Frannywanny's Birthday Treat at Mitsuyado Sei-Men!!!

Happy birthday to me! 

On the 1st day of June, I will be turning a year older and hopefully, a little bit more wiser. This year's birthday will be a bit different for what I've been having in the past. For one thing, it will be simpler and more intimate too. It will be my first birthday away from home...away from everyone close to my heart. I don't think I'll still do my annual week-long birthday celebration. Though, I'm still eyeing to do a fun bbq pool party with friends here. :) Let's see how everything pans out.

Just as I'm doing things differently this year, I also thought of treating two lucky readers to a delicious ramen dinner at Mistuyado Sei-Men. Consider it my birthday treat special thanks to the cool folks of Mitsuyado! :) Please do order my favourite dishes and if you can, have a piece of cake on my behalf! Deal?

I've blogged about Mitsuyado Sei-Men a couple of months ago. As a marketing practicioner, I always believe that being the market leader should not make you complacent. You always have to be on your toes to innovate, innovate and innovate some more. I'm so happy to see that Mitsuyado, being the first ramen house to serve Tsukemen-style ramen, has expanded their menu and boy were they all delicioso!

Let me begin with the appetizer. I love Edamame and believe me, I can consume an entire bowl! It's so good, a bit salty yet overly addicting. Give it a soft bite on one end and slowly poke your finger through the thick rubbery shell to pull out the slippery beans inside. I don't even use my finger anymore instead I just let my teeth push the beans out to coat it with the salt that covers the "shell".

For those who loves pork, you just have to try the Char Siu Plate (Php. 180). The meat melts in your mouth as it's so tender and I love dipping this into the mustard that comes with it. It's so addicting and would perfectly go well with a bowl of Japanese rice.

Whenever Paul and I dine at a Japanese restaurant, we somehow make it a point to order a plate of Gyoza (Php. 180). If you like your gyoza filled with soup similar to a Xiao Long Bao inside, then this will definitely hit the spot. I like mine juicy but not saucy so this was just a-okay for me. However, I got to admit that I was impressed with the quality of the wrapper. It stayed intact from serving plate to my plate to my mouth. Bravo!



We got to try the Chicken Karaage (Php. 190) which made me remember my friend Abet who just lovesssss chicken. Kids will love this crispy deep-fried Japanese-style chicken that stayed juicy and tender inside and the skin crunchy to the last bite.

Should you prefer ordering the traditional Japanese fare, they have Ebi Tempura (Php. 280) available too.

Those were just the starters that we had that evening, let me talk about the main dishes -- the stars of the show.

Paul and I have been to Mitsuyado Sei-Men a number of times and we still can't stop ordering the Double Cheese Tsukemen Ramen (Php. 340 / Php. 380). I've tried the Cheese Curry which was too rich for me, this one was just right as the first type of cheese was parmesan sprinkled on the ramen noodles and the second was cheddar-like with seafood and served as a dipping sauce for the noodles. It somehow reminded me of a creamy pasta dish.

We also tried the Tan Tan Ramen (Php. 380 / 420) which was definitely not for the faint hearted. Paul loves everything with peanuts so I was quite positive this is something he'll love. It was a bit too spicy for me, but for those who can handle the heat, do try it!

We all loved the Char Siu Plate that we had earlier thus we just had to try the Char Siu Don! More tender, melt-in-your-mouth char siu (pork strips) on a bed of fluffy Japanese rice. I'm definitely going back to Mitsuyado Sei-Men for more yummy Char Siu!

I was also able to try the Black Pepper Chicken which was their version of the very popular Chicken Teriyaki only it makes use of their signature black pepper sauce and marinade. Since we were already carbo loading with our bowls of ramen, we opted to get the a la carte (Php. 180) version but next time, I'm going for the Black Chicken Don (Php. 240) which is the rice bowl version.

Since you'll be celebrating my birthday, please try these two pasta dishes. Yes, a Japanese restaurant serving pasta! Another East meets West creation but hey it works!

If you're a tomato-based pasta fan, try the Seafood AE-Soba (Php. 230 / 290). Thick, round Japanese noodles cooked with tangy tomato sauce and served with shrimps, edamame and Japanese creamy sauce. It was okay but to be honest, I'm not very much into tomato sauce thus I just let Paul and our other dining companions get the bigger share for this.

We also had the Yuzu AE Soba (Php. 230 / 290) which was more my cup of tea or rather...my kind of pasta dish. It's a creamy dish with salmon cubes and nori strips. Both noodles, similar to the ramen, were very al dente.

Lastly, to cap off our meal, we had a shot of Cold Sake similar to how the Japanese would have it. Sake can be taken hot or cold and I personally like it cold. Cheers!

Now, here's how you can win a birthday treat (Php. 1,000 GC) at Mitsuyado Sei-Men from ME!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Contest reminders:
1) Contest duration: May 21 - 31, 2013
2) Due to the location of Mitsuyado Sei-men, this contest is only open to Metro Manila readers.
3) Winners can claim their Php. 1,000 at Mitsuyado Sei-Men. To claim your prize, please present a valid ID.
4) One valid entry per person/email address please.
5) The 2 winners will be contacted via email and will be announced in this blog.

Mitsuyado Sei-Men is located at 22 Jupiter street, Brgy Bel-Air, Makati City. Call them at 511-1390.