A MITSUYADO SEI-MEN GIVEAWAY :)

It's not everyday that someone gets photobombed by one of their "blogger idols"

        For someone who keeps saying, "I'm not too big on Japanese Food", it's funny that I'm writing about the fifth Japanese restaurant that I've visited in the first four months of 2013. I can't explain it, but there just seems to be something about that cuisine that serendipitously finds me sitting in front of a plate or a bowl, and enjoying a dish that I could have sworn I wouldn't care for just days earlier.   

     But this time it was different. This time, I was a man on a mission. I had a couple of opportunities in the past to visit Mitsuyado Sei-men along Jupiter Street in Makati, but scheduling conflicts would constantly keep us apart. 

     Finally, I had my date with destiny just before Holy Week, when Rina and I got together with some friends to finally try some of their new dishes. But I had my eyes set on the one dish that many have been talking about.. The Double Cheese Tsukemen. 

       Whenever I recommend this place to people, they always do a double take when I tell them the name. But just to make things clear, "Sei-Men" stands for Noodle Making. And it the immortal words of the great Forrest Gump, "And that's all I'm gonna say about that..".  

       I gotta say that the place looks amazing. There aren't very many restaurants that realize that you can set the tone of their customer's meal by the ambiance they provide. At Mitsuyado Sei-men, you don't feel like you're in a restaurant in Jupiter Street. Instead, you're taken to sort of like a small Japanese Market place from the olden days. There's even a small little "food cart" table!

                 Mitsuyado Sei-men happens to be one of the few places that offers the Thailand based brand "Coco Royal" juices. We tasted quite a few, including the Basil Seed with Honey Juice, Pineapple, Mango, Coconut Water, and Coconut Water with Aloe Vera. My favorite was the pineapple Juice, which I was told, with its delicate sweetness and refreshing flavor, is the most popular drink for the kids. 

         Rina loved the Basil Seed with Honey Juice, which I had to admit was really quite interesting. The honey gave the drink a syrupy texture, while the basil seeds peppered the drink, giving it a punch of touch of herbiness. 

THE FOOD

SIDE ORDERS

               I'm going to start off by telling you guys that Mitsuyado Sei-Men has one of.. if not THE BEST Gyoza (P180) in the metro. In my opinion, it's sort of like a mix of Gyoza and the Chinese dimsum Xia Long Bao, because it's got so much juiciness in it. The wrapper is pan fried just right, giving it a bit of a crisp to the bottom. 

         For me (and especially Rina), no trip to a Japanese restaurant is complete without an order of Ebi Tempura (P280). Plump prawns, covered in a batter and deep fried to perfection.              

         Next thing we tried was the Char Siu Plate (P180). This platter of gorgeous Pork Char Siu, laying on a bed of mixed vegetables, and topped off with onions and leeks, while being served with a bit of Japanese Mustard on the side. We were told that the best way to eat this, was to place the vegetables in the center of the char siu, then rolling it into some sort of a "wrap". As good as it was, I discovered that the best way to eat it was to simply dust off the vegetables, and place the immaculately tender slices of pork belly into my mouth.

          The Chicken Karaage (P190) featured premium cuts of mouth watering golden fried boneless chicken. They managed to keep the chicken meat incredibly moist, despite it being encased in a flavorful bread coating. 

           The Black Pepper Chicken (P180) also featured tender slices of chicken fillet, cooked with Mitsuyado Sei-men's trademark Black Pepper sauce. Great balance of flavor all around, it was so good...

            Rina couldn't resist ordering their Chicken Black Pepper Don (P240), which was essentially the same thing, except its served on top of a bowl of Japanese steamed rice (Rina and her rice hehe).

RAMEN

               We were able to try two Ramens from Mitsuyado Sei-men. I ordered the Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen (P380 Reg/P420 Lrg). This was nothing short of phenomenal. It had a luscious, milky broth, that features a swirl of delicious flavors. The soup alone was enough to make your taste buds tingle. But when mixed in with savory taste of the pork,and the nice touch of the Aji-Tama (Japanese Egg to those of you that don't speak Japanese. HAI!), and.. as tough as it is to admit, the other veggies, it formed what bad ass bowl of Ramen.

         But something really outstanding with this, and all the related dishes, were the noodles. They were fantastic, especially considering all are made in-house. 

             Whenever the topic of Ramen comes up with my hardcore Ramen buddies, the mentioning of Tan Tan Ramen (P380 Reg/P420 Lrg) is an inevitability. I normally stay away from any red colored food because it usually means it's something that could possibly trigger my hyper-acidity, but since it was the start of our vacation the next day, I thought it would be the perfect time to live a little dangerously. 

         In that instant, I saw what all the fuss was about. The heat was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting it to be, as it instead hit you at the back end. The soup itself had a distinct, nutty taste to it that added a tinge of sweetness. Again, the broth soaked noodles firmly held together the flavors of the soup. 

AE-SOBA

         Mitsuyado Sei-men also had a couple of "Dry Ramen" dishes available.. In leymans terms, it was sort of like Japanese Pasta.. hehe

The tomato based Seafood AE-Soba  (P230 Reg/ P290 Lrg)

And the white sauce based Yuzu AE-Soba (P230 Reg/ P290 Lrg)

          I won't lie to you.. I skipped both dishes because I was saving up space for the moment I had been waiting for.. 

TSUKEMEN

               The Double Cheese Tsukemen (P340 Reg/P380 Lrg).  

     Imagine those gorgeous noodles that I was talking about, sprinkled with a nice helping of Parmesan Cheese. 

      Next, think of a steaming bowl of an immensely flavorful soup, filled with a medley of ingredients, whose flavors just explode in your mouth. 

          Then picture a bowl, filled with thick, gooey, melted cheese..

Pour the cheese sauce all over the noodles.. then mix them together.. 

Then Dip that sucka into your bowl of broth.. and you're good to go!

         A lot of people have said that the cheese is similar to Cheese Wiz, and to be quite frank, they're not wrong. In fact, in my opinion, the cheese flavor is in fact a bit milder than cheese whiz. But to me, that lends to the beauty of the dish. 

        It melds together perfectly with the acid of the soup, which for me is too tart to eat alone. If you're looking for more protein, fear not, for the soup itself has bits of meat in it. 

       A lot of things don't make sense in this world, and this sounds a little strange off the bat, but trust me, it's worth the try. In fact, Rina and I went back a week later for a second round! 

Check out our Second round of Double Cheese Tsukemen :) 

DESSERT 

           The desserts we had were (From Left, clockwise): Sumiyaki Coffee Jelly with Ice Cream (P90), my order of Strawberry Kakigori (P90), Black Sesame Ice Cream (P100), Cream Anmitsu (P150).  All were pretty amazing, especially the Strawberry Kakigori, which had a nice balance of fruity sweetness that was enhanced by the creamy vanilla ice cream. Perfect for the summer!

         Due to the frenzy caused by.. well.. Me when the orders arrived (I was really hungry).. Rina wasn't able to take a photo of one of the best things on the menu.. The Japanese Fried Rice (P170). It's a bit small for the price, but I can assure you, it's a meal in itself, and it's AMAZING. 

       This was the very first Tsukemen I had ever tried, and I'm glad it was Mitsuyado Sei-men that popped my Tsukemen cherry. (That sounded so wrong in so many ways)


PIX

          Our Gracious host for the evening, Mr. Hubert Young, swearing by the excellence of all his brands. 

            I bumped into Director/Actor Joaquin Valdes (and he sent me crashing through the wall), who was at Mitsuyado Sei-men for the second time in three nights. I guess one can take only so many protein shakes hehe. 

          We were actually there that evening to see our dear Frannywanny before she flew back to SG again. Glad we got to see ya again Fran and Paul! And Rina and I were also happy to finally meet amazing theater actress Liesl Batucan, after being FB buddies  

          Much thanks to Mr. Hubert Young, Thessa Pua, Tina Vitas, and Spanky Enriquez!

BUT WAIT!!! THERE'S MORE!!!

  

     Did you really think I was going to end this post without a GC Giveaway?

Two readers are gonna win P1,000 worth of GC's from Mitsuyado Sei-Men! 

So what are you all waiting for?!?

JOIN NOW!!

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MITSUYADO SEI-MEN

No. 22 Jupiter Street, Brgy. Bel Air,Makati City
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