Yakimix (Trinoma)

I had never eaten here before so I was honestly kind of sketchy about this choice at first. I thought to myself, “Another Japanese ‘fusion’/shabu-shabu place? No way!” We all know what Saisaki-Dads degenerated into, so I was really dubious about what this experiment would turn out to be. Alas, our first choice Banana Leaf was still closed (at 11 in the morning) so we all ended up here for what was supposed to be a quick meal so we could make it in time for a supposed 1pm class. I read the sign on the door: “Eat all you can buffet… Smokeless Grill” Well, I didn’t expect much. I thought that I would have some “meh” meal. But I was proven wrong.

Upon entering, I was impressed at how classy the interiors looked. Dark wood trimmings on the columns and fresh yellow orchids near the tables. Nice. Ok, so it doesn’t look dirt cheap. But what about the food?

 The buffet spread basically had four sections: appetizers, fresh entrees, cooked entrees, and desserts. For starters, they have the usual bird’s nest soup, kani salad, potato salad, and Korean appetizers such as kimchi. Cooked entrees were an assortment of sushi and sashimi, shrimp tempura, maki, spicy beef and vegetables—the kind of stuff that you would see in other Jap fusion buffets (you know, comfort food). As I was hungry, I darted for the cooked section first. But as my friend said, “You don’t go to Yakimix for that, Chatto.” So what do we go to Yakimix for?

  

Enter the uncooked entrees. One has a wide selection to choose from: seafoods, poultry, beef, and pork. You’d have to cook each piece on a “smokeless” grill heated by lava stones. The grill really is smokeless by the way, so don’t worry about smelling like the foodcourt after you’re done eating.

I was pleasantly surprised that the uncooked seafood was actually very fresh. That’s pretty much a rare treat for many restaurants in Manila. The meats were also seasoned well enough to give them just the right zing. An even more pleasant surprise was that the food wasn’t oily at all—an even rarer treat for this type of establishment.

The good:

Beef with golden mushrooms (this was a sure fire hit for the rest of us in the table), chicken, beef, and pork.

*note the salmon at the bottom :))

Also, I do recommend that you try their salmon. They were thinly sliced, extremely tender even when grilled, and very fresh. It’s my personal favorite.  The cuttlefish and squid tentacles were also very tasty—spicy but not hot.

After the meats are grilled, one can dip them in Yakimix’s sauce to give it more flavor (although the meats do taste fine even without doing so).  I have no idea what they put in this, but there’s definitely soy sauce, some chili and perhaps Thai herbs.

For their desserts, Yakimix has a spread of sweets purchased from other establishments. There’s black forest cake from Goldilocks, ice cream and popsicles from Nestle, and so on.

The bad:

Fruit tart at the desserts section – Don’t even bother eating this. It tastes like flour.

Overall, Yakimix was worth the visit. Because the food was that good, we tried a second (or was it third?) round. Unfortunately, we overestimated our gastric emptying capacities so no matter how much we fantasized about stuffing ourselves to the brim, we really couldn’t take any more food at all. Now that wasn’t exactly good news. The restaurant charges a (very) reasonable price of P499 per person—if you finish your food. Leftovers will set each person back an extra P200. And because some of our plates looked like this:

We had to play a little game and be rather… creative. 

To make it appear that we had less leftovers than we really had, we chopped them up into little pieces and hid them amongst the other food.

Now you see it…

and now you don’t.

Can you spot where the leftovers are?

I think this trick worked because we did not have to pay anything extra...

The verdict: If you think that this restaurant is another Saisaki-Dads knockoff, then you’re wrong. Yakimix (at least the Trinoma branch) is waaay better, with classier interiors, tastier and fresher food. For those of you who haven’t tried it, I recommend you do so.   

Rating: 4/5   

Sunday Lunch: La Nuova Pasteleria

Nestled in the neighborhood complex of San Antonio Plaza in Forbes Park is this small and unpretentious deli-style restaurant. Here in Manila, it’s not unheard of for a restaurant to last barely two to five years. That’s mostly because they are not consistent enough, serving great food the first few years, then deteriorating slowly thereafter. But since La Nuova Pasteleria has been around for over 30 years, I guess that would have to make it a class all on its own.

The good: (everything, basically)

Flat bread with tomato and chicken pate

Zuppa di Funghi (P271) Fresh mushroom soup. Not cream of mushroom (as what most restaurants serve), fresh real mushroom: clear and well seasoned with pepper and olive oil. I found it refreshing to have mushroom soup that did not taste like it came straight out of a Campbell’s can.

Spinacci Trifolate Sauteed (P385) Spinach with truffle cream in Porcini mushroom sauce. Easily a hit for an appetizer. The sauce was so rich and creamy, one could almost get full eating this alone.  

Spinach Pizza – with fresh tomato sauce, topped with creamy mushroom and spinach. Better than most vegetarian-style pizzas you’ll find around the city. It was mild yet flavorful at the same time.

Pepperoni Pizza with olives – authentic taste to something so ubiquitous

Pescatora e Salsa Pomodoro (P459) Spaghetti with seafood in tomato sauce. The tomato sauce was a great feature in this dish. Although I’m not a fan of seafood + pasta, this one makes a real difference.

Filleto de Salmone (P595). Salmon steak with scallop and shrimp in cream sauce. The star of the table, hands down. If there is only one thing you can order out of this meal, get this one. The salmon is perfectly baked and the shrimp and scallop were not bad at all. But what makes this dish insanely delicious is the sauce made of cream, butter, cheese, and some dill. The pasta with bell pepper on the side add a nice contrast to it. Ahh, heaven.  

For dessert, we shared a strawberry shortcake which the waiters gave on the house.

The verdict: I have no bad reviews for this place at all. Ok, maybe they could do with bigger space. And gelato. But that’s beside the point. This place serves authentic Italian food that’s cooked in the right, Italian way: simple, no frills, and delicious.  

Rating: 4.75 / 5

P.S. A far cry from the “World of the J.” no?

Café Breton

Having a three-hour lunch break is a much coveted prize over here at the World of the J. (Jologs, i.e. Sampaloc, Maynila). Thankfully, Timog, Tomas Morato, and Trinoma are just about a 30-minute drive away for a convenient food escape. What is unfortunate though is that a 10 am to 1 pm break does not leave us with very many options to choose from as most restaurants are still closed! (Just so you know, we had to wait 20 minutes outside the front door of this place before they opened)

Anyway, I’m sure many of you have been to Café Breton as it has been around for more than 5 years now. But I appreciate the fact that even after that span of time, it still manages to serve a pretty consistent quality of food that leaves one comforted at the end of his meal. I’ve learned that when one is hungry, it’s always best to go for the “tried and tested” rather than experiment. Breton is definitely one of those places where you can satisfy a hungry stomach with a reliably good lunch, snack, dinner, or dessert and not regret it.

The good:

 Café Breton has always been known for its crepes. For those starving, we recommend…

Galette Rustique (P182.50) – crepe stuffed with mozzarella and topped with bacon, tomato, and sunny side-up egg.    

Breton Mozarella Burger (P195) – Now I know this one’s on the “safe” side. But I just couldn’t resist a burger with an all-beef patty topped with creamy mozzarella, mushrooms, and lettuce. Plus they have a small lettuce, tomato, and onion salad on the side so that covers the go, grow, and glow don’t you think? If only their bread were homemade…

And if you’re incredibly hungry…

Try making your own custom galette (P400+) – You can basically put anything that what you want in here. Inside this crepe lies molten mozzarella, mushrooms, ham, egg, tomato (and all sorts of other stuff on an entire page of the menu I couldn’t remember anymore) with veal sausage on the side topped with onions. The crepe tasted incredibly rich and hearty from first bite to last. Pretty excessive I know. But you won’t want to eat another meal for the next 18 hours after this one.  

The verdict: Consistently good food and reasonably priced, what more can I say?

Rating: 4.5 / 5

Romulo Cafe

Tucked in the residential area of Scout Tuason sits this modern, sleek, black and white former home of Carlos P. Romulo. I’ve driven by this place a few times and I’ve always been intrigued by what lies behind its green walls. When time came to choose a restaurant within the Tomas Morato area, this one immediately came to mind. 

The interior. Thanks to the Almario sisters, this once dated home now looks stylish enough to be on a magazine spread. One of the walls in the first floor is filled with pictures of world famous historical figures whom Mr. Romulo met throughout his tenure as our country’s top diplomat.  

Given that we had an early lunch break, we were the restaurant’s first customers so we had the place all to ourselves. But I hear it’s pretty full during dinner and weekends.

On to what we ordered.   

The good:

Crispy crablets (not pictured) – This I have to say was the best thing in our meal, which unfortunately we devoured before documenting. Ten plus baby crabs fried to a crisp in battered egg. Dipped in vinegar and chili sauce. 90 seconds to finish all. Yum! 

Boneless Crispy Pata Binagoongan (P625) – Another great thing in our meal. I liked how crispy the skin was. The meat was tender, not overcooked, and not too oily. I know there seems to be a lot of bagoong (salty shrimp paste) splattered on top along with onions and some chili, but it really did not taste that salty. I thought it made a good combination.

Sinigang na Hipon (P230) - Tasted just how sinigang should taste like: sour but warm and hearty. Takes every Filipino back home to his lola's kitchen.

Coolas Cucumber (P90) - A real treat. Don't bother getting the iced tea and get this one instead. This drink is a mocktail of cucumber, lime, and perrier.

The so-so: These weren't half bad but they were not enough to raise my loins either.

Baked Lemon Grass Chicken (P225)

Laing with adobo flakes

The bad:

Samaral na Pinangat sa Mangga (P295) – Although it looked tasty, I found the fish kind of bland. You can see that there’s some sauce on the dish so I tried in vain to spread some of it onto the fish to get a little more flavor, but to no avail. I won’t be getting that one again.

 

The verdict:

This is definitely not a bad place to take one’s foreign friends or balikbayans looking for authentic home-cooked Filipino food. I had some reservations before coming in as I thought there would be a lot of “fusion” vibe to it, given the swanky architectural design. But I didn’t find that to be so. However, I somehow find that this restaurant lacks something that will keep me coming back. The food was good but not really that great. Come to think of it, the architecture was more enticing than the food. I know there's been some buzz about Romulo for the past few years now, but if you have some other place in mind which you think is more exciting, then you aren't missing out on much.

Rating: 3.5 / 5