Nihonbashitei

I’ve been passing by this restaurant many times but did not pay attention until I heard some nice things from Didi. So one Sunday lunch we decided to give it a try. When we arrived at the restaurant, we had to wait a while since it was full but the receptionist told us a few tables would be leaving soon. We were looking at some of the Japanese stuff they have on sale beside the cashier to pass the time. The place seems less crowded than Kikufuji but a drawback is the closed kitchen.

After a few minutes, we were ushered to our tables and given the menus, both lunch and ala carte menus.

We started off the meal with Maguro Sahimi and Futomaki. I did not eat the sashimi but Irene commented that it was good but found the cuts and wasabi better at Kikufuji. We both loved the futomaki, their version had a surprise piece of Unagi (eel) inside that we have not seen in other places. The unagi adds a different smoky taste to the roll contrasting with the crunchy cucumber and sweet tamago (egg).

Lauren ordered her usual Ebi tempura, this time the order came with 4 shrimps and 1 piece of okra. The shrimps were quite big. I got to get 1 piece that Lauren did not finish but by the time I got to it, it was cold and not so crispy anymore.

Irene ordered Gindara (Black Cod) Teriyaki, the cut was a nice part of the fish, but the sauce was a letdown. The sauce was too thick, like it had too much cornstarch. The fish could also have been grilled a little longer to bring out the charcoal flavor.

I am usually not a lover of Sukiyaki but something stirred inside me to order the US Beef Sukiyaki on the menu. The menu indicated that it was a serving for 1 person, but it could serve 2 to 3 people. The sukiyaki was served with 1 raw egg that Lauren proceeded to mix into the broth before I could protest. I did not regret my choice, it was the best sukiyaki I’ve tasted so far. The broth was not overly sweet, the way it should be done. The soup was a meal in itself with different kinds of mushrooms (Enoki, Bunashimeji and Shiitake), tofu and generous amount of jelly noodles that look like thick sotanghon. The beef was of excellent quality that was sliced so thin that it seems like it melts in the mouth

All our main dishes were served with plain rice, miso soup and dessert (nata de coco or ice/hot coffee). But when we ordered our desserts, nata de coco was not available anymore so we had 2 iced coffees instead.

It is inevitable that comparisons with our favorite izakaya (Kikufuji) arise since we’ve been eating there for a long time. They each have their strong suits. Prices might seem cheaper here at first glace but the lunch sets at Kikufuji have more things included, so overall value for money is around the same.

The futomaki will surely draw us back as well as the Sukiyaki. Next time we will try some of the interesting stuff we saw on the mun like the clam kamameshi rice.

Nihonbashi Tei
800 Arnaiz Ave. (for. Pasay Road)
San Lorenzo Village, Makati City
818.8893, 818.8894

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