kama kama kamameshi

"Kamameshi" which directly translates to "kettle rice", is a traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in an iron pot. The rice is cooked with your choice of other savoury ingredients like meat, seafood and assorted vegetables. They are then cooked together in a special sauce and served in its iron pot held by a wooden holderWhat we've had was the Gomoku Kamameshi. Gomoku Kamameshi is the Kamameshi variant with assorted ingredients. Since this is our first time to try Kamameshi, we tried this since it has a little bit of everything among the choices. The Kamameshi was given to us contained in its iron pot with its wooden holder. The dish contained generous amount of japanese short-grain rice smothered with meat and vegetables. It had ground pork, together with julienned carrots and string beans and slices of flavorful shiitake mushrooms. The rice is brownish in color, probably because of the sauce where it was cooked with. I guess the sauce is a soy-based mixture with a hint of mirin and dashi, which are a staple of japanese cooking. At the bottom of the pot is the burnt rice or the "tutong" since the iron pot was cooked directly over fire. The "tutong" tasted well and we compared it to the tutong in the Spanish Paella. After this, we dubbed the Kamameshi as the "Japanese Paella".

The rice dish' flavor is good. It is not too strong in flavor and I find it light and smooth. Japanese Yakimeshi or Chahan fried rice dishes has a much stronger flavor than Kamameshi. For me, I can consume the Kamameshi on its own, devoid of other viands.

We chowed down our Gomoku Kamameshi with a serving of Misoshiru (Miso soup), Tempura, Yakitori and the Backdraft roll. Our Kamameshi encounter is a new and wonderful addition to our Japanese dining experience.
Kamameshi and other delectable Japanese dishes are available at the New Kamameshi House.

Gochisosama Deshita!



New Kamameshi House

Japanese Cuisine
Zobel Roxas, Ave.
Singalong, Manila
02 524 22219

Takoyaki experience

When I was a kid, I used to see a stall in Landmark where the vendor would pour a batter into a hot iron plate with small 'dimples' (i call it that way back then) and put pieces of octopus on it. It will then be cooked and served with a reddish sweet spicy sauce topped with a brownish, fishy powder. It is then packed in a rectangular styro box to be consumed by the customer. This is where I got introduced to Takoyaki.

Takoyaki is a popular Japanese food made with a batter, tempura scraps or tenkasu, a chunk of octopus, Kewpie mayonnaise, katsuoboshi, aonori bits and topped with okonomi sauce, . As named, Takoyaki means 'baked/fried octopus'; 'tako' which is octopus and 'yaki' which means to bake or grill. Takoyaki is a popular street food or snack food.

Right now, I've always come back to my favorite takoyaki stall in Makati. It is the takoyaki stall in Little Tokyo. It's right in front of Hana and is manned by a Japanese named Takumi who hails from Osaka which is the hometown ofTakoyaki. I always go back to his stall since this is the best takoyaki that I have tasted. Over the course of several servings, I've managed to strike some conversations with him and he shared to me his method of cooking his takoyaki. Takumi cooks his takoyaki in the usual way but with a difference. The difference is on his use of the beni shoga or the red pickled ginger. I haven't seen a takoyaki stall here that does the same way of cooking like him. When he cooks his takoyaki, he sprinkles bits of chopped beni shoga into the batter. For me this makes the difference. It has a more 'well-rounded' taste since the ginger has added another balancing flavor to the dish apart from the 'seafood' taste made by the diced octopus and the katsuoboshi powder. His verion of okonomi sauce also suits my taste. This is the most authentic and best-tasting takoyaki that I have tried. It's already great to be eaten on its own but I wouldn't hesitate to have it wolfed-down with a cup of gohan.

The takoyaki is sold in a 6-ball serving for 100Php.

Try it!

HANA RESTAURANT

Little Tokyo, Makati City

Telephone: +63 2 339 3855

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.