Showing posts with label "sm aura". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "sm aura". Show all posts

Sunday, March 27, 2016

[717] Restaurant Review - Nadai Fujisoba @ SM Aura

We've only eaten twice in Nadai Fujisoba at SM Aura. The first time we ate there I was shocked. Shocked why we never tried eating there before! Not only is the food really good, the price is very, very reasonable too! Oh, and did I mention they have free tenkasu (the deep fried  bits of tempura batter) to sprinkle to your udon / soba dishes as you please?

I can't find the official website (because I'm too lazy and the internet is so darn slow) but here's a link to Nadai Fujisoba's menu. You can find the prices of the items pictured below there.

Before I go on with the positives, just one quick negative. The service. Yes the crew are attentive. Yes they are pleasant to talk to. There are times when they get your order they forget something when they repeat your order. Probably because they don't write down orders. I have no idea why they don't write it down though. They sometimes have to be asked more than once for a spoon and fork set for my daughter, who still hasn't mastered using chopsticks. Basically very minor issues, nothing that would stop me from eating there again.

Again, the food there is good and the price is very reasonable. Just by the strength of these two points I am willing to go there again. And again. And again.

The first time we ate there I had the Yasai Kakiage Ten Tama Soba. It's basically a soba dish with a gigantic piece of kakiage on top. The kakiage has the usual onions and green leafy vegetables and carrots. It tasted great. The broth was light and not too salty. The soba noodles were firm. And the kakiage, good God, the kakiage. It tasted great with the broth, and it tasted great dipped in tempura sauce. It tasted great without any of the two either. It also had an egg, I thought it would be an ajitama egg but it wasn't. It went well with the soba though.


Yasai Kakiage Ten Tama Soba
Yasai Kakiage Ten Tama Soba

Speaking of kakiage, they also have a side dish called Kakiage Mori. It consists of three different kakiages. The one on the dish above, a shrimp kakiage, and the best one of all (for Maica and I) one that has pickles. According to the menu it is called the Beni Shoga because that is the ingredient used in the kakiage.


Kakiage Mori (3 Kinds of Kakiage)
Kakiage Mori Set (clockwise from top - Yasai Kakiage, Ko-ebi Kakiage, Beni Shoga (our favorite of the three)

After some quick research onlineBeni shoga is a type of pickle, or tsukemono, made from ginger. You usually encounter this type of pickle in other restaurants that serve gyudon. Interestingly Nadai Fujisoba also serves gyudon and I may try it the next time we eat there.

This lunch (Easter lunch!) I ordered the Kitsune Soba to try something different. Another quick search on the internet tells me that the tofu product on top of the soba is not yuba as I originally thought, but aburaage - a deep fried tofu. The broth and soba noodles were the same as the one on the Yasai Kakiage Ten Tama Soba so I don't need to describe them again. They were good. That's it.


Kitsune Soba
Kitsune Soba with Aburaage topping

Quick aside, whenever I eat there I add generous helping of the chili powder they provide. After checking my dear internet again, this chili powder is called Shichimi Togarashi. And yes, they make an already delicious broth come alive with some subtle heat.

Maica ordered the same dish both times we visited Nadai Fujisoba. The main reason for this is because they have the Teisyoku Set, that offers a rice bowl dish with a noodle dish. She's ordered the tendon (shrimp tempura) with kake soba (soba noodles with scallions) both times so she and Martina could share. Trust me, the teisyoku set is not only worth it, but it is good for two people. She says the food is good, and I believe her. Even Martina loves the tempura.

Teisyoku Set - Ebi Tendon & Kake Soba
Teisyoku Set consisting of Ebi Tendon and Kake Soba

So there you have it. I highly recommend Nadai Fujisoba at SM Aura! Be patient with the staff because the food is worth it. Taste-wise and money-wise.

Out.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Amateur Review - Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen at SM Aura

Today was Martina's Moving Up Day. After her school event we decided to go to SM Aura to celebrate and do the groceries. We decided to have lunch at Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen.

(Author's note: Martina's moving up day had some heavy snacks I ate. Then while waiting for Maica to finish her second class Martina and I had Starbucks. I was feeling pretty full when we arrived at the restaurant.)

Upon arriving I immediately notice the paper placemat.

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen
Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen's placemat has a handy "how-to-eat-ramen" guide
Maica ordered the Miso Tonkotsu Ramen, and I ordered the Ajitama Tonkotsu Ramen. Martina and her Yaya Jill had the chicken karaage and extra rice.

Maica and I
Maica was starving, I was (unfortunately) full when we arrived
Here's a photo of my order. Sadly my order didn't look like the one in the menu. I was really disappointed that one of the ajitama eggs had no yolk, and the other was swimming face down in the broth - like a dead Jason Bourne at the end of Bourne Ultimatum.


Ajitama Tonkotsu Ramen
Ajitama Tonkotsu Ramen I ordered
I wasn't in the best of moods, since I was feeling sleepy, but the ramen was surprisingly good. Enough to wake me up. The broth was good, the chashu was tasty, and the ajitama egg was, well, disappointing. Maybe it's because I've tasted ajitama eggs in Japan (sorry for the humblebrag). Anyway, my order was good, taste-wise. The noodles I chose were firm, as recommended by our server, and I think it fit in well with the soup.

One good thing about reading the placemat before eating was seeing the advice how to enjoy the ramen. I added ground sesame seeds in my broth and mixed in some of the pickled ginger. The sesame seeds and ginger made the ramen taste even better. I told Maica to add some to her Miso Tonkotsu and she also agreed that it improved the flavor.

Pickled Ginger and Chicken Karaage
Pickled ginger, chicken karaage, and some crayons for Martina
Overall we had a good experience in Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen. The place was clean, the food was good, and the service was okay. Expect to pay around Php500.00 per head (including service charge) for one order with drinks. Maybe a bit more since we didn't order drinks.

I forgot to take pictures of the food
Group shot of the food we ate
Finally, would we go back there again? Not really. There's a reason why we never ate at Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen whenever we went to SM Aura. And that reason was Yabu. There are other reasons why we will have a hard time going back. Like Lugang Cafe, and that other ramen restaurant that opened beside Yabu.

I'm not saying don't eat there. Please, try it out. I wouldn't mind eating there again. But I also wouldn't go out of my way to eat there again.

Out.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

072/365 - Tonkatsu!!!

150 grams of hire katsu.
I said it once, I'll say it again. I love Japanese food.

Out.