Sakai

2011 was the year I fell in love with Japanese food.  I mean, I've always been obsessed with Inagiku, but now I love pretty much everything Japanese (note how I said pretty much -- there are still exceptions. I'm looking at you, Japanese fast food chains!). 

Anyway, today I'm going to let you in on the most brilliant (and bang-for-your-buck) Japanese place in Manila. It's called Sakai, and it's located somewhere in Makati. Like, near Jupiter Street, I think. My mom (or was it my dad? I don't know for sure) was the one who discovered it and I love it to deeeaaaaaath. Their prices are really AWESOME (300-600) and during lunch time they have special lunch sets that go for around 300-400. 

Sydney Fish Market

To me, the fish market is more than comforting. It's impossible to not get fresh good food here. It's the reassurance and the lip smacking food that keeps me coming back, and back, and back. Oh lovely.

The beautiful view outside.

So when a visitor is in town, it's impossible for me to skip out the fish market. It's always on the agenda.* My friend and I went on a Saturday, and when it comes to weekends and the fish market- oh the crowds could kill. Nevertheless, that wasn't going to stop me.**

Another impossibility would be me not ordering fish & chips or a fisherman's basket that comprises of fish, calamari, and you've guessed it- chips! It's the particular dish that zaps me back to my 4 year old self who's up to shenanigans in my parents' fish & chip shop in Manly. I remember whisking the big bucket that almost towered me, it was filled with the beer batter. I had to exert all my effort to even just swish the whisk around in a circle. It was fun though, real fun. So was getting flour all over my face.

The more Asian stuff in the market.

Bugs and Lobsters.
YUM.

My ultimate favorite place for seafood would be Peter's. It's where I ate the first time or at least my recollection of the first time eating in the fish market. They cook to order (at least for the fried goodies) so everything is pretty fresh and hot once they're handed to you. I guess that's why there's always a queue there as well.

Spiral, Sofitel Philippine Plaza

The Grand Stairway

A couple of years ago, there was a buffet craze, everybody was raving about Heat, Circles, and Spiral. Well, I've been to all three, and I seriously think that Spiral has the best selection. That's why we kept returning, or at least for a certain period of time.


More or less after a year since I've last visited Spiral, I'm finally back to chow down some more. And it's good to see that Spiral has progressed and improved with their food.

Kogi Bulgogi, Eastwood

After an outrageously tiring workout at the gym, I reckon that I deserved a bountiful lunch. At first, we were thinking of heading to Outback, but along with Outback comes a lot of fat and calories. So we settled on heading to Eastwood and finding a restaurant there.

Kogi Bulgogi

We had a few puzzling conversations before we decided to head over to Kogi Bulgogi which is obviously a Korean restaurant. I've heard about it in Appetite magazine before and it's apparently a good place to go for Korean fare.

The place isn't as full as it usually is, but there's a reasonable crowd inside. I chose not to order since I was with some frequent diners. We ordered a fair bit of food but all went down without a hitch.

Top: Kimchi, Beansprouts, Veggie Cake
Bottom: Potato, Sweet Potato and Banana, Small Fried Fish

Gleaming Slivers of Salmon

As for starters, there were the 6 typical Korean appetizers. I especially liked the small fish often called dilis, there was a nice crunch and slightly spicy tinge to it. The salmon sashimi that they served tasted very clean and fresh. It was a tad bit frozen though.

Sae-u Bibimbap (Prawn Bibimbap)

My portion of bibimbap, I told the prawns were tiny.

Tuk Bulgogi (Bulgogi Pot)

There was bibimbap with prawns, the bibimbap had such an intense kimchi flavor. I, for one, loved it, the only problem I had with it were those tiny tiny prawns. Next came the Bulgogi Pot. The broth that came with it had that sweet-savoury vibe, I wasn't the biggest fan. The beef wasn't the best thing either, it looked really shriveled and sad.

Jang O-Gui (Grilled Eel)

Ko Chi Gui (Salt Grilled Mackerel)

The other dishes we had were the grilled eel and grilled mackerel. The grilled eel I especially loved because it proved to be really tender and packed with loads of flavor. It was cooked perfectly and didn't have that cheap fishy vibe to it. The mackerel on the other hand was a little bit overdone but it was compensated by those gorgeous grill marks and the calamansi juice that was sprinkled over it.

bye bye fishie.

I'd say this would definitely be one of those places that has a good value for money, and they have great service as well! Another plus would be the no service charge! Definitely a check plus, plus!