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

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

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!

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

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.