Weekend shenanigans

Uma Uma

Last Saturday, I was so bored on my day off that I called a friend and asked if she wants to try this new Ramen place in S' Maison.  The S'Maison at the Conrad Hotel is becoming our favorite place to dine and hang out because it's new and not as crowded as Mall of Asia.

We hear alot of good things about Uma Uma so we decided, why not try it out.  

The interior looks modern-japanese.  It's spacious and pictures of ramen, and what the house is all about adorn the walls.  Uma Uma Ramen, originating in Fukuoka, Japan is based on the premise of not needing MSG to flavor their ramen.  

Uma in Japanese means "tasty", so they pride themselves that there is already "umami" in their ramen that it would be enough to satisfy your taste buds.

Relatively priced, we both ordered the Uma-uma ramen.  Dubbed as their best-seller, it has Chasiu, black fungus, egg, spring onions and spicy miso.

Uma uma ramen

Honestly, I wasnt' too impressed with it.  The broth was not too heavy, that I give extra points, but nothing really sticks out from it.  I felt like eating the same noodle soup that my mom cooks, except that my mom doesn't boil her broth for hours and use special ingredients to make it that "authentic-ramen taste."

One-bite Gyoza

These tiny creatures I liked!!! with that garlicky-spicy condiment they put on the side, mixed with the gyoza sauce, argghhh...YUUUMMMYYY!!!

Tamago

They have Tamago and Dashi Tamago.  When we asked the server what was the difference between the two, she was mumbling something to the like of there's like fish and stuff...actually, Dashi Tamago uses dashi (fish broth) while Tamago is just plain eggs.  The technique in cooking this is mastery in itself.   Going back to the Tamago, a ramen place should know how to cook well its Tamago or else they should just close down.  Good thing Uma Uma has good Tamago. Hehehe! You should try it with the japanese mayonnaise and pickled ginger.

We washed it down with bottomless cold green tea.  I don't like carbonated drinks when eating my ramen...so if there is tea or barley water, i prefer those.  It cleanses your palette and lets you enjoy your food without having that sweet taste from the soda or juice you're drinking.

Will I be coming back for more?  I'm not really sure.  Let me put it this way, Uma Uma is number 3 on my list...My first two ramen places are also found around the area, so it will really take me awhile before going back there... Then again, who knows... what if i crave for some bite-size gyozas?!

Chibo Okonomiyaki in Manila

It was a spur of the moment thing.  My friend Jill found out that the Okonomiyaki joint we went to in Osaka, Japan finally has a branch here in Manila. Chibo Okonomiyaki is very popular in Osaka.  The one we went to was in Dotonburi and we had to wait for an hour before we could get a table.

I told Jill that it's a MUST that we check this Chibo place at S' Maison, at the new Conrad Hotel in Pasay City, immediately.  Let me first say how awestruck we were upon entering S' Maison.  Maybe because there weren't alot of shops open yet, or that we saw billboards of soon to be opening favorite eateries, but seriously, we knew right then that it would be our new place to hang out.

Back to the Okonomiyaki place.  The interior of Chibo is different from the one in Osaka.  It's a little bit on the high-end side.  Though they remained true to the concept of the original Chibo, which is inspired by the great emperor Hideyoshi Totomi, the one at S' Maison looks like a fine-dining restaurant.

Jill wanted to try the Cheese Yaki.  The Cheese Yaki is only served in the Philippines.  I guess because they think Filipinos love their cheese so much, they decided that they'll do a cheese version of their Okonomiyaki.

Each table was equipped with a teppan grill.  The server came in with our Cheese Yaki and placed it at the grill.  We waited for it to start sizzling and then he started doing the usual theatrics, Okonomiyaki-style.

The cheese Yaki was well worth the Php280.  It was packed with the teppan noodles, bean sprouts, pork and lots of cheese.  Imagine the crispness of the bottom of the pancake, mixed with the creaminess of the cheese, and topping it with lots and lost of bonito flakes.

The size of the Okonomiyaki is big enough for two persons.  So, if you decide to eat here, better be hungry coz you need a lot of space in that tummy.

Ofcourse, it wouldn't be Chibo if we will not try their signature Okonomiyaki, the Chibo Okonomiyaki (hindi sila nahirapan pangalanan tong dish na toh!).  It's the same dish we ordered in Osaka and yes, the taste, texture and size were all the same from what we were served here in Manila.

The prawn's head and tail served as decoration but you can still eat them.  The Chibo Okonomiyaki has bits of beef, shrimp, and i'm not sure if that was scallop or squid (sorry naman, na-excite lang masyado).

We noticed that they kept on refilling our glass with barley water.  It really was the perfect combination with our Okonomiyakis.

Too bad we couldn't order more.  We were not prepared that we will be that full after just ordering 2 okonomiyakis.