then decided to expand its operations to the next frontier: online selling.

In this new space, Mumei Sushi was able to expand its product line in new and creative ways to include items such as:

Rolled Sushi. Aside from the classic faves such as tuna, salmon, kani and California Maki, Mumei Sushi also offers imaginative takes involving new savory or spicy ingredients – such as Seven Spice, Shredded Nori and Bonito Makis – as well as fruitier combinations – such as Kiwi, Avocado and Strawberry Makis. These sushi rolls are priced from Php25 to Php45 per piece but assorted pieces can also be packaged in a Holiday Box (Php1,299 for 50 pieces), Birthday Box (Php2,499 for 100 pieces) or a Grand Sushi Feast (Php4,799 for 200 pieces). Imagine walking into a party with that ginormous box!

Mumei Sushi Tamago (Php45/pc). Sushi made with thin layers of rolled up egg placed on top of sushi rice.

Sashimi in Can (Php399). Slices of fresh tuna and salmon, ready to eat and served in a tin can for presentation and portability.

Onigiri (Php100/pc). Hefty triangular blocks of sushi rice wrapped in nori filled cooked meat dishes such as spicy beef amd Pinoy sisig.

Spam Musubi (Php100/pc). A popular snack or lunch item in Hawaii, made with a slice of grilled spam placed on top of a block of sushi rice wrapped together with nori.

Tempura Soba (Php300/serving). Japanese-style deep-fried battered shrimp served together with thin yet firm buckwheat soba noodles. Both are well-complemented by the special dipping sauce that accompany each serving.

With Mumei Sushi, Japanese food lovers can easily enjoy their faves as well as explore new ways to enjoy sushi.

Here’s a friendly reminder: given that sushi is best served cold, do consume the sushi immediately upon delivery.

It is also best enjoyed with family and friends, so don’t forget to share your sushi stash with your nears-and-dears!

To get your hands on these delectable sushi treats, call +63 2 33528462, text +63 999 4025936, +63 977 4721528 or +63 923 5177609. You may also send a message via Facebook or Instagram.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate an honest review.

Check out my blog posts on other small enterprises and startups in the food business:

Ramen Cool, Kapitolyo

Back when I worked in the Ortigas area, my officemates and I used to venture to the foodie-friendly Kapitolyo for our happy lunches.

One of our favorite haunts is Ramen Cool which was established in the area before the ongoing ramen craze.

It offers Japanese food lovers their favorite dishes, some with a few twists.

This branch now offers lunch sets which allow diners to enjoy a well-curated set of dishes which include solo servings of a main viand, soup, salad, drink and more all for under Php400. In this way, diners can have a flavorful variety of Japanese dishes while still staying on budget.

While out on field work in the area, my coworkers and I took advantage of these offers by ordering:

Karaage Lunch (Php219). Chicken karaage served with iced coffee, plain rice, pulled pork ramen, two pieces of California Maki and Kani Salad.

Tuna Ahi Poke Lunch (Php269). A yellowfin tuna poke bowl served with iced coffee, miso soup, yakisoba and kani salad.

Chirashi Lunch (Php379). A bowl of chirashi (sushi rice topped with various sliced and chopped sushi flavored with Japanese mayo, wasabi and spring onions) served with iced coffee, miso soup, yakisoba and kani salad.

Aside from these lunch sets, our group’s orders also included:

Seared Tuna Salad (Php315) and Spicy Tuna Salad (Php295). Both prettily served on a specialized bowl which kept the salads cool and the greens crisp.

Karaage Wasabi Mayo (Php195). Japanese-style fried chicken doused with wasabi mayo.

It was a delicious return to an old haunt and I’d love to revisit the place and its specialties again soon!

This Ramen Cool branch is located at 25 East Capitol Drive, Barangay Kapitolyo, Pasig City, open Sundays to Wednesdays from 11am to 10.30pm and Fridays to Saturdays from 11am to 12 midnight. For inquries and reservations, call +63 2 86360972 or +63 2 89984168.

Other branches are located at:

San Lorenzo Village Condominium, San Lorenzo, Makati
Westlife Building, West Avenue, Quezon City

An authentic taste of Japanese cuisine in Cainta: Fukurou Nihonryori

I have lived in the East for most of my life… in the Far East, it sometimes feels like, because of all these horrendous traffic jams! Sometimes, the hassle of going to places far north to Quezon City or down south to Muntinlupa, for instance, can be quite daunting.

Well, it’s a good thing then that the East is starting to become even more interesting with all the food destinations it offers. That way, Eastern foodies like me won’t have to travel far for gastronomic adventures.

One such destination is Fukurou Nihonryori, located along Marcos Highway in Barangay San Isidro, Cainta. I admit: I have often overlooked this area when I go looking for new food places. I usually gravitate towards the places nearer my home in Pasig, or skip on to Marikina or Antipolo.

This just makes my first dining experience here even more special. Imagine: a treasure trove of Japanese dishes available all this time, right under my nose!

Together with fellow food bloggers from #WeLoveToEatPH, I attended a foodie meetup here and quickly got myself acquainted to a new favorite place for Japanese cuisine in my neck of the woods.

In Japanese, “fukurou” translates to “owl,” while “nihonryori” translates to “from Japan.” The Japanese regard the owl symbol as a lucky charm; in the restaurant, the owl emblem can be seen in the menus and paper placemats.

Inside, the place is simple and welcoming yet elegantly designed, perfect for gatherings of small groups or intimate dinners for two. Pinewood furniture complement the beige interiors highlighted with Japanese watercolors of nature. Light installations add some warm illumination to the room for a relaxing atmosphere and to showcase the meticulously prepared and beautifully presented food. The resto also has a well-stocked bar for those who also want to indulge in some spirits along with their meal.

Our meal of tasty and authentic Japanese dishes consisted of:

Vegetable Fried Rice (Php110). A type of yakimeshi (Japanese fried rice) that complements the other Japanese dishes.

Saba Shioyaki (Php325). Grilled mackerel with a crispy skin and tender meat that’s just so flavorful.

Tebasaki (Php125). A yakitori (skewered meat dish) made of bone-in chicken wings (“tebasaki” translates to “wing tips”) which is seasoned after frying.

Sashimi Moriawase (Php695). A sampler of various sashimi (fresh and thinly sliced fish) which include yummy morsels of salmon, tuna, mackerel and squid.

Tempura Moriawase (Php398). A basket of shrimp and vegetables all coated in light batter and deep-fried, accompanied by a tempura dipping sauce.

Yaki Samon Mayo (Php135). Two hefty slices of salmon draped over balls of Japanese rice and complemented with Japanese mayo and fish roe.

Fried Maki (Php265). Rolled sushi of mango, kani (crabstick) and ebi (shrimp) which is also deep-fried before slicing which gives each piece a crispy texture unlike other maki.

Sukiyaki (Php350 for half | Php650 for full). One of the resto’s nabemono (hot pot dishes), it is made of beef slices, tofu, noodles and veggies cooked in shoyu and Japanese wine giving the broth a sweet-savory taste.

Miso Ramen (Php328). Chashu pork slices, tamago (soft-boiled egg), carrots, wakame (seaweed), leeks and nori in a bowl of slightly spicy miso-based broth.

Zaru Soba (Php220). Chilled buckwheat noodles served with mentsuyu (sauce made from sake, mirin, soy sauce, kombi and dried bonito flakes) for dipping.

Japanese Cheesecake (Php198). Fluffy cheesecake made in the traditional Japanese way drizzled with dulce de leche.

Kinako Korumitsu Mochi Ice Cream (Php158). Vanilla-flavored mochi ice cream topped with soybean powder and syrup.

We also chased our thirst away with some house-brewed iced tea.

These dishes – some already familiar to me and my companions, some not – served as a sampling of the sheer breadth and variety inherent in Japanese cuisine.

I’d love to come back and discover more of it. But that’s an adventure for anothef day.

Thanks to Chelsea Tuazon and the staff of Fukurou Nihonryori for the warm welcome and the fabulous Japanese food feast, and to Alfred Pineda for extending the invitation.

Fukurou Nihonryori is located at Ground Floor, The Pinnacle Plaza, Marikina-Infanta Highway, Bgy. San Isidro, Cainta, Rizal, open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 10pm. For reservations and inquiries, call +63 917 1336302.

Disclosure: Together with other food bloggers, I attended a foodie meet-up held in this restaurant. All the food items mentioned here were served to allow us to sample the fare and were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.