Tomoe Japanese Restaurant, San Pablo City

A new Japanese restaurant has just opened here in San Pablo within the last couple of months, the Tomoe Japanese Restaurant, Tepanyaki, Sushi, Ramen House. It's on the second floor of the Shell gas station almost across Shakey's restaurant along Maharlika Highway.

Since it's new, of course me and Ilyn just had to check it out. Well, me mostly. I'm the one most excited about Japanese restaurants anyway. This place is far easier for me to access than the other new Japanese place at San Benito near the San Pablo City/Alaminos boundary. It's far easier to commute to and from the place because it's nearer the city proper.

And of course, this may well be the first Teppanyaki restaurant in San Pablo. I had to look up what that means. It means the chef cooks your food in front of you using a large steel plate. The last time I ate at this kind of joint was in Greenhills back in 1995.

There is an inside section with two huge tables which include the cooking plates and an outside section for non-Teppanyaki fare. We prefer to sit outside because it was cooler, specially with the Christmas cool air already coming in. It was a bit hot inside with all the cooking going on. Outside I had a full view of the Teppanyaki chef doing his thing. He's the only one with the full chef get up and he's the only one in red. He's so fascinating to watch. He's quite a showman. Very entertaining. He's sort of a cross between a samurai, a chef and a juggler.

Well, what about the food? Whenever I try a new Japanese restaurant, my order is always pretty standard: The Miso Soup (pictured above) and some kind of Sushi or Sashimi Platter. There wasn't a Sashimi Platter so I ordered the Nigiri Sushi Platter.

It's a nice selection of standard Sushi stuff: Salmon, Tamago, Tuna, Crab, Shrimp, some kind of roe, which I haven't seen on any Sushi platter before.

The Miso Soup was better than most I've tried. It captured the perfect balance of flavors that I prefer in Miso soups. The serving was also quite ample. It was actually enough for two people.

All in all I enjoyed the meal. The waiters were very attentive. I've really got nothing to complain about.

However, I did eat my sushi the way I wanted it, and not the way some Sushi etiquette police may want me to eat it. Yeah, so I made a thick soup of my soy sauce and wasabe dib. Yeah, so I dipped my sushi RICE SIDE DOWN. I dipped the sushi in there so long the rice was DRENCHED in it. I then ate it whole, pulled my head back and enjoyed the amazing wasabe jolt that streaks through my nostrils. An amazingly intense experience! Do I offend your delicate culinary sensibilities? Well, what do YOU care? Why does ANYONE care? This is my private space, my private time. Stop getting in my face please! I'll eat my sushi the way I want to!

So there!

So yeah! Tomoe Japanese Restaurant! I'm definitely coming back and try the Teppanyaki!

I Have Stopped Using Tomatoes In Cans

Thanks to all those who have inquired whether I'll be posting new stuff here. I will soon! But for now, let me just make an apology to all those who have tried my recipes which includes Tomatoes in Cans. I have recently come upon the information that they pose health risks. As to what those health risks are, I suggest you Google them and make your own judgment.

My personal judgment is that I have now stopped them because I'm now firmly in the camp who believe there are considerable health risks involved. I will be making adjustments to my published recipes after I try out certain alternatives (like using market bought tomatoes).

And yeah, don't even think of using that fake tomato shit from NamNam. What? can't afford REAL tomatoes? They're cheap enough as it is. Don't be freakin' lazy. When it comes to health, don't be freakin' lazy.

Satori Japanese Restaurant, San Benito, Alaminos

SATORI, a new Japanese restaurant just opened in San Benito, just a few steps from the San Pablo boundary next to Honda San Pablo. I'm always excited when a new restaurant opens. I'm even more excited when it's a Japanese restaurant because I just love Japanese food! Yes, there have been a few Japanese type restaurants in (or near) San Pablo before, but although they were just OK, to be honest, they're just not worth writing about. But Satori is, so here we are.

The first thing I ordered was their Miso Soup, and then their Sashimi platter, which they call "Sashimi Moriawase" (Mixed Sashimi). Based on their menu, this platter should contain Norweigan pink salmon, tamago, sea urchin, crab stick and tiger prawns. The menu didn't say, but there's tuna in there as well. Price was P360 for the platter. As sashimi platters go, this was on the less expensive side (compared to other Japanese restaurants in Manila).  The salmon and tuna were just excellent. They're of course, my favorite sashimi cut. The sea urchin was rather curious. I've had sea urchin before at Haru Sushi Bar in Kapitolyo, and it looked nothing like the sea urchin in this platter. I remember it being really disgustingly slimy like brain matter. But it tasted delicious. I assume the sea urchin in this platter is the one on the far right, which is kind of a dried, preserved version I think. Not as delicious. But just OK. Could it have been eel instead? I don't know. That's what I get for the price I guess, so that's just all right. All in all, I was very satisfied with it.

I also loved their Miso Soup. Not too salty. Not as subtle as I would like, but it's better than most I've had.

Ilyn was with me and she ordered the Beef Curry toppings. She has an issue with the presentation of it, insisting that when a dish is called "toppings" it should be in a rice bowl with the toppings on top. This was on a plate with the toppings on the side. It's cosmetic, of course, but sometimes, presentation does affect your enjoyment of it. Personally, I didn't like the look of this. It should have been better if it had been in a bowl as toppings, or maybe the rice and curry be served in separate bowls. Taste wise, she said it was just OK.

Me, I don't go to Japanese restaurants for curry. It's the raw fish that makes or breaks it for me. I wouldn't mind going back here for another round. If you're looking for the best Japanese restaurant in the San Pablo area, this is definitely it.

Looking around online for other reviews of this restaurant, I came upon this blog. They said when they went there, they were given free soup while they waited for their order. What? Really? We didn't get any. Was it kind of an opening promo? I really don't know. It's just interesting to note. Reading through their blog entry, they got OTHER free stuff. WTF. We're definitely missing out.

An Epiphany

Some people have asked me to update this blog. I will today. I've been thinking about why I haven't updated this site in a while. I guess I just got somewhat disillusioned about certain aspects of food and I realized one important thing:

A lot of so called "high class" restaurants provide what are supposedly delicious "versions" of classic dishes with their "twists" and "fusions" created by "chefs".

I realized it's all just BULLSHIT.

I've TRIED a lot of these supposedly high class restaurants and came away disappointed. Last month I ate some grilled squid from a sidewalk tuto-turo here in San Pablo and the thing was far far more delicious than a grilled squid I ate at a high end restaurant in Makati. I'm like WTF.

I've stopped trying to convince myself that these so called high end places serve delicious food. Because quite honestly, they don't. They really just should stop making stupid fusions and stupid chef versions and stop obsessing over "presentation" and  just cook the damn food as they should be cooked.

Chicken/Pork adobo tastes so much better from Amboy's at our local palengke than a nicely plated expensive adobo at some restaurant in Greenbelt.

That's just the truth.