kagura's okonomiyaki in little tokyo

i read about this japanese resto called kagura restaurant in little tokyo in another blog. it specializes in japanese pancake. i thought it would be interesting to 1) try out the pancake dish as it really did sound very delicious and 2) visit little tokyo as in all my years in manila, i've never heard of it.

a number of weeks ago, i had the chance to visit. going there, some might have difficulty finding parking right in front of little tokyo (located along chino roces) but if you're willing to do some walking, it would be better to park at cinema square. the resto is within the enclave of little tokyo which is essentially made up of a cluster of small japanese restaurants with each one having a different specialty.

the price, though a bit expensive, is fair considering the huge serving. i tried the 'modern special with pork and katsushushi' (P395). in my assessment, one order would be good for as many as four people--the dish is really quite heavy. if you have more than two slices, you might get 'umay'. i suggest you get a small appetizer (eg try the scallops in teriyaki sauce--it's only 3 pieces for P258 but really quite delectable) for a more complete meal.

i find this dish flavorsome. the dish is good for sharing and is very satisfying to the palate.

just a tip, don't forget the bonito flakes when you order your okonomiyaki--makes a huge difference in taste:-)

i like okonomiyaki so much that i already had a second visit yesterday lunch time. lunch might actually be a good time to visit for first timers as there are less customers to compete with for seating (this time around, i had the chance to sit in a large table, japanese-style compared to the first when i just sat at the bar).

and if the japanese owner likes you, he might even throw in some kiat-kiat (small oranges) to complete a very satisfying meal.

too classic

i'm always on the lookout for dessert shops that offer unique offerings. so when i saw this really cute dessert shop in greenbelt5, i promised myself that i will pass by and try them out.

so one night, i and hubby had the chance to pass by. we ordered the most popular dessert of the shop, nono's chocolate oblivion. i thought it was..okay. the dessert wasn't that moist but then maybe we just had the last batch of their production for the day (we went there at around 9 or 10 pm). in sum, it wasn't the unique sweet dessert that i was hoping it would be.


we also had the calamansi bar. i guess it was their take on the lemon tart. again, it was okay for me. my hubby liked it though -- unfortunately, he doesn't like having desserts in general.

classic confections could probably do with more unique offerings. most of their potential customers have probably tried more variants of chocolate cake than they care for. they would probably like something really special. the shop simply can't afford to be oblivious to this.

travel cafe philippines

travel cafe philippines (tcf) is located at the recently opened greenbelt5. i had the opportunity of attending its launching last december. hubby said tcf is the department of tourism's way of marketing the philippines as a "must-see" destination through non-traditional means. tcf already has a number of branches abroad including one in japan which has been highly popular and successful. the value proposition of tcf is to provide a means for customers to know more about the philippines while having the chance to enjoy filipino specialty coffee and dessert.

the 'piece de resistance' of the shop is the locally grown alamid coffee which has received much acclaim among coffee afficionados. it is also one of the most expensive coffee beans around.

as this is a specialty coffee shop, some variants of coffee are quite expensive. but there are more affordable coffee items in the menu. for the dessert, as would be expected, the selection is comprised of artfully presented filipino delicacies like suman, turon, leche flan.


what i like best about tcf however is its very tastefully designed interiors. it is modern filipino interior design at its finest. the lighting is very subdued. there are large tv monitors on the walls --albeit in no way obtrusive, showing videos of popular tourist destinations in the country. to add to the authentic feel of the shop, they make use of wares made of 'pinatubo' ashes.

consistent with its ultimate objective, there is a travel specialist who is on standby to attend to inquiries re local travel packages.

we've brought all our us-based relatives here and they're all quite pleased. i would predict a big part of that is because it's in greenbelt5 and it's really a well-designed coffee shop. go and see for yourself, i'm pretty sure you'll like the experience.

best sardines ever

first time we received this sardines from my father-in-law, i didn't really think much of it. i mean, i've tried a pretty good range of brands including both local and foreign and they all tasted pretty much the same.

however, my world view changed the first time i had my first bite of Montano's sardines in tomato sauce. it was really...malasa in a not-so-malansa way (hehe). my hubby and i tried to scrimp on using the rest of the bottles, lest we not be able to savor the sarap of this new discovery for the most amount of time.

that was a few months ago. then i asked my hubby if he could surf the net to see if Montano's is available here in manila as i don't think we'd have the chance to go to dipolog any time soon. and lo and behold, one site said that it's available in rustan's and sm. and so, everytime we'd visit the supermarket, i'd check out the sardines aisle. but the stores seem to be always out of stock.

but today, we got supremely lucky. there was one remaining bottle at the trinoma supermarket. we literally got the last bottle of the sardines in tomato sauce variant. hmmm...hmmm....hmmm.. can't wait to have this heaven in a bottle very soon:-)