teishoku – Jellybeans in the City

A Teishoku Feast at Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant

Despite having diverse personal interests, my husband’s and my tastes do converge when it comes to food, and one of our favorite cuisines, of course, is Japanese food.

Having espied an erstwhile untried Japanese restaurant as we were running some errands in Eastwood Mall, we decided on having our lunch there. That establishment is Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant, a Japanese chain that specializes in teishoku, or Japanese set meals.

What is Teishoku?

Teishoku (定食) is a Japanese set meal that typically consists of rice, miso soup, a main dish, and a side dish or two. The main dish can be anything from grilled fish to tempura to curry, and the side dishes can vary depending on the restaurant. Some common side dishes include pickled vegetables, tofu, and salad.

Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant

Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant is a Japanese restaurant chain that was founded in 1886 in Tokyo, Japan. The chain has since expanded to over 350 locations in Japan, as well as to other countries such as the United States, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

The concept of Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant is to provide affordable and delicious Japanese food in a casual and comfortable setting. The menu features a variety of teishoku dishes, as well as other Japanese favorites such as sushi, sashimi, and ramen. Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant also offers a variety of bento boxes, which are perfect for a quick and easy meal on the go.

Our Experience at Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant

Having arrived prior to the rush of the lunch crowd, we were able to secure our table right away. The restaurant is has a decidedly modern Asian decor, combining Japanese elements such as a cherry blossom-themed central mural and pine-wood furniture with geometric space dividers.

Yayoi also employs an innovative ordering system. Each table is equipped with a tablet that displays the menu. Customers can use the tablet to place their orders, request for their bill, as well as to make requests for assistance from the restaurant staff. This system allows customers to order their food quickly and easily, and it also frees up the waitstaff to focus on other tasks, such as refilling drinks and clearing tables.

Our orders included:

Ebi Tempura Set (Php650). Five pieces of lightly battered shrimp and tempura sauce, accompanied by Japanese rice, miso soup and seasonal sides.

Beef Teppanyaki Set (Php695). Pan-grilled rib eye beef and toasted garlic on top of assorted stir-fried vegetables served on a hot plate and accompanied by Japanese rice, miso soup and seasonal sides.

Edamame (Php195). Lightly boiled salted green soybeans.

Fresh Salmon Roll (Php450). Slices of fresh salmon topped with Japanese mayo and roe wrapped around sushi rice rolled with crabstick, tamago and cucumber.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant. The food was delicious, the service was friendly, efficient and attentive, and the atmosphere was casual and comfortable.

So if you’re game for delicious and filling Teishoku experience, be sure to check out Yayoi!

This Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant is located at Ground Floor, Eastwood Mall, Eastwood Avenue, Bagumbayan, Quezon City, open daily from 10am to 10pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 85264698.

Other Metro Manila branches are located at:

3rd Level, Mega B, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City (Tel: +63 2 87326137)
Mall Level 2 Main Mall South, SM Mall of Asia, SM Central Business Park Bay City, Pasay (Tel: +63 2 88216082)
Unit L221 2nd Floor, One Bonifacio High Street, 28th Street Corner 5th Ave, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig (Tel: +63 2 82422792)
H.V Dela Costa Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City (Tel: +63 2 82514401)
The Block, Second Level, SM North EDSA, North Avenue corner EDSA, Quezon City (Tel: +63 2 84410073)
Level 1 Phase 2 UP Town Center, Katipunan Ave, Brgy UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City (Tel: +63 2 82869018)

For more information about Yayoi Teishoku Restaurant’s menu and offers, visit its website or follow it on Facebook and Instagram.

Teishoku Sets at Tendon Kohaku, Uptown Mall

Food destinations abound in Bonifacio Global City, giving foodies that frequent the area with an exciting array of options for gastronomic adventures.

Uptown Mall, for example, is the site of one such establishment: Tendon Kohaku.

A member of the Mugen Group which also manages other Japanese restaurant brands such as UCC Cafe, Mitsuyado Seimen, MOS Burger and Coco Ichibanya, Tendon Kohaku specializes in tendon, a wordplay on tempura (lightly battered and deep-fried meat, seafood or vegetables) and donburi (“rice bowl”).

Here, Japanese food lovers can look forward to an elevated tempura experience, made possible by four elements:

Fresh Ingredients. Only the freshest ingredients, chosen with professional care according to exacting standards, are used in Tendon Kohaku’s tempura dishes.
Tempura Batter. Tendon Kohaku’s tempura better is using premium-grade flour and employing traditional tempura techniques to produce a coating that is light, crispy and flavorful.
Cooking Technology. The restaurant uses a high blend of sesame and cooking oil applied with a special filtration system that keeps it clean and light for cooking.
Secret Sauce. Tendon Kohaku’s two signature sauces are made in-house using a special blend of spices to create a distinctively sweet-savory flavor. The Sweet sauce is crafted to balance out the saltiness of the tempura while the Spicy sauce does the same with an additional spicy kick.

To give my daughter a change of scene away from her workplace nearby, I decided to treat her to lunch at Tendon Kohaku.

Our meal started with the complementary Japanese tea, available hot and iced.

We opted to get teishoku – Japanese set meals that already include rice, tuna sashimi, tamago rolls and potato salad – quite a complete and nourishing meal that combines interesting flavors and textures.

My order was the Tempura Teishoku (Php590) which consist of various tempura such as Chicken Breast, Wild Tiger Prawns, Squid, Crabstick, Green Beans, Shiitake, Young Corn and Pumpkin accompanied by tempura sauce.

My daughter, on the other hand, opted for the Tonkatsu Teishoku (Php650), which consist of three slices of panko-breaded and deep-fried pork cutlets served with katsu sauce.

With these teishoku, my daughter and I were able to enjoy a filling meal during her lunch break.

Tendon Kohaku is located at the Third Floor, Uptown Mall, 36th Street, Uptown Bonifacio, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, open for dine-in, pick-up, takeout and delivery. For inquiries, reservations and orders, call +63 956 2792961.

Other branches are located at:

4th Level, Japan Town, Ayala Malls Vertis North, North Triangle, Bagong Pag-Asa, Quezon City (Tel: +63 927 5005977)
Ground Floor, Building 7, Forbestown Road, Burgos Circle, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig (Tel: +63 956 2792966)

Tendon Kohaku also delivers via GrabFood, FoodPanda, Pick-A-Roo and Booky.

To know more about Tendon Kohaku, follow it on Facebook and Instagram.

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.