Izakaya-style Dining At Tokyo Tokyo Metro

Tokyo Tokyo has brought a new concept to fast casual dining. Patterned after the izakaya–a kind of Japanese bar or restaurant popular in Japan for after-work drinking and eating, where office workers go to unwind– these establishments offer a wide range of food from snacks to bento meals, as well as serving sake and other alcoholic beverages. With it’s innovative take on this aspect of Japanese culture, the people behind one of the most recognized Japanese fast food chain opened Tokyo Tokyo Metro.

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Lunch @ Dampa, Farmer's Market

It’s graduation time once again. Time to celebrate the students accomplishments and applaud all their hard work. If you are looking for a place to hold your graduation party, why not consider the Dampa at Farmer’s Market?

crabs in oyster sauce

The food is great! From classic Filipino dishes to Japanese food, there’s something that will satisfy everyone’s taste buds.
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Beard Papa Cream Puff

Though I don’t regularly watch TV, there are still some series that I keep tabs on. Gossip Girl’s first season has ended, and Scrubs suddenly ended mid season, so I was left with no choice but to re-watch Daria over and over. A friend was raving about Zettai Kareshi (Absolute Boyfriend), a Japanese drama based on Yuu Watase’s comic book. Since I loved the book, I quickly erm, sourced out episodes.

The thing about having watching a movie that involves people cooking or baking, you’re often left craving for whatever they’re cooking, baking or eating. I remember watching Chocolat and ended up with a mad craving for chocolates. This time though, it’s cream puffs.

Beard Papa Cream Puff

 
The story is about this girl who works as a temp in a company selling desserts. She dreams of becoming a patissier, and she bakes this delicious cream puffs, which her immediate supervisor loves because it reminds him of his Grandfather’s cream puff. There’s also a hunky humanoid robot in the story, but let’s focus on the cream puff. 😛

After stuffing ourselves with sisig the other night, my friends and I wanted something sweet to cleanse the palate. Luckily, there was a Beard Papa at SM North EDSA. Ryan and I had a vanilla cream puff each, while Rey opted for the eclair.

Beard Papa Eclair

 
Beard Papa’s cream puff has a crispy, crunchy shell, filled with a soft and creamy vanilla infused custard, topped with powdered sugar. We love how the vanilla custard wasn’t overly rich and had the right amount of sweetness. Our only gripe was the overly generous dusting of powdered sugar. It wasn’t that the sugar made the cream puff too sweet. When you bite into the pastry and inhaled through your nose, you might end up snorting the powder up your nose (and might leave you looking as if you just finished a line of coke). On the otherhand, if you exhaled through your nose while biting, the air would make the powder blow off and might make you sneeze. (Wow, this has to be the stupidest food critique ever! I’ll stop now.)

Beard Papa cream puffs cost Php50 each, while eclairs cost Php55.

Beard Papa Branches in Metro Manila:
SM North EDSA (Quezon City)
Phone: 441-5039

Promenade (Greenhills, San Juan)
Phone: 727-4080

Glorietta 4 (Makati)
Phone: 752-7036

Megamall (Pasig)
Mobile: 0922-898-1120

Mall of Asia (Pasay)
556-0227

Japsy Takoyaki Express

I remember the first time I ate takoyaki. It was my cousin who introduced me to “samurai balls,” a nickname that unfortunately stuck for this Japanese dumpling. Watching the lady behind the counter expertly flick the takoyaki on the takoyakiki (takoyaki pan, you perv) was mesmerizing, and my first bite unto the smooshy round dumpling was unforgettable. It was very hot and the inside a bit slimy. What the hell is this thing?

Over the years though, I developed a liking for takoyaki. Made with octopus (tako), batter, pickled ginger and shrimp, and topped with fried bonito flakes, aonori (green dried seaweed), mayonnaise and takoyaki sauce, this octopus ball is certainly different from the fish balls, squid balls and chicken balls we’re used to.

Japsy Takoyaki Express
Is it just me or does that sign says “Jafanese cake?”

Unfortunately, in Manila you’re pretty much left with no choice if you’re craving for Takoyaki. It’s either buying takoyaki from Samurai Foods or not eat takoyaki at all. There must have been a growing takoyaki following in the Philippines because a couple of takoyaki kioks have sprouted in Manila. One of these was Japsy’s Takoyaki.

Takoyaki!
Mmmm, samurai balls

A huge takoyaki craving and curiosity to try this new stall prompted me, Ryan and Yue to each order a 3-piece tray of takoyaki. We weren’t really expecting much, but we were pleasantly surprised. Well, me and Yue anyway. Ryan found their sauce too sour, while Yue (who’s Japanese and has been living in the Philippines for several years) exclaims that it was indeed good. She further elaborates that though the sauce wasn’t perfect, the takoyaki itself tasted great. As for me, I’m happy to get my takoyaki fix; Japsy’s Takoyaki was definitely much better than the other takoyaki stall.

Japsy’s Takoyaki Express can be found outside the Plaza Fair entrance of the Makati Cinema Square. It’s right across Yamazaki, the Japanese supermarket in Little Tokyo. The 3-piece takoyaki costs Php 22, while the 5-pieces costs Php 35 and the 12-pieces costs Php 70.