Tenya Asakusa Tokyo: First Bite at SM Megamall

We were searching for a nice restaurant to fill our hungry tummies with when we saw Tenya. We were a bit apprehensive at first because of the newly opened restaurant vibe but we considered giving it a shot. Upon entering, the wait staff were eager to get us seated and was really enthusiastic in serving us. I observed that the place was quite small and can only accommodate around 30 people at once but nevertheless, the interior was really nice.We were seated in one of their couches and was handed out their menu. 

I like how the blue compliments the place.

We started browsing and what really caught my attention was their Teishoku sets.

Sorry for the crappy photo :p

 I picked their Classic Tempura set and my boyfriend chose their set which includes soba noodles (I forgot what its called :p). While waiting, the waitstaff assigned to us offered us a cup of tea but unfortunately at that time it was still brewing and would take around 20 minutes so he instead served us water. Looking around, I saw that the place was nearly full. Maybe people passing by are still intimidated to go inside and try a new restaurant or they are still waiting for reviews from people who had guts to try it hehehe. Anyway, after 10 minutes or so, our food arrived. Mine came in first.

Japanese food Asakusa style

 The serving was actually big. The waitstaff informed us of the sauce on the side, which is called Dontare sauce, can be paired with our tempura and rice and of course we can have as much pickles as we want (I'm a sucker for those). 

Their Dontare sauce is in that cute black jar beside the Togarashi and their unlimited pickles. YUM!

My boyfriend's meal came in afterwards and it looks delicious. I have a soft spot for soba in my heart ever since our Little Tokyo experience.

Just looking at this photo makes me hungry x10!

 He told me I could sample the dish later because he knows I blog about food a lot lol. At first bite, I can tell that the vegetables were not oily and retained their crispiness. Even the fish included doesn't smell fishy and believe it or not I liked it. I poured a good amount of Dontare sauce on my rice and scooped a few pieces of pickles and I was good to go. The dish was really satisfying. What's more, the waitstaff frequently visits our table to ask if we enjoyed our food and if there's anything we would like to add or get. There was also a condiment included in the meal which tasted like ginger wasabi and I love it to bits. It adds a lot of flavor and kick to my meal. As for the soba, the soup was really light and the noodles were a bit on the thin side. It was OK for me but I still prefer the ones we had at Little Tokyo. As usual, I wasn't able to finish the meal I ordered and had to ask my boyfriend to help me finish the meal. We paid around 700php plus. Not bad for a good and hefty meal. 

Will I be back soon? I sure will.

Ramen Nagi experience at Glorietta 5

I'd like to begin by saying I am so sorry for the lull. I've been busy and when there are times that I would've written something, our office internet bugs down. Miraculously though, that changed today. So for my two month absence, I'll slowly fill you in with my food-scapade and hopefully our internet'll cooperate.

Look at their cute place mat

Me and my boyfriend was around BGC when we tried Ramen Nagi at Glorietta 5. He was scheduled to meet with a chiropractor and since he didn't have time to grab anything to eat on our way there, we decided to eat lunch there. As I already had my meal, he still insisted I have a bowl of ramen and he'll eat whatever I don't finish. We ordered something new out of their selection of ramen. I believe it was an Ebi based ramen. He got himself a serving of their Taki gyoza and a bowl of Japanese rice. While ordering ramen, the staff gave us a piece of paper and a red pen for us to customize our ramen. We asked for the best consistency of noodles on our desired ramen and he suggested we have our noodles hard since the broth is hot and it'll soften while being consumed. As for the level of spice, they suggested I go for 1 which as they say is tolerable but upon tasting the broth, I could still go for level 2 or 3. While waiting for our food, I decided to take a few pictures of the place.

Customizing my ramen. 

Full house y'all!

 There are a lot of people at that time and I must say that the ratio of servers attending to the number of customers there is pretty decent. My ramen came in first.

It's Tampopo all over again!

Upon setting it on our table, the manager came and put a paper bib on me. I was surprised. He wasn't rude or anything. He did ask for my permission first and seeing as there is no harm in it, I gave in. Before eating the mouth watering bowl of ramen in front of me, I remembered something from the 1985 Japanese movie, Tampopo. I copied the way they ate their ramen in the film and it was really fun. The broth was good. My initial thinking was that they'd put in tempura since I read that it is an Ebi Ramen. Nevertheless, the pork did complement the broth. There is also Shinachiku root, bits of nori and green onions. The noodles were really firm. I like that even after consuming 3/4 of the soup, the noodles remained firm and chewy. After about 5 minutes, his order came.

My boyfriend burned his tongue on his first bite. Make sure you cool it off before digging in.

The gyoza was placed in a sizzling stone bowl with their signature pork bone soup. It was really hot so he has to wait for a few minutes before he can dig in. Upon tasting the soup of his dish, it reminded of something light and creamy I had before. The gyoza was really nice as well. Too bad the serving was not enough for one hungry man. My ramen was actually bigger and of course I shared some of my food with him. Sadly, it wasn't enough for him. He decided to eat later after his check-up since we're running late. But all in all, our experience at Ramen Nagi was really good. The servers were attentive and the ambiance was lively. Their playlist was even approved by my boyfriend hahaha. With a glass of lemon iced tea, our bill totaled to around 800 php. Not bad for good food with an equally good quality. So if you're around Glorietta 5 and is craving for some good Ramen, Ramen Nagi'll not disappoint you. I heard their Original King Butao is something you must try, so we're definitely going back. Hope you got hungry as much as I did while writing this. "Till next time!