Hanamaruken : New ramen in Trinoma

Hanamaruken 花丸軒 is now in the Philippines!

I was shopping for gifts three days ago in Trinoma. After I've done shopping, I was planning to eat at SM North. Upon, reaching for the exit, I passed by the ads standing on the middle of the hallway, I saw a ramen ad and I thought Santouka ramen will be the first quality ramen (except Ramen X) to open in Trinoma but when I looked again at the ad, it's not Santouka. I began craving for a new ramen. I went to the 2nd level, Trinoma Garden restaurants to search for this new ramen restaurant.

 I am glad that it's easy to find this ramen restaurant. It looks nice. I did not hesitate to enter the restaurant.

To enlarge photos, please click the pictures. 

While waiting, I asked the staff if when did Hanamaruken opened in Trinoma. She said it was about 3 months ago. I thought that Hanamaruken has other branches in the Philippines because it is rare that shops in Trinoma will be the first branch. I was wrong. Hanamaruken in Trinoma is the first branch of Hanamaruken outside Japan.

Even this restaurant is not that big, the decorations and interiors are simply stunning. Japanese ancient music is being played in Hanamaruken restaurant.

"Hanamaruken has over 40 branches in Japan. Osaka locals religiously line up for everyday."

Here's Hanamaruken's menu / price list:

I ordered Signature Happiness Ramen for P480 and Gyoza for P150. I felt overwhelmed that I found a nice ramen place again. While waiting for my ramen, the gyoza was served and I ate this dish immediately.

For me, the gyoza has a really good quality wrapper and meat for its price unlike others including the ones in Taisho Ramen where gyozas tend to stick with each other and the taste is somewhat salty. Hanamaruken's gyoza is a bit oily. Never mind the little bit of oiliness, important is, it's delicious and its meat and vegetables were fully stuffed inside.

Chili and soy sauce

I ate all including the green vegetable decor.I felt somewhat full after eating. Then, here comes the Signature Happiness ramen.

Cholesterol warning: Hanamaruken's Signature Happiness ramen has some lard floating

As you can see, the ramen has some lard floating but not to the point that it is disgusting to eat. The ramen actually contains 2 thin spiral condiments (naruto). On the picture below, 1/4 of this cooked spare rib is still in deep soup. :)

The noodles is not too thick. The pork can be taste on its noodles. It's like the noodles sipped the pork meat and soup. Even with some lard, the soup still tastes like pork spare rib. The two eggs were half boiled but still solid and no yolk spilled on the soup. I felt like slurping this whole bowl of ramen just like what I've did in Kichitora of Tokyo's Paitan Zenbu no Se.

Before I end this Hanamaruken review, I want to share that the two eggs (tamago) were really an additional and is usually not included in the ramen unless you requested these. Upon billing, I just remembered again that the two eggs are just additional. What I don't like is that the staff did not ask me first if I wanted eggs or not. To be honest, I also did not remember if I requested it. I just confirmed the orders before serving that's why I did not complain about it. They also did not bid goodbye or thanks to the customers exiting the restaurant.

For me, I cannot decide now which is delicious but I still choose Kichitora of Tokyo's Paitan Zenbu no Se because it has less oil and no lard's floating on that ramen. I'll definitely come back in Hanamaruken even though it's pricey because it is still nearer to my house compared to Kichitora of Tokyo. I hope Ramen Santouka will open asap in Trinoma. This is the end of my Hanamaruken restaurant review.

Rating:  
(Staff is polite but still needs additional training)

Hanamaruken Philippines
2nd Floor Garden Trinoma Mall 
(02) 720 9283 / (02) 628 1603
11:00 am - 10:00 pm

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How's the Tapa at Echocafe?

Having a lunch break, I walked at Centris Walk, Quezon Avenue. (No pun intended).

I already ate at Uncle Cheffy, Ramen X and Pancake House. I would like to try something new. Then, I decided to try the EchoStore at Centris.

I love the products from EchoStore and I love their advocacy just as like as Human Heart Nature. They were not only selling beauty and cleaning products but they also help Filipinos working in the agricultural industry to make a living. Their products are not only organic but also environment friendly.

I don't have a clue about the food they serve on their restaurant.

I expect that food here is good since I like their products. Also, check out these blogs for Echostore product reviews: (I am not associated with these blogs)

http://callmekristine.blogspot.com/2013/10/top-5-reasons-to-visit-echo-store-echo.html
http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/2013/02/take-home-yummies-from-the-echostore-in-eton-centris/

Many people were eating inside. I have managed to take a decent shot of their small store.

The store has a free WiFi. I asked the staff about the password, tried to connect using my iPad mini and upon using the internet, the connection was pretty good and not too slow.

 There are cakes displayed at the front of echocafe's counter and anyone can order per slice. I did not take a picture of it because I just saw the mini cctv camera in front of the counter and it's awkward for me alone to take a picture of it. While looking at the echocafe menu, I cannot decide if I will order pasta or main dish with rice. Soon, I decided to go for Homemade Tapa (Filipino dish - dried or cured beef).

Too bad I have lost the receipt while writing this review. Anyway, I'll just proceed to do the review and to share to you if the price is really justifiable for this meal.

The meal comes with free coffee. Oh no! I have an acid reflux and I don't want to drink coffee so I asked the waitress if can I have a coffee freebie alternative. I am glad that I can have peppermint tea as alternative.

The hot echocafe peppermint tea was served first.

The peppermint tea tastes like peppermint (of course!) and unlike other peppermint teas, this one is really soothing my throat and the intestines. I felt good drinking it.

While waiting for the tapa, I surfed the net using my iPad mini. Finally after about 15 minutes, the echocafe homemade tapa was served.

I noticed that the echocafe homemade tapa's serving was small but the rice's serving was adequate for one person. Well, I'll eat it anyway and see if the tapa is really good.

Upon tasting, the tapa was delicious and somewhat sweet but the tapa pieces were sticking to each other. The quality of this tapa is like ranging from 100 pesos to 175 pesos. Yes it was delicious but I think it's expensive. 

Overall, I like the peppermint tea. About the tapa, it was delicious but not for this price range. I'd rather eat at cheaper tapa eateries.

Rating: 3/5 thanks for the peppermint tea.

Echostore

Centris walk

ETON Mall, EDSA corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City

Centris 7097800 (Centris QC)

901.3485/ 5763703(Market) /Podium store 4702688/

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Pudding Republiq: Is it worth it?

March 1, 2014 - As I went inside Trinoma to go to Family lounge, I got curious on what's going on the ground floor's activity center. There are several clothes stores and a mini food fair. I became impulsed on buying clothes there but after looking, I haven't bought one because I don't like the cotton/fabric quality of these clothes and I can just buy these kinds in Novaliches Bayan for a cheaper price.

Upon going exit, I saw women trying desserts samples from the lady seller on the table. She is nice in accommodating those women. I saw that she sells puddings. I had tasted her red velvet and some pudding samples. I like the taste of it. At Food Republiq, the single bigger than the picture above pudding costs P 75. There is also a 2 piece set available but I forgot the price while the 12 piece set of mini puddings costs P300. I asked the lady if what's the shelf life of these puddings. She said that it is still edible for 1 week. Too bad they don't have a store here but anyway, I am the type to buy "pasalubong" for my family and I want to taste all these puddings, I bought the P300 set. Let's see if the taste is like on the samples and if it will melt easily or not.

The time I just bought this Food Republiq puddings..

                   

After strolling the mall for 2 hours and arrived to home from commuting within an hour. 

Even if it doesn't melt, I placed this in a refrigerator. After that, we ate it. What can we say is some are delicious some are just bland. The most delicious here are the red velvet, the chocolate with marshmallows, the chocolate pudding on the highest first row/first column from the right side and the pudding on the second row/second column from the right side. 

Overall, for the price of P300, it is expensive. Delicious but not as delicious as other desserts for that price range. It is better to just buy a single one or a 2 piece set.

Rating: 3/5

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Cantinetta at Burgos Circle

I really did not expect to eat at Cantinetta, Burgos Circle.

On a Valentine's Day, I am going to have a dinner with my family on Shi Lin using my 500 pesos for 1000 peso-value voucher from Groupon.  Since the dinner will be tonight, while having an office break and looking for lunch alone, I stumbled upon restaurants in Burgos Circle. I know that restaurants here are more expensive than the other western parts (business district) of Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and employees are too scared to enter this restaurants because of the so called scary or expensive menu items. As many employees said: "Don't be hungry here, if you do, you'll become poor".

I am glad that Shi Lin wasn't too expensive even it's located on BGC. Aside from convenience stores, I find that on restaurants or cafe category , Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Serenitea are the cheapest in Burgos Circle area. Bugsy's used to be one of the cheapest but price increase occurred so it's out now.

I want to eat at Wrong Ramen but I'll wait as customer #6 so I told the staff: "Thanks! but I'll look for another". She smiled after that instead of ignoring me as if nothing happened kind of scenario. My backup plan is to eat pasta instead of ramen. Then, I saw this Italian restaurant called Cantinetta.

Since I was alone, I am shy to take the picture of their front store. Below is their front store by night. During the day, the sign is of color red/orange.

picture from Cantinetta's facebook page

There are only a few people dining inside. I was wearing a shirt, leggings and rubber shoes instead of a semi formal beautiful dress but who cares, I don't look like a street kid and I want to try this out. I took a brave step to come here in this resto and look for Cantinetta's menu or price list.

I ordered for Fettuccine Tartufo for Php 550 (a service charge of 10% will also be added upon bill out). I was still wondering if the serving size will be just enough for one or only a half like in Parvati. While waiting, the waiter served me these:

After spreading the grey spread on the bread (slight tongue twister :P), I tasted it on its own. It tastes like liver spread. I asked the waiter about its name and then he said it's chicken liver. He asked me politely if I like it. Then, I said Yes with a smile. I also tried the tomato spread one and still it's delicious but I find the chicken liver more addicting that I ate it again on its own.

Larger than average fork and knife

I forgot to be curious if this rose on every table (including mine) is only for Valentines Day or not.

At a moderate waiting time, here it is, the Fettuccine Tartufo,

I think this pasta can be shared by a couple since it's Valentines. It has mushrooms, ham, garnish leaves that I don't know what it is called but I am sure it is not parsley, and bread. The fettuccine pasta is more on a brown color and also same with the sauce.

Upon tasting, I like this creamy sauce and this is more delicious and cheaper than pasta from Mary Grace where pasta price ranges from Php 400-Php 500 inside a cramped, small cafe.

I can taste the mushrooms. The pasta has many ham slices which is good for me Well, I am a pasta lover. I can finish Cantinetta's pasta leaving a clean plate. While dining, the waiter gave me a rose. Even the rose is somewhat ready to wither, I appreciated it and took it outside after eating.

I am happy and satisfied. You can have a date in this restaurant at night. For employees, if you plan for a romantic dinner or group date. It's not bad to try this out.

Rating: 5/5

Cantinetta
Cantinetta, Burgos Circle - Taguig
Burgos Circle, Forbes Town Center, 29 St. Rizal Drive, The Fort
Taguig City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02)4035220
Su, M, T, W, Th, F, Sa: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

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Yabu: The House of Katsu review

Tonkatsu is 豚カツ, とんかつ or トンカツ is a Japanese food which consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. There are two main types, hire and rosu. It is often served with shredded cabbage. - Wikipedia

Usually, a Japanese restaurant is not complete without tonkatsu in the menu. It is one of the most ordered dishes whenever everyone dines in. I will do a Yabu restaurant review today. Sit back and read this review. I am sure you will not regret reading this. Presenting, Yabu: The House of Katsu review

On the year 2013, lots of restaurants in SM North Edsa The Block were newly opened. I usually eat at Lugang Cafe and Mary Grace but never tried Yabu and Slappy Cakes. I did not try Yabu back then due to my traumatic dining experiences at Tempura Japanese Grill and Sumo-Sam. The former for bad service and the latter one was too expensive and not worth the price. I am hesitant to come back again to these restaurants knowing that I will waste my hard earned money.

This year 2014, Yabu: The House of Katsu is still the talk of food blogs these days. Upon passing the JLPT N5 exam, I want to have my Japanese non ramen dining adventure once again. Believing that Yabu review from other food blogs are not sponsored by anyone else and really looks honest, I will take a gamble to taste a high grade tonkatsu inside the mall again since I cannot drive a car. (In my family, only I and my mother cannot drive a car due to laziness and my priority budget issues ^^)

Last Saturday, going to SM North to buy something, I first look at the large Yabu The House of Katsu menu outside first so I will know if I can afford the prices. Gladly, the price list is on my budget and upon seeing the diners, the servings look adequate even sharing a dish between two persons. I called my friend Mallix to invite him for Yabu since he already tried dishes at Yabu, SM Megamall Atrium. Lucky me, he was willing to bring his DSLR. :D High quality photos here they come! :) By the way, thanks to him that I am able to post all these pictures.

All photos were taken by Mallix. You can visit Mallix's facebook page and his Nendo Shelf.

Please click the photos if you want to see larger versions of these.

Pretend that he's not there :P

After buying and strolling, I entered Yabu The House of Katsu restaurant for reservations. Luckily there is a table available despite many customers. Staff is very courteous especially their managers. They are courteous to the point that they will ask you if someone already assisted me for my orders. There's also wi-fi here but unfortunately, I did not succeed trying this because I cannot connect to their own wi-fi even the password was right. Upon looking at the menu, I saw the picture of their most famous chef.  Below is the information I got from the official site.

Chef Kazuya Takeda

We are honored to have Chef Kazuya as Yabu’s partner on all things katsu. As the head of chef of Tonkatsu Takeshin, a popular tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo, he has graciously and generously passed on his knowledge of katsu to our chefs, ensuring that each and every katsu we make is delicious and perfect.

Sake (Japanese wine) bar

I enjoyed reading these big manga (japanese comic book) walls. Testimonial walls have fun signages and Instagram printed posts.

Wanting to take this dining opportunity granted, I ordered the Premium Tonkatsu Set made from Kurobuta 黒豚. Kurobuta, also known as the Black Berkshire pig, is the world's finest pork. It is called the "kobe beef" of pork, due to its rich marbling, softness and flavor.

The Premium Tonkatsu Set is served with unlimited Japanese white rice or organic brown rice, miso soup, Japanese pickles, organic cabbage with your choice of dressing and a bowl of fruit. It has 3/4 inch cutlet made from pork with a trimming of fat.

There are 90 and 120 grams of kurobuta available. I chose the 120 grams.  Upon waiting, I saw a glimpse of the washroom full of notes and testimonials. I did not bother to take a picture since I don't have the need to go to the washroom.

While still waiting for my order, the waiter came to me and introduced all their spices. The three bottles contain, Goma (Japanese mayonnaise), Soy sauce with vinegar with a bit of lemon extract, and the last is Wasabi.

The leftmost pot contains the Katsu sauce and the rightmost one contains Himalayan pink salt. 

The three spices are chili powder, chili sauce and I forgot the last one but I think it's pepper.

Katsu sauce

Himalayan pink salt

In making the katsu sauce, grind the sesame seeds by just moving (not pummeling) the wooden pestle. Then, katsu sauce can be poured and the tonkatsu can now be dipped.

The tasting is now open for us. Cannot wait to eat this!

I love watermelons! There is miso soup inside the black bowl

Hot! Still, I can drink it immediately.

Close up

The actual size is just right. The mini flag design is somewhat cute.  There are cabbage and japanese mustard on the plate. The cut is really a 3/4 inch. No over-breading. Unlike other tonkatsus, the breading doesn't totally come off the meat. The meat is not too thick and it doesn't taste like a boiled hard porkchop. Yabu's tonkatsu tastes great that the fried meat's flavor is still there. Also, Yabu's tonkatsu is not oily. It is safe for those who wanted to avoid too much fat and oil. Though, not crunchy, this tonkatsu has the exact texture and you will not feel or taste the overcooked breading.

The Katsu sauce itself is not sweet unlike in commercial products. It tastes like a bit of sake or a bit of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. I don't like using Wasabi in tonkatsu. I used the katsu sauce we made earlier with sesame seeds and the Goma sauce in dipping the tonkatsu. The japanese mustard is sour and I like the mustard in burgers more than this.

Since there is unli rice (pinoy slang for unlimited rice) and we can choose between japanese rice and brown rice, we alternately request for both kinds of rice.

Requesting unli cabbage and dressing

We took the unli cabbage and dressing for granted. We can also request for additional fruits and pickles.

We both enjoyed dining here. The service was also great!

Rating: 
Please don't forget to like this site or subscribe by email for honest and non sugarcoated food adventure updates! See you!

Yabu House of Katsu
Megamall 631-1192 
Robinsons Magnolia 961-4975 
Mall of Asia 511-7202
North Edsa 351-6983

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About Pinay Food Junkie

Hi everyone!

I began blogging when social media wasn't yet the medium for expressing thoughts and sharing experiences.

Google Docstoc was my first medium in sharing personal files. Ever since 2011, I did not have news updates about this. 

Wanting to express and share what I like whether it is about celebrities, politics or shows, on 2010, Sari saring isip is my first blog. Overwhelmed that somehow a few people visited my blog, I continued to share my posts until thousands can read my shared articles.

Now, this year 2014. I created this site, Pinay Food Junkie, to exclude my honest food reviews from Sari saring isip.

I am also a contributor to boring.ph and astig.ph

I hope you can enjoy your food trip. 

To know more about me, you can visit my Google+ page or my professional website for online freelance work, http://jienruiz.wordpress.com

Thanks for visiting! (◕‿-)

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Review: Brickfire - Steaks at Affordable price

Update as of 7/5/2014:

I decided to visit again this Brickfire branch, June 29, 2014. to see if this issue did really reach to the owners of Brickfire. The manager listened to my follow-up in regards to the incident. Tonight, I received an email from one of the owners himself and I am glad that they took an action already about my issue. In my response, I gave additional suggestions and thanked the owner at the end. I am still considering eating there again. :)

Update as of 5/19/2014: 

I am very happy that the incident has been addressed by the management.  This is the reply from their email:

Good afternoon Ma'am. 

After investigating what happened, we found out that you were actually talking to one of our OJTs. 

Our staff have names embroidered in their uniform, as seen in the picture below: 

(I didn't post the 2nd picture because it's a full name ^^)

The OJT has been addressed by the owner himself. We will report the incident to their school directly. 

Thank you. 

I admit that I didn't notice that Brickfire's staff have their names embroidered since the OJT mean girl wore a black top, not a uniform. I thought she's a regular staff there at that time.

I think I can promote Brickfire again for their management and ethics improvement. Their action is enough for me to think that Brickfire management really cares for their customers.

Yey! :)


5/9/2014 (Here's the incident if you want to know) or you can read my first post for my original review.

BEWARE! "Ugly people" aren't welcome!!!"

I hope Brickfire Management will hire not just skillful (are they?) but polite staff. 

Around 8pm at Brickfire SM North EDSA Annex, I am so disappointed with Brickfire because anyone who are let's say physically and intellectually challenged aren't welcome in this restaurant. I just mispronounced the word Duke and I understand that someone will not avoid to snicker and laugh but instead of politely correcting me or for them to stay on the kitchen and release what they feel about the funny situation, the fair skinned lady with colored brown hair laughed and whispered to the other staff about it. They didn't show respect so when I ordered the Duke and they took my order, I just waited in a minute where I thought they prepared my order and left the restaurant in irritation ( I don't know if they really did prepare my order. Also, I've lost my appetite because of my frustration). I don't want to be the next "amalayer" where the video taken wasn't really complete and I don't want to be a notorious sensation that's why this is the way I can share my disappointment.

My first post:

We will be having a celebration back then. I searched for credit card promos and good thing, Eastwest bank offers a promo that orders reaching a minimum single receipt purchase of P1000 at Brickfire Oven-Roasted Steaks & Chops, you'll receive either Seafood chowder or Cheesy Nachos and fries.

I really love steaks with vegetables and mashed potato or rice but the regular prices hindered me to eat at steak restaurants. I am content eating tenderloin even if it isn't really made of US or Wagyu beef. I am not a fan of bistek tagalog due that I can cook this in our house.

Expecting lots of people on our celebration day, I called Brickfire SM North Edsa branch to have our reservation. Our celebration day comes and I ordered Cowgirl Annie (Brickfire's version of T-bone steak) and others ordered Duke (Brickfire's version of tenderloin steak).

All orders will be subject to 10% service charge. We're happy that our dinner is sulit. Better to buy here than steaks at Pancake house. We tried the P99 steaks before but these ones are more decent.

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