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Soon to Open in Iligan: Ichang Japanese Restaurant

Posted on by xerox

Here in Iligan, there’s always something to look forward to. Cafes and restaurants have been popping up lately and one of them is Ichang.

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Found at a prime location in Iligan where a sea of restaurants are located, Ichang stands out with its distinctive Japanese aesthetic and colorful noren hanging right in front of their doors.

Ichang is named after the owner, Ichang Hayakawa, a Japanese national hailing from Shizuoka prefecture. He runs this restaurant together with his Filipina wife, Cherryl who happens to be one of the chefs manning the kitchen. 

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Already on its dry run, Ichang is set to launch on the 8th of September this year. 

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Thanks to Dan, a common friend I share with the owners of this restaurant, I received an invitation to sample some of their dishes (my boyfriend tagged along hehe).    

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Kani Salad
Served on a cold plate, this light salad composed of imitation crab meat, ripe mangoes, cucumber, lettuce served with a creamy roasted sesame dressing. A favorite!

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Yaki Udon
Thick Japanese noodles stir-fried with veggies and meat. Bound to please the Filipino palate. 

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Futo Maki
Literally meaning “fat rolled sushi”, this sweet hand-rolled Japanese sushi is filled with tamagoyaki, oboro, sliced cucumber and shrimp. Another favorite!

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Tonkotsu Ramen
Made with a rich pork broth, this delicious noodle soup dish is topped with tender pork slices, boiled eggs, naruto and a handful of thinly sliced green onions. A must try for ramen lovers! Yes, yet again, another favorite! 

i don’t know if you can tell but so far I’m absolutely loving their dishes!

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Together with Ichang, Cherryl and their chefs

Ichang is located at The Strip, Pala-o. Don’t forget to save their opening day on your calendar! The whole Ichang team will be waiting for you there.

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 5: Nonki Japanese Restaurant

Posted on by xerox

We started Day Two by munching on a popular Thai snack by Tao Kae Noi.

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It’s crispy, fried seaweed that comes in different flavors. My boyfriend and I prefer the wasabi-flavored one above all else. Yup, that was pretty much our breakfast for that day. No complains here at all. 

We spent much of our morning just rolling on the bed and watching TV in our hotel room. Getting ready for lunch was actually just an afterthought. 

Since we enjoyed our Japanese dinner so much, we decided to have some more Japanese food for lunch because… Why not?

Here’s a little sneaky “outfit of the day” by the way…

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I know I could do better… Should I do a better one next time? What do you readers think? Let. Me. Know.

MOVING ON… Nonki Japanese Restaurant serves authentic Japanese cuisine and is located along F. Torres Street, right beside Davao Trade and Convention Center.

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Upon entering, we were warmly welcomed and greeted with the phrase “Irasshaimase” by ladies in their matching kimono uniforms. 

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We came in a little bit too late for lunch… But normally, this place would be full of people (particularly Japanese nationals) and buzzing with activity.

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The awesome sushi bar. I’m still haunted as to why we didn’t eat our lunch here.

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Or here. More reasons to come back I suppose?

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Aside from the fact that the wait staff are very courteous… Service here is very prompt and efficient! 

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Also, I would like to point out that they gave me a cold mug for my beer! Also, do you see that white tube thing next to my mug? That’s a wet towel for wiping hands. AMAZING! Little things like these make such a huge impact. At least to me that is. All restaurants should follow their example.

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Itadakimasu!

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Doesn’t it look like some piece of art? But it’s not just some piece of art, it’s edible too! This is a platter of mixed sashimi with shredded radish, sea grapes (locally called “lato”) and sliced cucumber for garnish. 

Definitely top quality seafood! So fresh like it was just plucked right out from the ocean! Really, really delicious! It went down very well with my ice-cold beer.

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This one is called okonomiyaki. It’s a savory pancake filled with shredded cabbage and green onion and then topped with okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Just think of it as Japanese pizza. 

Their okonomiyaki left a lot to be desired… But it was something that I’ve always wanted to try and I’m glad that I finally did. 

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Lastly, because we love uni (sea urchin) so much… We ordered a hefty serving of it! The uni was really fresh and creamy… Melts-in-your-mouth kind of creamy. And I love how the cucumber added that sort of “fresh flavor” which I found really refreshing. I miss it so much already it hurts.

I can’t stress enough just how much I enjoyed eating at Nonki. My dining experience there is definitely a memorable one; I felt like I was transported to Japan (even for just a little while)!

Food here is really pricey, I won’t lie. Price range between 300~500 pesos. But I still recommend this restaurant to all sushi and sashimi aficionados because it’s absolutely worth it.

Nonki Japanese Restaurant is open at all days of the week from 11:30AM to 2:00PM and from 5:30PM to 11:00PM.

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 4: Dinner at Tsuru Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

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Tsuru Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar is the longest running Japanese Restaurant in Davao. It is actually named after Japan’s sacred bird which is revered as a symbol of happiness, longevity, loyalty and good luck.

Luckily for us, Tsuru’s literally just a few steps away from where we were staying… And without even thinking, we just walked ourselves right in for dinner. 

I don’t know about you but my boyfriend and I LOOOVE Japanese cuisine. If you’ve been following me for quite awhile already, I think that should be very obvious by now. 

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Located along J. Camus street, it’s just right across the entrance of People’s Park so it’s pretty hard to miss. It shares the same building with a Vietnamese restaurant named Hanoi.

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Oh look, a minion! I kid. The interior design of the restaurant is traditional Japanese with a contemporary flair.

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The cozy ambiance of the restaurant makes it so hard to not feel at home. And I must mention that the wait staff here are courteous and attentive and the service is very good and prompt. 

Okay, food porn abruptly starts now.

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For our appetizer we had Beef Ramen which was topped with nori (seaweed) shreds, slivers of green onion, naruto fish cake (the one with the pink swirl) and a few slices of beef.

Though I was slightly disappointed because I did not find soft-boiled eggs in our ramen (come on eggs don’t cost much and we paid good money for this) and the beef slices were a bit tough… But the soup itself was rich and flavorful that I completely forgot about all that. This probably has to be the best ramen I’ve tried to date (flavor wise)!

As for our main dish…

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I believe we had what’s called Chirashi (I’m sorry we lost our receipt so I’m not really sure). But basically it’s an assortment of sashimi arranged artistically on top of a bowl of sushi rice.

It has ebi (shrimp), tamagoyaki (omelette), kamaboko kani (imitation crab meat), maguro (tuna), ika (squid) and some other fish meat (that I can no longer identify) as well. 

All I can say is… It is DIVINE! I could eat bowls of this in one sitting. Sweet and fresh… Oh, I wish I can fully describe in words just how delicious this dish is! Two thumbs up! That’s all I can say.

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And to end this dinner with a bang, we had Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream for dessert. Creamy and succulent… UGH. I wish I have gallons of this sitting in my freezer. I hope I won’t have nightmares about this ice cream tonight.

I highly recommend everyone to check this restaurant out. Price ranges from 200~300 pesos. And just so you know… Every 15th and 30th of the month, Tsuru offers an eat-all-you-can grand buffet. I’m having a headache just thinking about it. *sigh*

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Oh well, I gotta go. Writing this post has made me hungry. Bye for now!

24 & 2 Part 5: Sumo Sam

Posted on by xerox

To cap off this 24 & 2 series, my boyfriend and I had our lunch at Sumo Sam (Centrio).

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Sumo Sam is a restaurant chain that specializes in Japanese-American food and is owned by Marvin Agustin. Hence, the life size photo of him standing right outside the door beckoning for you to come in. Hehe.

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One of the things I like about Sumo Sam is that they serve complimentary tea. Please excuse my messy hair and sleep deprived face (I left my comb back at the hotel where we stayed and I was really sick that day) by the way. 

Food here is a little bit pricey but their servings are pretty ginormous so you can just share a meal with another person. 

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Someone looks excited to eat! 

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I’m not sure what this is… My boyfriend ordered this one. I think this is Smoked Salmon Roll. I remember not being too happy with this dish. The salmon was dry and pale. Though the flavors are somehow there but this is not something I would recommend. 

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I ordered the oh-so-glorious Beef Gyudon with a raw egg on top. Now, I know this sounds very disgusting for others. Believe me… The first time I had this, I had mental debates about whether or not to skip the raw egg (you are actually given the option) but I’m soooo glad I didn’t! This is just heaven in a bowl! Trust me on this! This rice bowl may be already good on its own but the raw egg just adds that extra creamy texture like no other. THIS I recommend!

Anyway, I just got home from my Davao-GenSan trip with my boyfriend. Expect TONS of blog posts about it soon!

Tarakumain sa Tadakuma

Posted on by xerox

I KNOW. “Tarakumain sa Tadakuma” has just got to be the lamest pun title I ever came up with. And yeah, I just had to kinda force it. I bet you must have rolled your eyes. MOVING ON…

Tadakuma is a Japanese restaurant that just opened at Don Ramon Chavez Street, Cagayan de Oro City.

My best friend’s boyfriend, Miguel took my boyfriend and I there for lunch. Sadly, my best friend, Ritz was not with us because she is currently living and working in London (we miss you!).

Originally, my boyfriend and I planned to have our lunch at Kogi Bulgogi (a Korean restaurant that just opened at Lim Ket Kai). But sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. But hey, who said I was complaining?

Tadakuma is very cozy and modern. Actually, when we got there, it was REALLY busy. All the tables were full and so we had to wait for a table for a little while. By the way, the photo above was taken after everybody else already left the restaurant with happy tummies.

Nothing but a cute random bowl. If only I could take one home as a souvenir. Just kidding. Or am I really?

Oh, before I proceed to talk about what we had, can I ask you a teeny favor guys?

Umm.. can you please not hate me for forgetting the names of what we had? I was soooo hungry that everything just went completely out of my mind. I am crossing my fingers that the photos will just somehow make up for it. Here goes…

This is a bowl of plain minced raw fish on top of a bed of rice. And those two tiny blobs that you see on top are wasabi paste and pounded ginger. To eat this, you have to properly mix everything in together so to evenly distribute the flavor. It has just the right punch of heat and that zing of flavor coming from the pounded ginger. It’s like a different take on “kinilaw”. If you don’t have problems eating raw fish, you’ll definitely love this!

A bowl of ramen noodles with three thin slices of meat, a slice of fish cake, a slice of boiled egg and a few greens. It looked like it could need a little more stuff though. However, the soup is like no other. 

So that’s all we had. Blurred in the background is Miguel’s Tempura Udon. For some reason, I can only remember his order. Shoot me.

Tadakuma is a tad cheaper than Ramen Tei. In average, everything costs around 200~300 PHP per dish. The servings are delicious and quite generous so you do get your money’s worth. To the last peso. Give this place a go and I’m sure you’ll love it too!

A Two-day Pre-Valentine’s Day Celebration: Ramen Tei and More

Posted on by xerox

Remember this blog post that I once submitted as an entry for a food blog contest?

Well, I am very proud to announce that both my boyfriend and I made it through the first round of the Sooo Pinoy’s Search for the Ultimate Food Blogger Contest!

Just imagine how ecstatic and excited we were when we found out that we are actually contenders for the second round! The moment we got hold of the news, we immediately prepared our own food trip itinerary set for the weekend.

So fast forward, Friday came and off we went to Cagayan de Oro as planned. After what seemed to be an eternity in the bus (the ride was wayyy longer than usual due to road repairs), we were finally able to take a taxi from Bulu-a Bus Terminal to The Mallberry Suite Business Hotel so we could leave our bags and book us a room for the night. 

FYI: Our food trip was actually a two-day thing because that’s how we roll and, also, we wanted to experience the “Night Cafe” together so that explains why we had to stay for the night because it’s more convenient that way (sadly it wasn’t until later on that night when we found out that it has actually been discontinued since Sendong which is pretty disappointing).

It was already way past lunch time by the time we were able to secure a room. Absolutely famished, we decided to put something Filipino on hold for lunch because we wanted something that would really make both of our grumbling tummies happy. Through a friend’s recommendation, we had our lunch at Ramen Tei. 

Ramen Tei serves authentic (and I must add really awesome) Japanese food. The place is really consistent with the Japanese theme. Even the waiters kinda look Japanese! Insane! Bet Ramen Tei’s management screens all of their staff members aesthetically first before proceeding to hire them… 

Nothing but a tray of Japanese condiments. There’s something different about their vinegar. It has some sweet notes to it. It’s the kind of vinegar that doesn’t have an overpowering taste; Instead, it complements the food perfectly. I wonder where I can get that…

A dish of assorted mind-blowing sushi. The best sushi I had ever!

A delicious battalion of mixed maki. I couldn’t stop helping myself to these! They were just really, really good!

A closer look. Gah, I am missing them right now!

I hate to abruptly end this post right here but… Surprise! This is just sort of a teaser of what we had. Expect another post within two days.