Botejyu of Osaka, Japan just opened their first of many branches in the Philippines in SM Mall of Asia. Botejyu is credited with creating the modern yaki or Okosoba, a mix of okonomiyaki and yakisoba. Botejyu eschews the self cooking style and instead leaves all the cooking to their trained chef. Botejyu also serves a lot of Japanese dishes from different parts of Japan to give diners an encompassing taste in one place.
Their open kitchen is huge and you can see the chefs busily prepare each dish. The okonomiyaki area is situated at the front of the store so you can see the skill that goes into each order.
The Potato Salad with Hakata Mentai (P295) and the Botejyu’s Crispy Salad (P175/P295) are both interesting. The potato salad is served unmixed and leaves one to decide how much of a spicy cod roe kick they want to add. The crispy salad on the other hand is served with 4 special sauces including a sweet corn one.
Original Takoyaki (P195). Takoyaki is one of Osaka’s ubiquitous street foods and Botejyu’s version does not disappoint. Forget the mediocre ones you’ve had locally, this is the real deal. Large slivers of bonito flakes, crispy outer coat and gooey inside with a big piece of octopus/tako.
They have a few other takoyaki variants but if you can decide then just order one Takoyaki All-star (P245). 6 different toppings in one plate (umami sauce and mayo, sauce and mayo, tomato sauce, spicy mentai mayo, thick spicy sauce, and salt garlic). One of the other variants I’ve set my sights on is the Cheese Omelet Takoyaki, doesn’t that sound irresistible.
Mentaiko and Potato Mochiyaki (P270). Grilled mochi on the bottom topped with Gouda cheese and crispy potato before being drizzled with mayo and mentaiko. This was the dish we immediately polished off and don’t leave Botejyu without ordering it.
Premium Okosoba (P435). Yakisoba and okonomiya with beef, pork, shrimp and squid topped with mayo, special sauce and bonito flakes.
Premium Moonlight Yakisoba (P375). Stir fried noodles cooked on the teppanyaki table with 3 sauces, assorted seafood and meat and topped with a fried egg and bonito flakes.
Both the okosoba and yakisoba were cooked very well and gave you a taste of Osaka in every bite.
Not in the mood for okonomiya and just want a quick rice meal then you should try the Amiyaki Grilled Pork rice bowl (P325), also available as an ala carte add on. Nice smoky flavor with a sweet and salty sauce glaze. The serving size is also big enough to share, a good idea with all the different dishes you might want to try. They have a very good Beef Sukiyaki Rice Set (P395). Lots more rice topped dishes are on the menu for you to choose from each one hailing from a different prefecture. Botejyu gets the regional recipe and even pays royalty to the ones they borrowed it from to be able to serve it in their restaurants. 
Carbonara Yakiudon (P390). I was not able to try this but it looked like one of the many mixed cuisine dishes in Japan, they mix elements of carbonara but use udon noodles instead of pasta.
Beef Curry Udon (P395). This one is perfect for a rainy day, creamy curry that slightly spicy with generous amounts of sliced beef. I can imagine just happily slurping the udon as rain falls outside.
We finished off with the silky Milk Pudding with Jam (P215) but I would have preferred the Warabi mochi, something we recently tried in Japan and loved to bits.
Botejyu
G/F Northwing Entertainment Mall, (near IMAX)Mall of Asia
Pasay City, Philippines
Facebook Page: Botejyu Philippines
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