Izakaya Nihonbashitei in Makati
My ever dearest Papa turned 66 this year!
To celebrate, we decided to try Izakaya Nihonbashitei in Makati as Papa just lovesss Japanese food. Since his birthday fell on a holiday, I made a quick call to the restaurant to make sure we have a table reserved for us to lessen the waiting time.
It was past lunch time when we arrived and with our tummies growling loudly we began with a couple of sushi choices that my family loves:
California Maki -- I love the plump sweet mangoes and that the sushi roll is well-covered with ebiko however I somehow find the maki roll lacking in filling and flavor. Definitely, Kikofuji or Kimpura wins in this category.
Futo Maki (Php. 250) -- My Kongkong loves Futo Maki and having had a dozen futo makis whenever he would go to Japan on business trips before, it really would take a highly skilled sushi chef to wow him with our local version of his favorite rice roll. I'm glad that he enjoyed Nihonbashitei's futo maki which has passed his taste with flying colors.
Uni Sashimi (Php. 220) -- It has been a while since I've had uni sashimi, the last was the day before I fell ill with amoebiasis. Since then, the trauma and pain has made me avoid raw food for a while. I must admit, Nihonbashitei's uni was creamy and delicious but I think I had a bit too much of it again that my tummy acted up right after having this again. Definitely not for the weak tummies! :-/
Since it was Papa's birthday, we had a FEAST! :) Let me share with you what we ordered that day:
Una Jyu (Php. 550) -- The best part about dining during lunch is that you can order their very reasonable set meals. Be surprised that each set comes with soup, appetizer, your bento box and dessert while for dinner everything becomes more expensive and has less add-ons too. The unagi was very delicious and juicy. I'm glad that the bones were soft and not the type that would get stuck onto your gums and would leave you in annoying pain all throughout the meal. It's served with a big bowl of Japanese rice too.
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Special Yaki Gyoza (Php. 150) -- One order comes with six bite-size pieces (my hungry A-I already got one piece before I could take a photo of this dish :P) and it has just the right amount of filling. Not very oily and something I would order again on my next visit.
Ebi Tempura (Php 280) -- Not so bad but we all agreed that we've enjoyed better ebi tempura elsewhere. I find the coating too thick and the shrimp too tiny. Nothing beats enjoying a huge piece of plump ebi tempura that makes you that what you paid for was worth it.
Chicken Teriyaki (Php. 180) -- I love chicken teriyaki and I'm glad we ordered this. Meat was tender and flavorful, it went so well with my Japanese rice. Yum!
Agedashi Tofu (Php. 130) -- Just like the tempura, this was just so-so. I guess I have to stay away from their deep-fried dishes as the chef went a little bit overboard with the coating of the tofu too. This one lacks so much in flavor and not even the sauce could help perk up the taste of this dish.
We also got a bowl of Seafood Curry (Php. 300) and everyone enjoyed this as well. It was rich and creamy without being very spicy. Even Kongkong and Amah loved this too!
After enjoying lunch, we were offered to have either Grass Jelly, Hot or Cold Coffee for dessert. I wasn't really expecting much from this as the entire meal was just so-so. Not a single dish stood out that will push me to go back right away. However, I was surprise that I really enjoyed their cold coffee. It had the right amount of creaminess and sweetness that I wish they served it in a bigger cup for me to enjoy it even more. Funny as it may sound, but I recommend that you try the Cold Coffee should you find yourself at Nihonbashitei soon.
Food was pretty much ordinary but being able to celebrate my Dad's birthday and having lunch with my family was the highlight of the day. I'll definitely give Nihonbashitei one more try perhaps to try their Teppanyaki dishes or to have more of their lunch sets but what's definite is that I'm having more of their Iced Coffee on my return.
Izakaya Nihonbashitei is located at 800 Arnaiz Avenue, San Lorenzo, Makati City. Call them at 818-8893 / 818-8894.
To celebrate, we decided to try Izakaya Nihonbashitei in Makati as Papa just lovesss Japanese food. Since his birthday fell on a holiday, I made a quick call to the restaurant to make sure we have a table reserved for us to lessen the waiting time.
It was past lunch time when we arrived and with our tummies growling loudly we began with a couple of sushi choices that my family loves:
California Maki -- I love the plump sweet mangoes and that the sushi roll is well-covered with ebiko however I somehow find the maki roll lacking in filling and flavor. Definitely, Kikofuji or Kimpura wins in this category.
Futo Maki (Php. 250) -- My Kongkong loves Futo Maki and having had a dozen futo makis whenever he would go to Japan on business trips before, it really would take a highly skilled sushi chef to wow him with our local version of his favorite rice roll. I'm glad that he enjoyed Nihonbashitei's futo maki which has passed his taste with flying colors.
Uni Sashimi (Php. 220) -- It has been a while since I've had uni sashimi, the last was the day before I fell ill with amoebiasis. Since then, the trauma and pain has made me avoid raw food for a while. I must admit, Nihonbashitei's uni was creamy and delicious but I think I had a bit too much of it again that my tummy acted up right after having this again. Definitely not for the weak tummies! :-/
Since it was Papa's birthday, we had a FEAST! :) Let me share with you what we ordered that day:
Una Jyu (Php. 550) -- The best part about dining during lunch is that you can order their very reasonable set meals. Be surprised that each set comes with soup, appetizer, your bento box and dessert while for dinner everything becomes more expensive and has less add-ons too. The unagi was very delicious and juicy. I'm glad that the bones were soft and not the type that would get stuck onto your gums and would leave you in annoying pain all throughout the meal. It's served with a big bowl of Japanese rice too.
/center>Special Yaki Gyoza (Php. 150) -- One order comes with six bite-size pieces (my hungry A-I already got one piece before I could take a photo of this dish :P) and it has just the right amount of filling. Not very oily and something I would order again on my next visit.
Ebi Tempura (Php 280) -- Not so bad but we all agreed that we've enjoyed better ebi tempura elsewhere. I find the coating too thick and the shrimp too tiny. Nothing beats enjoying a huge piece of plump ebi tempura that makes you that what you paid for was worth it.
Chicken Teriyaki (Php. 180) -- I love chicken teriyaki and I'm glad we ordered this. Meat was tender and flavorful, it went so well with my Japanese rice. Yum!
Agedashi Tofu (Php. 130) -- Just like the tempura, this was just so-so. I guess I have to stay away from their deep-fried dishes as the chef went a little bit overboard with the coating of the tofu too. This one lacks so much in flavor and not even the sauce could help perk up the taste of this dish.
We also got a bowl of Seafood Curry (Php. 300) and everyone enjoyed this as well. It was rich and creamy without being very spicy. Even Kongkong and Amah loved this too!
After enjoying lunch, we were offered to have either Grass Jelly, Hot or Cold Coffee for dessert. I wasn't really expecting much from this as the entire meal was just so-so. Not a single dish stood out that will push me to go back right away. However, I was surprise that I really enjoyed their cold coffee. It had the right amount of creaminess and sweetness that I wish they served it in a bigger cup for me to enjoy it even more. Funny as it may sound, but I recommend that you try the Cold Coffee should you find yourself at Nihonbashitei soon.
Food was pretty much ordinary but being able to celebrate my Dad's birthday and having lunch with my family was the highlight of the day. I'll definitely give Nihonbashitei one more try perhaps to try their Teppanyaki dishes or to have more of their lunch sets but what's definite is that I'm having more of their Iced Coffee on my return.
Izakaya Nihonbashitei is located at 800 Arnaiz Avenue, San Lorenzo, Makati City. Call them at 818-8893 / 818-8894.
