Ippudo: Ramen in White and Red

Ippudo finally arrived at MOA on the 30th of August. We missed the free ramen on their opening day...so we dined on their second day instead. My companion and I planned to share a single ramen bowl. We were provided sharing bowls. But to our surprise, we were treated to a free serving of pork bun each!


Shiromaru Motoaji Special (Php 490)

The basic shiromaru is priced at Php 385 which comes with pork loin, bean sprouts, kikurage, and spring onions. By choosing the special, you get additional salted soft-boiled egg, pork loin, and seaweed. All of that tops off the noodles and the original pork tonkotsu broth.

For our thin noodles, we chose the hard version thinking that the hot soup base would further cook it and we'd get a medium version when the broth cooled down.

To further enhance your ramen experience, you can add freshly ground black pepper, freshly ground sesame seed, or fresh garlic. I added a bit of each to my broth and it indeed change the taste, it was even better. Just don't overdo it so much since the pepper and garlic can overpower the broth if you put too much. Their broth as it is, isn't my favorite among the ramen joints in the MOA area. But the plus side is you can adjust it to your taste with the pepper, sesame, and garlic.



Pork Bun (Free treat for their recent opening! originally at Php 125 each)

We were already feeling a bit full but we decided to eat this bun with a glistening piece of pork meat. Although it was no longer hot, the sauces mixed well together and with very bite, you get a piece of flavor, meat, and bun. But the amount of fat and meat doesn't seem consistent, my friend's piece was about 40% fat, mine was maybe 15%. Well, even the fat is tasty so it's not really a bad thing.

You actually get a feel of busy Japanese markets with the crew shouting Japanese phrases for every order made, special ramen served, guest arrival, or guest departure. My companions didn't like that part, it kinda came across as noisy to them. To me I think it's part of the experience. As for the price, the basic Shiromaru is almost at the range as Uma Uma Ramen (which already has includes a soft-boiled egg), while the cost of the special is close to Ramen Nagi. I wasn't able to look through their whole menu since my goal was to check out their ramen. Maybe I'll be coming back to explore what they offer beyond what they are most known for.


P.S: Shiromaru can be translated as "white circle" and Akamaru as "red circle" - the red and white bowls where the ramen is served in.




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Hong Kong Trip 2016 Series: Philippine Airlines Economy Meals

Taking food trips to another level - literally miles above the ground! This blog entry starts the Hong Kong Trip 2016 series. We had this trip around mid-August when we visited Hong Kong Disneyland. Food at the theme park will be posted too, so stay tuned.

Full rice meals were served by Philippine Airlines for a flight to Manila to Hong Kong. With their tagline "Heart of the Filipino", I guess they also embody the appetite of the Filipino for rice! I noticed that the foreigners on board weren't that keen on finishing their plates, while most of the Filipinos consumed the full meal for breakfast.




Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet

For the Manila to Hong Kong trip, I had sweet and sour fish with a side of vegetables. Bread and butter was also available. For my drink, I had orange juice and coffee. I took a piece of beef tapa, the other option, from my companion. It was a little chewy. I prefer the fish dish over the beef. A very filling breakfast indeed, miles and miles above the ground.



Fish Fillet with Lemon Sauce

Another fish meal for me for the trip back to Manila also served as my dinner. A side of carrots and greens, and an apple pie for dessert was included. Apple juice was my drink this time. I didn't know that the sauce that came with the fillet was lemon sauce, and I'm not a fan of it. I got a taste of the beef with oyster sauce from my companion. This time the beef was tender and tasty. I kind of preferred the beef this time. I still finished the fish fillet and just left out some of the sauce.

The flight was really quick at 1 hour and 45 minutes, although there was a bit of a delay due to bad weather on the flight back to Manila.

Mainly the flight is composed of just taking off, eating the meal, landing. I didn't need any entertainment system for the short flight, the full meal was enough to keep me busy. And now for any international flight, I will be checking if they have full rice meals included in the airfare/package.

Cheers and have a safe flight!


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Botejyu: Premium Moonlight Okonomiyaki

New restaurant alert! Botejyu at SM MOA offers okonomiyaki, okosoba, ramen, takoyaki, and donburi. For today, my friend and I had one of must-try dishes - the Premium Moonlight Okonomiyaki.

Food is prepared freshly in an open kitchen. We waited for around fifteen minutes for our order. House tea wasn't available though.

Premium Moonlight Okonomiyaki (Php 360)

Our main dish was served on a sizzling plate to keep it warm whereas other restaurants have a teppan installed per table. But the taste is notable! It was really packed with pork, squid, plump shrimp, and I guess there was some kind of ginger in there. The two of us had a filling lunch with this! And the egg on top is a runny egg. Watch us slice the okonomiyaki and release the runny yolk at a video in our Instagram account: @thegastronomersdiary.

Another thing I liked about it was it wasn't too salty nor savory. You can adjust the taste by adding more bonito flakes, nori, and special soy sauce which was readily available on the table. I particularly like the semi-spicy sauce. It's not the chili type of spice, rather it has a hint of wasabi, the type that of spice that you feel through your nose.



Matcha Ice Cream (Php 80)

As for dessert, we had a rich creamy scoop of matcha ice cream. It doesn't have a strong green tea flavor, but it wasn't too sweet either. What we loved about it was its creaminess. P.S., the nori flakes on the side isn't exactly meant to be sprinkles, but well, you can try.

Going to try the okosoba and ramen next time!

For another okonomiyaki place in the MOA area, check out this restaurant


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7 -Eleven: Slurpee Donuts

Well, with cakes being turned into drinks (red velvet shake, and other cake-shakes), why not turn drinks into baked goodies? Hence, we have Slurpee doughnuts brought to us by 7-Eleven.


Raspberry (Php 25)

Pretty sparkly sprinkles! These weren't really sweet. The cream gluing it to the dough isn't that sweet as well. It was actually quite bitter, probably imitating a cherry taste. This one was really interesting to look at. But I'd rather just look at it next time. The sparkles were really eye-catching though.



Peach (Php 25)

For me this was better in terms of taste. It had a faint orange taste. A simple layer of this orange glaze gave it flavor which was similar to the fruit flavored cereal I had as a kid. I guess the base of the doughnut is the same as the other one. Their toppings differentiate them from each other.



It was an interesting pair of doughnuts but I'd stick to my regular sprinkled or chocolate ones for now.




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Uma Uma Ramen: Flavorful Broth and it's MSG-free

Up next in our S'Maison food series, we went to Uma Uma Ramen. Their MSG-free offerings is fit for the health conscious. One of us ordered ahead and the noodles were served promptly. But the rest of us were a little late and the ramen already cooled down.

Uma Uma Ramen

It's a dish named after the restaurant with a noteworthy ramen broth. Mixed flavors of pork, egg, mushrooms and other ingredients that enhance the natural umami flavor that fill every slurp. The chasiu slices were really tender and melts in your mouth. This was also topped with marinated egg.

We arrived a little later so a layer of oil was already forming on top of the ramen broth when we arrived :( Nevertheless, it is still the best broth I have tasted so far. I bet it would have tasted better if we arrived on time.

Here's my own little serving of Uma Uma ramen. I removed the spicy miso for this bowl.


Tonkotsu Ramen

This one had a grilled flavor from the pork toppings. I was expecting a sesame taste since it was topped with sesame seeds but I didn't find it in there. The pork was not that tender as the chasiu slices in the first ramen we had. This one is good for those looking for a grilled-soy-like broth, but the signature Uma Uma ramen is better.


Chicken Karaage

Fried chicken fillets with a hint of ginger and lemon served as a contrast to the smooth and creamy noodles and broth.

We will go back and have the Uma Uma Ramen and maybe taste the one bite gyoza. The firmness of the ramen can be improved (or we can just have the ramen served when everyone in the group arrives). In the end, I think I found my new favorite ramen.



For other restaurant's in the area, view our Chibo Okonomiyaki experience here


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Chibo Okonomiyaki: From Osaka to Manila

Pancakes? Omelettes? Okonomiyaki! Saturday evening, of course there was a waiting list. The place was also quite small and the turnover of customers was quite slow. We waited in line for around thirty minutes. Well, considering that Chibo Okonomiyaki just opened and it was peak hours, 30 minutes in the waiting list was not that bad.

Each table is equipped with a teppan to keep the food warm. The dish wasn't cooked on our table though. It was already done and topped with okonomiyaki sauce when it was placed on our teppan.


Chibo Okonomiyaki (Php 380)

Naming a dish after the restaurant means that this is one of their best offerings. The signature dish filled with scallops, shrimp, beef, and pork was served with a mini performance like every okonomiyaki in this place.

For the finishing touches, the server zigzags the mayonnaise, sprinkles the nori, and finishes it of with bonito flakes. Note: The way the the mayonnaise is put on the okonomiyaki in swift movements is oddly satisfying (see video in our Instagram account: @thegastronomersdiary). The shrimp head made the dish look like a little turtle.

Nori and bonito flakes are already on your table. You can add these as you like. I suggest you add some to enhance the flavor to your liking. Extra mayonnaise is also available upon request.

The mugi cha (barley tea) is also worth noting, a variation of complimentary tea that we love compared to other restaurants. It has a somewhat roasted taste. Others might say it has a coffee taste.


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On another visit, my friend and I shared the following dishes:
Yakisoba (Php 190)

This was served first as a prelude to the main okonomiyaki dishes.


Mixed Okonomiyaki (Php 280)

To have a bit of different kinds of meat, we got the Mixed Okonomiyaki filled with pork, squid, and shrimp.


Dotonburi Okonomiyaki (Php 230)

Choosing between ordering this and the Negi Yaki, we picked this one since it had beef. We were quite puzzled at the jelly-like pieces we found in the okonomiyaki. Looking again at the menu, we first thought that it was pork fat. But it didn't taste like pork fat. It turns out to be konnyaku, indeed a jelly like in texture, little to no flavor, and very minimal calories but still filling. You may also order it separately.

An order of a 6-inch okonomiyaki is good for sharing. We ordered a bit too much for two and ended up taking home about half of each okonomiyaki

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The Japanese chefs were also around the dining area. One even refilled our glasses of mugi cha. Considering the location, as part of the retail area of a hotel, the prices range from average to high. In general, this is a good restaurant for special occasions or for when you feel like having a treat but not for an everyday lunch place for the working-class Filipino who are managing a budget (like me. I just want to treat myself, perhaps every weekend? haha!).

But hey, if you want to try the okonomiyaki they have in Japan, go give this place a visit. On our next visit, we would try the other items in the menu specifically the Cheese yaki which also has noodles in it. They also have wagyu beef, yakisoba and modern okonomiyaki - okonomiyaki with noodles inside, and other light Japanese dishes. I didn't see any ramen on the menu. But if you are looking for ramen, then you might want to try Uma uma which is right next door. Guess what, we are trying that next! Stay tuned as we try each new food spot in S'Maison, Conrad Hotel!


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