DELICIOUS DISH-COVERIES / PART 3!!! =)

Hubby Sweet and I have officially turned Japanese. After an unsuccessful attempt to go to the mall for almost-last-minute Christmas shopping and a possible sneak-in of Elizabeth: The Golden Age only to find the line to the mall parking snaking way beyond what we were willing to wait in line for, we decided to head home to House Better instead. Having only eaten a light lunch, Hubby S's tummy was grumbling by the time we reached Amorsolo to get to the Skyway. Shall we go for another round at Sango then?

Nay! (As in "Nope!", OK? Not as in "Naykupo!", haha. =))

After parking at Creekside (that's the building where Sango is!), I stepped off the car and asked the parking attendant, "Manong, saan dito yung Kamikaze?", having remembered reading an article about cheap but delicious Japanese Ramen. "Yun pong Japanese noodles sa tabi ng grocery," I explained further. Manong Parking Attendant smiled, and pointed down the street between Makati Cinema Square and Creekside, "Mam, duon po. Lakad po kayo ng konti. Doon po ang Yamazaki," not trying too hard to stifle a giggle.

YAMAZAKI RAMEN HOUSE & GROCERY! Haha! Oooops. =)

Sya, sya! We walked further down the road to find an almost dilapidated facade--one I wouldn't even think of entering had I not read from somewhere that the food was halfway decent. =) Yamazaki is right across the side entrance of Plaza Fair.

Now, if Sango had a well-lit, Japanese anime theme, walking into Yamazaki will make you feel like you stepped off the streets of Manila into some sidestreet (read: eskinita, haha) carinderia in Japan! The place was sparsely lit. Except for a few pieces of vertical paper with Japanese handwriting tacked onto corkboards (I'm thinking it is probably their version of the "TODAY'S ESPECIAL" signs that one would see in the local carinderias, haha), the walls were dirty white and bare. The place looked slightly run-down. Not dirty. Just not spruced up. =)

Still, I thought this is another one of those authentic places. Japanese folks sat on tables while Japanese moms lined up at the counter of the mini-grocery right next to the eatery. EATERY. Yes, that's the appropriate term for Yamazaki. EATERY. Not restaurant. Haha. =)

The authenticity of the place (and our own ignorance, haha) shone through as soon as the waitress handed us the menu. Uh....uh......uh.....Wala akong naintindihan! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! 'D Although there were recognizable English fonts next to the Japanese text, none of the dishes were familiar to me. Usually, descriptions of the dish are provided beside the foreign-sounding names. Apparently not so in Yamazaki. I had visions of the Japanese head cook, looking like Mr. Miyagi, going to me in his English-with-Japanese-accent, "You want authentic?! You have to know the names!" HAHAHAHA! 'D



Hubby Sweet and I asked each other back and forth, "What are you having?"..."I don't know. What are you having?"...."I don't know, you?"...."Uh...I don't know". Momentary silence before the exchange begins all over again. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 'D The waitress finally took pity on us (or she probably realized she would be standing there forever unless she helped us out, haha). Handing us another menu with pictures, she warmly suggested, "Mam, tumingin na lang po kayo sa pictures." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! 'D

Thing is, they only had the rice meals rendered in pics. None of it appealed to us at that time because we knew we were heading home to House Better for dinner with Mother and Father. We only wanted a light merienda. Still, it did not escape my attention that they provided pretty good value at the place. I mean for P130, one can already get a decent bento box complete with appetizer, viand and rice! I made a mental note to visit the place again--probably for lunch or dinner takeout! =D
After surveying the menu with pics and finding nothing that we wanted to eat at that point in time, I went back to surveying the original menu that the waitress handed to us.

Almost panicking, haha, I finally found the one thing we went there for. "Miss," I went to the waitress, "Bigyan mo na lang kami ng...uh...Yamazaki Ramen Special." HAHA! 'D Done! Hahaha. She looked relieved and smiled. "Good for two na yun, Mam. Share na lang kayo," she advised before scurrying away. Haha! 'D

While waiting for the ramen to arrive, Hubby Sweet had time to survey the grocery and found that they actually carried frozen shishamo (this fish that seems to have only fish roes for internal organs, haha) that he would always order in Zaifu. (Mental note to drop by the grocery one of these days to get some. =))

Soon enough, the big bowl of Ramen arrived. The soup was warm and light-tasting. The noodles were plentiful with the typical flavor and "spongy" (for lack of a better term) bite of authentic Japanese ramen. The pork cutlets were not tipid either. All in all, a GREAT, GREAT deal for only P180! 'D No more reviews. See for yourself.

SOUP +


RAMEN +


PORK =


YUM!!! ^_^

And since it was good for two, DOUBLE YUM!!! ^_^ ^_^

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TIP! Yamazaki does not have parking up front. It would be best to park either in the Creekside parking area (P40) or at Makati Cinema. =) Also, bring cash. From the looks of it, I don't think they take credit cards. Haha. Then again, I could be wrong. Haha! =D