Japanese curry is love at Coco Ichibanya

There are some things about a restaurant that make you decide to actually step inside to eat. If you're not sure about the food, the store's physical appearance could get a hold on you. Me, among the things that meet the eye which draw me to a place are the wall colors, ambient lighting, furniture, and sometimes, faux food on display! I have always loved faux food since I was a little girl and even now at middle age. Hahaha! 
And this is exactly what attracted me to Coco Ichibanya. I was never a fan of curries but hey, they have these colorful, yummy-looking display of "play food" outside so one day, I found myself tagging along my daughter and her boyfriend to eat 
at Coco Ichibanya in Robinsons Place Manila. These kids are huge fans of curry so there was no problem hauling them off to the restaurant. 
And they knew exactly what to order!

Coco Ichibanya, I learned, holds a Guiness World Record for being the largest chain of curry restaurants with a stunning 1,400 stores around the world! The franchise from Japan came to Philippine shores in 2015 and at present,
 has at least nine branches already. 
Anyway, these were our orders for dinner:

Fried chicken salad 

Pork cutlet and vegetable

Pork cutlet and vegetable set (with ice cream and a drink -- milk tea)

Curry udon

Menu 

Interiors

Delicious-looking faux food! 

Coco Ichibanya at the ground level of Robinsons Place Manila 
near the Pedro Gil entrance

I must admit that the pork curry was really good, with its excellent gravy-sauce that was oozing with flavors. The thick sauce  was earthy - mildly sweet and a tad spicy (you can choose the level of spiciness!). The perfectly breaded and fried katsu with generous curry sauce was an absolutely delightful partner to a serving of steamed white rice. It actually caused me to have a change of heart about curry! Yum! 

The udon wasn't much to my liking, though. The curry soup had pretty much the same earthy, tangy flavor but for me, the thick noodles made the dish cloying. I only had a few forkful of the noodles and some sips of the thick soup and that was it.

The fried chicken salad was a different story, though. There was no sad thing to say about it. It was so good! First of all, the serving was big and the greens were bright -- fresh and crunchy. And who doesn't love fried chicken? Certainly not me 'coz it's my most favorite thing to eat in this world. Hahaha! They're bite-sized, with a hint of sweetness and wholly delicious! If you're going low-carb, the Fried Chicken Salad could be a great thing to order 'coz it will satisfy you without much of the starch. Even if only for this, yes, I would go back to Coco Ichibanya. 
But wait, there's more! The ice cream and milk tea were delish as well. The milk was served separately from the iced brewed tea so it's up to you whether you want 
to put in a lot or just a little. Whatever suits your taste! 
All in all, it was a delightful dinner that we had at Coco Ichibanya, a new experience and taste for my palate. Curry isn't so bad, after all. In fact, I feel like I could use 
a serving of katsu curry as I write this post! 
Try Coco Ichibanya, folks. They have branches at Bonifacio Global City, Greenbelt, Greenhills, Pasig, Rockwell, Vertis North, Eastwood and in Cebu, aside from the one at Robinsons Place in Ermita, Manila. 
Happy eating!

MuRamen: Japanese food with a twist!

Before Taal Volcano displayed its fury by spewing steam and ash last month, my family and I were in Tagaytay for our pre-Christmas weekend break. We arrived there at noontime and the kids were hungry! On our way to SMDC's Wind Residences where we stayed for a night, we passed by Primark Town Center, which is adjacent to it. There weren't many restaurants in the building, however, and the only ones I remember were a McDonald's, Cafe Amazon and a Japanese restaurant named MuRamen. Because most of the kids (There were several of them 'coz my nephews were with us as well as my two kids' sweethearts) wanted McDonald's and three of us didn't, we decided to split. I ended up at MuRamen with my eldest daughter and her boyfriend. This restaurant, I found to be cute: it's quite small with a contemporary design. I even found the food concept cute, too: Japanese food with a twist! A bit of research as I write this post showed MuRamen is owned by a young actor named Nash Aguas and he now has around nine branches of his Japanese fusion restaurant. 
Wow! Such a feat by someone so young! 

Anyway, these were our orders that we enjoyed for lunch:

Marrowmen (Ramen bulalo)

Now tell me this isn't a cute idea: putting the Pinoy bulalo and Japanese noodles in one dish. I would say it isn't just a novel idea, it's downright brilliant! Haha! This was my daughter's boyfriend's order and too bad, I only had some of the bone marrow 
and didn't taste the soup. The marrow was so tasty!

Ramen with bacon

My daughter and I both ordered this and yup, this was something new and different, too, a meeting of the west and the orient. I loved the soup, which was hot and flavorful. Loved the bacon, too! Who wouldn't?

Chicken karaage rice bowl

This was mine too. Haha! Didn't I say I was as starving as the kids? I shared  this with my daughter, though. Tee-hee. We loved the chicken - crunchy on the outside, 
juicy and tender on the inside. Delish!

Interiors

Menu posted by the door

MuRamen at Primark Town Center, Nasugbu Highway, Tagaytay City 

I read that MuRamen's main branch is the one in Pasig City. I would want to go there soon so I could have a steaming hot bowl of bulalo ramen all to myself. Haha! 

Another ramen add-on at MuRamen that I would be thrilled to try is the lechon kawali - also an unlikely thing to have with Japanese noodles but nevertheless a bright idea. 
Try MuRamen, folks, if you love Japanese food and want it with a twist for a bit of fun and excitement. Even your wallet would thank you 
for not shelling out a lot of moolah. 
Happy eating! 

The Dimsum Place at Fisher Mall

I discovered a good restaurant offering Chinese cuisine at Fisher Mall just before 2019 ended and it got me hooked. I was no doubt charmed by the food and ambiance at 
The Dimsum Place that I went back for three consecutive weeks, with company 
on two occasions. Not everything was good, though, but I would 
definitely come back for those delish offers that I loved. 
Here's what I/we had tried.

Xiao long bao (soup dumplings)

This was love both at first sight and first bite (or should I say first slurp? Hahaha!). 
See how big each piece is? They're soupy and yummy, too!

Pork asado egg noodle soup

This was the bomb, my top favorite so far. The soup was absolutely delicious - hot, flavorful, immensely satisfying and comforting to my hungry tummy. 
There was also a lot of pork slices, you won't be left wanting. 

Chicken wings fried rice plate

Loved this one too! The chicken was crunchy and flavor-packed, and the rice delicious, too. My beloved dog named Taco, who was with me, loved it too. 
Fried chicken is his absolute favorite! 

Breaded porkchop rice plate

My son's lunch on one Sunday. I had a bite and loved the meat slices 
that were fried to perfection: crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside. 

Bihon guisado

This was a miss for me, sadly. Pancit bihon is one of my top comfort foods, so I felt kinda let down. It looked good with lots of veggies and some meat 
but it was bland for my taste. Adding some soy
 sauce and chili helped, though.

Vegetarian rice rolls 

Another miss for me, sorry to say. I'm not familiar with this dish and don't know what the ingredients are but there's a pungent odor to it that put me off. 

Oolong Tea

I loved the clean taste of this tea. Perfect for washing 
the palate after a good meal. 

Lemon iced tea
My son's default choice of drink. The Dimsum Place makes a good blend.

Tie guan yin tea

Not as great as the oolong tea but nevertheless good in cleaning off the taste buds.

 Menu

 Inside the restaurant

The Dimsum Place at the second floor of Fisher Mall in Quezon City

I could say that The Dimsum Place is one of the best restaurants at Fisher Mall. Though not everything of what I/we have ordered is crave-worthy, the ones I loved outweigh the misses. I would definitely come back for the xiao long bao and noodle soup. I want to try other dishes, too. I could say that the food is of high quality, the place is elegant and clean and the prices reasonable. 
Most of the crew are friendly and attentive and service is fast. If you come starving, don't worry, you won't wait very long for your food to be served. The Dimsum Place 
is definitely one of my new favorite restaurants at Fisher Mall. 
Try this place today, folks, to celebrate Chinese New Year. 
Kung Hei Fat Choy!