Turning Sumo Wrestler @ Sekitori

Sekitori is our third installment in our Little Tokyo Trip (first is Hana then second is Urameshi-Ya). Sekitori means a rank in Sumo Wrestling professional division: makuuchi and juryo .

Owned by Masakazu Seto, a retired sumo wrestler himself, Sekitori is a Japanese restaurant that specializes the Sumo Wrestler's Stew or Cyanko(chanko).

The stew comes in a big hotpot of different meat, seafood and veggies cooked in a choice among the following broths:
a. Sekitori Cyanko (chicken broth)
b. Miso Cyanko (Miso broth)

c. Kimuchi Cyanko (Kimchi broth; spiced-up version)

As beginners, we opt to choose the Sekitori broth. We were then surprised the moment that the cast iron hot pot was served since we only ordered the Ozeki(medium) portion, the one good for 2-3 persons. I think what they meant was 2-3 sumo wrestlers can enjoy the dish! Hehe! Kidding aside, the cast iron pot was so big and together with it, the meat and vegetables were so plenty. There were pork belly strips, chicken meat, shrimps, fish, fried and soft tofu, mushrooms, crab(not imitation crabmeat!) and tons(yes, I mean tons!) of veggies like cabbage, beansprouts, leeks and lettuce. I think 4 people can still share and enjoy this Japanese dish.

The mixture of meat, seafood and vegetable pieces are then dunked into the hotpot and left to boil for a few minutes.The attendant was attentive to guide us about the dish and was kind enough to cook the dish for us.
The broth is very light and refreshing. I think all the flavors of those dunked into the pot blended well together. The broth is somehow similar to the Chinese Hototay soup but minus the ginger and the egg.
The meat/vegetable pieces is then ready to be picked up when it is already cooked and tender. It is then dipped in a daikon oroshi sauce and then eaten with rice. The daikon oroshi sauce is great. At first, when the hot pot was not yet ready, I was not fond of the sauce's taste since it is somehow soury/pickle-like taste but when I ate it with the dish, it was a blast! The strong pickle-like flavor balanced the stew's light flavor. At your own discretion, you can also choose to put ground sesame seeds and chilli powder to spice-up your sauce.

Though a bit pricey for 980Php for one Ozeki serving of hotpot, I think 4 person can still share on the dish since the serving is huge. Also available is the Yokozuna (large) serving which caters to 5 persons.

This is my first time to try a hot pot dish, Japanese style and I'll be coming back for another Sumo meal. :)

Gochisosama deshita!

Sekitori Japanese Restaurant

Little Tokyo

Chino Roces Avenue,

Makati City

02 894 3876

seto@bnft.co.jp

click here for more photos.

Noodles! Noodles! Noodles!

I love noodles, all sorts of noodles from the Western-inspired pastas into the Eastern-inspired sobas/ramen or the, Chinese stir-fried noodles.

Chinese wok-fried or stir-fried noodles are now rampant around the metropolis. They can be found in the train stations, malls, or just about almost everywhere in the street. They are usually sold 25-30 Php an order and usually topped with your choice of siomai or dumplings.I love to eat stir-fried noodles since they are lightweight, not messy and they're quick to chow.

However, I think I found the best stir-fried noodles in town that satisfied my palate.

Meet Manvy Foods.

Manvy Foods is a noodles stall in Legaspi Market that offers stir-fried noodles.

What's the catch? They make their own noodles by themselves! Yes, their noodles are home-made. Once you are in their stall, you can sometimes catch the owner making their noodles.

Oh I forgot, the noodles that they use are made from veggies! Healthy option! What comes with their noodles also surprised me. Big chunks of shrimps and generous cuts of squid! To top it off, smother the noodles with their own concoction of sauces ranging from soy-based sauces to peanut sauce. You can also ask them if you want your noodles to be boiled instead of stir-fried, but I recommend that you try the stir-fried. :)

Also available are dumplings or a purely vegetarian choice of noodle toppings.

The noodles are affordable for a pricetag of 90Php per order of the Seafood or Dumpling while 80Php for the vegetarian.

Manvy Foods

Legaspi Market

(02) 254-74040917-8487012 or 0920-9212675

Urameshi Ya - Yakiniku experience

Next stop after the Hana experience last week, it's yakiniku time at Urameshi-Ya.

Yakiniku is a Japanese dish that means 'grilled meat'. At first look, what makes Urameshi-Ya unique is its theme. It's motif is more of into the 'funeral/cemetery' type. Its layout, according to the attendant are inspired by Japanese funeral customs like the making use of sotoba as decos.

As first timers, we asked the attendants what are the best sellers. At first, she offered us theTarafuku Set but we declined on it since it contained beef tongue which I am not a fan of. We instead ordered the Tokujyou-Karubi (beef slices) and the Buta Bara (seasoned pork slices).

left: Tokujyou-Karubi

left: Buta Bara

A plate of yakiniku comes in generous servings complete with sides of a slice of lemon, lettuce and leeks. The beef were so tender and tasty while the pork was not tough as well. A dipping sauce is provided for the barbecues. They all went well with a bowl of Japanese rice and an ice cold Coca-Cola. This experience was a lot different from the japanese barbecues (i.e yakitori) in commercialized japanese restaurants. This yakiniku is somewhat similar to the Bulgogi dish of the Koreans but they do taste uniquely.Urameshi-Ya also offer pork and beef intestines as well as vegetables for you to grill.

What I also love here is their table setting where you get to grill your own barbecues in your table. The ambience is perfect and well lit. I like their lighting and wooden appearance. They also have a good ventilation system so no fumes or smoke from the grill lingers inside the restaurant. The staff are also very warm.

We had a great and yummy Japanese Barbecue experience in Urameshi, though it is a bit pricy compared other Japanese restos.

We ended the night with a hearty "burp!".

Take note, Urameshi-Ya is only open at 5PM to 1PM.

Urameshi-Ya

Inside Little Tokyo

Chino Roces Ave., beside Makati Cinema Square

02 813 2210

Open @ 5PM-1AM

Indian Gourmet's ROGAN JOSH

As described on my previous posts, I love Indian Cuisine. I love their curries, mutton dishes, biryani rice dishes, stews and their flat breads. If you are into Indian food or would like to explore the cuisine, I would like to share my experience in the Indian Gourmet stall in the Legaspi Market. Indian Gourmet is a stall that sells specialty Indian Dishes that are all home made.

It's been several times already that we went to Indian Gourmet and this is only the time that I had a try of their meals since before, I was already full by the time I passed by their stall that's why I only managed to order their specialty beverages. What I tried here is their rendition of the Rogan Josh (Php 340). Rogan Josh is one of my favorite Indian dishes ever since I started to try the cuisine. Rogan Josh is a mutton dish or stew that is cooked in clarified butter (ghee) and then seasoned with spices under intense heat. The meal can come with steamed rice or their Roti bread. I chose the Roti bread to accompany my breakfast meal since I want to have the 'authenticity' of an Indian meal.

Indian Gourmet balanced the spices right in their Rogan Josh. It's not too spicy nor not too bland. It doesnt have the aftertaste/scent associated with mutton (lamb or goat). Though, I havent' asked the owners/chef Abhra or Ria about the prevalent spices, the spices' mixture is perfect. I love the blend of the spices in my taste buds after a scoopful of the Rogan Josh with their home made Roti bread.

This is an excellent Indian dish. I would recommend this to my friend and would come back to the Indian Gourmet for another serving.

To top off the meal, we ordered the homemade strawberry lassi to quench our thirst in the December morning. This lassi is also a must try specialty.

Thanks to the owners Abhra and Ria for a warm conversation accompanying the delicious dish!

Indian Gourmet also offers Vegetarian dishes like Popadums, Dal Makhni, Mutter Mushroom, Shahi Paneer. Meat and Chicken dish like Chicken Do Pyaza. Chutney varieties like Mango and Tomato Chutney plus the sides Basmati Rice or Roti Paratha. For the drinks, also available are chai tea-latte, masala lassi and the mango honey lassi.

Cheers!

Indian Gourmet

Indian, Middle Eastern & North African Cuisine

artspice@gmail.com 09173003042 / 09209036256

All New Rextaurant of Comedy by Rex Navarette

This show was soooo funny! Rex Navarette didn't change. He is still the funny guy who cracks jokes on the typical Pinoy culture both here and the abroad(in the US specifically). New jokes, new lines and new impressions, it was really a night full of laughter and fun. I really love the way he makes an impression of his mom. :)

I also want to thank Mike Unson for a funny opening skit!:) I love his MRT drivers' impressions. You've hit it right man!

What I can just comment on the show is that it already started 30 minutes late and Rex' stint was only an hour. I was kind of 'bitin' also but nevertheless, it was so funny.

Great show Rex! :)

Hats off to you guys.

The Last Fight of Philippines' Unsung Heroes

"...Ayaw ko ng apoy.." was the line of Mang Ruben before his dying breath in 'Mga Gerilya ng Powell Street'.

When I first saw the ad poster of the play 'Mga Gerilya ng Powell Street', it struck me and something drove me into watching it. Well aside from the fact that I am a World War II junkie, I have a soft spot for wartime veterans since some of my old folks were wartime veterans that is why I have that urge to watch this play.

The story revolves around the plight of the Filipino WW2 guerillas in the US who are lobbying for the Equity Bill that will grant them equal benefits with their American counterparts. As seniors waiting for their 'long distance call from Heaven', this Equity Bill will then grant them bigger pensions, including funeral benefits which in turn will grant their ultimate dream to be buried intact in their Motherland and not as a cremated being stuffed in what they call 'garapon ng bagoong'. The play portrays how they were just granted US citizenship but still denied the full privileges and benefits of American wartime veterans.

The show was very well balanced in a way that the comical part is well contrasted by the sadder events like their longing for their native country, their unfortunate stints with abusive relatives in the US and their ongoing fight for what is rightfully theirs . The play presented the veterans' issue more of as an awareness campaign rather than presenting it with an anti-american theme.Like what my girlfriend said, there are points in the plot where we are touched and on the verge of crying upon learning how the Pinoy veterans are coping with their 'last war' in the US.

On the lighter side, what I loved about the play is that they hit the older men's humor like the way they laugh, act, think,reason out, eye for younger women and how they curse; believe me, they exactly portrayed the manner how my lolos say the 'P' word! Each of the guerillas presented a unique character. From a bachelor DOM into a well-disciplined Major up to a loving father, the characters were able to touch the audiences' hearts with their comical and heartbreaking lines.

The play was very excellent. Hats off!If I have the chance, I will definitely watch it again.

Watch it at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute, Cultural Center of the Philippines from November 7-30 2008 3pm and 8pm showtimes. Tickets available at CCP and TicketWorld.

Sala Thai Cuisine

Sawatdee Krap!!!

When I was young, my family used to eat at several Thai restaurants here in Manila. This is where me and my brothers got introduced to the Thai cuisine. I love Thai cuisine because, of all the cuisines that I have tried, I think Thai food provides me with a multitude and wide selection of flavours to tickle my taste buds.
They have sweet, sour, spicy and salty flavours from which you can choose from. But sadly, after sometime, all those Thai restaurants that we used to visit when we were young closed down one by one. It's been sometime that we had Thai food since we had difficulty looking for restaurants that serve Thai cuisine.

Until one day, I managed to pass-by J Nakpil St. in Malate, Manila and saw Sala Thai.

It then gave me hope after that first spoonful of Tom Yum Kung was lifted to my maw, a light bulb popped-up in my head and I thought, "This is it!!! Thai food is back in town!!!”

Sala Thai Restaurant is a casual dining restaurant that serves authentic Thai dishes at affordable prices. Its authenticity is demonstrated in the spices that the dishes use. As shared by the staff and the owner, the spices that are used are imported from Thailand. The chefs are Thai that is why it also helped maintain the traditions of the Thai cuisine.

We often visit Sala Thai restaurant. Let me share to you some of our top picks here.

For the soups, their Tom Yum Kung (hot sour prawn soup) is excellent since they are well-balanced in the flavours between spicy and sour.
The soup's color is not pale unlike in other Thai restaurants.
It's the closest Tom Yum that I tasted at par with the ones that I had in Bangkok. The ingredients, especially the shrimps and mushrooms are served generously. They're not 'bitin' nor 'tipid'. We always go for a serving of Tom Yum Kung when we are dining here. You can also try the Tom Yum Gai (chicken) or Tom Yum Talai (seafood) version.

Another soup, the Tom Kha Gai is also great.

Tom Kha Gai is a chicken soup cooked in coconut milk and galangal. They serve the soup with plenty of chicken chunks, together with galangal and mushrooms. What's great here is that, their version of Tom Kha Gai is not watery. This is great since you can fully savor the soup's body and flavour.

For the salad, Yam Pla Duk Fu, the catfish-mango salad is truly a winner. Before I've tried the Sala Thai's version, I was not a fan of the catfish salad, but after I tasted it there, I already became a fan of it! Out of all the dishes here, this is my personal favorite. Yam Pla Duk Fu is a Thai sour salad made from deep-fried shredded catfish meat, topped with a Thai dressing made from sliced green mangoes, onions, fish sauce, a hint of sugar, roasted peanuts, chopped 'siling-labuyo', sun-dried Thai chillies and garnished with chopped green onions. Now, you might be cringing from the thought of the chillies? No, this dish is not uber spicy. The different flavours present here blends together harmoniously. This is an example of what I was saying in terms of the multitude of flavours that Thai Cuisine have. It is good to be eaten as a plain salad or it's also good to be eaten as a viand with rice.

Som Tam is also another type of Thai salad which can be tried by folks who are into spicy salad. This is a salad made from grated papaya which are pounded on mortar and pestle. The salad's dressing is made from fish sauce, chillies, onions, tomatoes, peanuts, dried shrimp and palm sugar. This is a bit spicier compared to the catfish salad.
I had this for the first time in Bangkok but when I tasted Sala Thai's version it's comparable to the one that I had in Bangkok.

For viands, we love their Pandan Chicken, Beef in Holy Basil, Beef in Red Curry, Pork in Red Chilli Paste and Stir-fried Chicken in Ginger.

Pandan Chicken is a favorite viand here. This is somehow common as some Pinoys might think, since they're only deep-fried marinated chicken wrapped in pandan leaves with sweet-chilli as the dipping sauce, as simple as that. But, what's good about them are their sizes, the chicken here are not puny, they are served chunkier and bigger compared to the other pandan chickens that I had.

Beef in Holy Basil is also good. A savoury, stir-fried dish made from beef with Thai holy basil. A very aromatic dish. The Thai holy basil provided its very distinct flavour.

Beef in Red Curry is a beef dish cooked in red curry. This dish is a bit spicy since it is cooked in red curry and peppercorns. The dish also comes with vegetables. It's good to be eaten with rice.

Another good viand is the Pork in Red Chilli Paste. It's a pork dish made with generous amounts of red chilli paste. This dish is a bit saucy or 'masarsa' compared to the beef in basil and beef on red curry. It’s appearance resembles the Filipino Kare-kare, though, it's a bit spicier!

Stir-fry Chicken with Ginger is recommended for ginger lovers. This tasty dish is made from chicken meat stir-fried in slices of ginger, young corn and sitaw. I love the fragrant, gingery smell of this dish. It’s very savoury since the aroma of the ginger will tickle your palate. The spice level of this dish is different to the curry dishes that are available.

What's the common good point of their viand is that, they don't drown the viand with extenders.
When you order a dish, it's sure that it has a lot chicken, beef, pork or seafood.

Let's go to the rice and noodles.

Khao Phad Gai is a good choice from the fried rice varieties. It's fried rice with diced chicken meat, chopped onions and tomatoes and garnished with spring onions. From its taste, I can taste that somehow it is also seasoned with a hint of thai fish sauce. A great tasting fried rice. I am a certified 'rice monster' that is why I love this dish and would prefer this to accompany my meal in Sala Thai.

You can also opt to have their Phad Thai as a replacement for rice.
Phad Thai is a noodle dish made from rice noodles pan-fried with egg, bean sprouts, tofu, chicken or seafood. It is then seasoned with fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and peanuts to add its distinct flavour.
I am not a fan of Phad Thai since I would prefer a serving of rice to accompany my meal but I must say that their Phad Thai is a great substitute for rice. It is very flavourful and the noodles are cooked just right, not too soggy.

For the drinks and refreshment, Cha Yen or Thai Iced Tea is the perfect refreshment for a meal in Sala Thai. The blend of the tea, condensed milk and ice is a great way to cool down the palate after a spoonful of a flavourful meal.
I 'm still waiting for them to serve Thai beers like Singha, Chang, or Leo beers.

For dessert, Thai Tako is available here. Tako is a traditional Thai dessert which is made from tapioca balls topped with coconut milk paste. It is then wrapped in pandan leaves and presented like mini-cupcakes.

Traditional Thai condiments are almost complete here. They have, chopped dried red chillies, vinegar and chopped green chillies, chopped peanuts and sugar to quench the maw if a spicy food is consumed. I love this since in Bangkok, every table in an eatery have these condiments. The place is very Thai!!!

The place's ambience is clean and casual. It's decorated with some Thai ornaments like a
mini-statue in Wai pose and a portrait of HM King Bhumibol and HM Queen Sirikit of Thailand.
The service is fast, clean and the attendants are very attentive.

Price of the meal is not expensive. It is very affordable.
You can get more from what you have paid for.

Since the place is situated beside Philippine Womens University, Sala Thai also serve rice meals.
These are the usual Thai stir-fried beef, pork or chicken in holy basil leaves.
A good, quick chow for someone with a tummy-on-a-run.

Well, these are the reason why we keep on coming back for a meal in Sala Thai.
Hehe! I cannot help but say, 'Im Mak Mak' ('Im very full' in Thai) to Mr. Boon Ma, the chefs and the staff when we met them.

That's all folks!

Cheers! Kap Kun Krap! ('Thanks' in Thai).

*With the Thai chefs

Contact:

SALA THAI Cuisine

866 J. Nakpil St.
Malate, Manila
Tel. 522-4694, 521-6683

Arya Persian Dinner

We tried Arya Persian Restaurant and I want to share you our dinner experience.

Arya came from the word 'Aryan' which represents the people from which the Persians or Iranians have descended from. It's owned by Mr. Shin Karami who hails from Shiraz, Iran.

Okay, let's go to where the 'meat and potatoes' are, the food. For starters, I love their Arya Dip Platter.It's a meze consisting of a sampler of tzatziki, motabal, mirza ghasemi and hummus.They are very good appetizers if you eat it with their breads. It's also good if you savour it on its own since it is very tasty. What caught my attention is the Mirza Ghasemi since this is something new for me. Mirza Ghasemi is a meze dish which is made of smoked eggplants, tomatoes and garlic.Very good, it's more of like a Persian version of the mousakka minus the meat and the bechamel sauce.

For the meal, we ordered the Makhus.

Makhus is a platter consists of skewers of Koobideh and Shish Kabab.

Koobideh is a Persian dish consisting of ground meat, seasoned with Persian spices then mixed with chopped onions and parsley. The meat is then molded on a skewer and then grilled. I love their version of the Koobideh. The meat is not dry but still juicy when it gets to your plate.The flavours of the persian spice and the onion/parsley mixture went well together. None of them overpowered the flavour of each other.

The Shish Kabab is also a winner. The difference of the Shish Kabab with the Koobideh is that, the Shish Kabab are made of tenderloin chunks instead of ground meat.The shish kabab of Arya looks like it is seasoned with saffron since it has a yellowish hue.This is great since the meat is not tough nor overcooked. It still retained its juiciness and chunkiness after it was grilled not unlike other shish kababs which turns out dry after grilling.

One testimony of the kababs' juiciness is that, after we finished the platter, we still took out some pita bread and wiped off the kabab's drippings in the platter. yummy!!!!

The dish also came with grilled, plump tomatoes which are also great side dishes for the kebab dish.This is a 'must try' dish. I will come back to Arya for this Persian culinary treat.

For the bread, we ordered the Pita bread and the Naan. I would not elaborate more on the Pita bread since it is somehow common to middle-eastern restaurants here in the Metro.I would like to share my experience with their Persian Bread or Naan.

Arya's Naan is different than other Naan that I have tried.It is soft and chewy unlike the others which is more dry and flaky similar already to the Pita or Chapatti flat breadArya's Naan consistency is more of like a pancake without milk. I managed to have a conversation with Mr Shin Karami, the proprietor of the Arya restaurant and he taught me that Pita is more of Arabic bread than Persian. I love it so much that I even ordered another serving for me to take home and have it for breakfast.Surprisingly, they are still soft and chewy eventhough I left it in the fridge overnight before breakfast.

Their garlic sauce is also great. It's not watery. For me, it tasted different from other garlic sauces of the other restaurants that I have tried.Arya has a unique flavour to their garlic sauce. It has a hint of a little bit of sweetness. I love it!The flavour literally bursts in your maw when you try it.It's good on everything, the meat dish, chicken, lamb or even just plain bread!Arya sells it in their Greenhills branch for Php150 on ketchup-sized bottles.I'll buy a bottle of it and I might use it as a sauce for other meat dish.I think it's also good as a salad dressing.

Staff is very nice and accomodating.Deco is perfect, very Persian ambience.Price is not that high since they have big servings.I would try to visit their Greenhills branch since it is much bigger than the Robinson's Place branch.

Kudos to Mr. Shin Karami for a very warm entertainment and for the nice chat.
I'll go back and drop Arya a visit again sometime soon to try their other offerings...

Ciao!

*for more photos, click the ff. URL*

http://gomz24.multiply.com/photos/album/84

Contact:

Arya Persian Restaurant

(Greenhills Branch)

Unit L-9Promenade Mall,Ortigas Ave,Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila

(Robinson's Place Ermita Branch)

2nd level Midtown Wing,Robinson's Place,Pedro Gil St.,Ermita, Manila

727-5062 or 9944879