Inggo Noms...

Beloved and I had merienda at St. Marc Cafe. We’ve actually been to this place a couple of times on their Megamall branch. In addition, Beloved has already visited this particular branch by herself, so we were quite aware what this Japanese-style cafe offers. They don’t really offer traditional Japanese dishes. They have pastries, desserts, coffee, and tea—usual cafe food and beverages. However, most if not all of them has that Japanese touch, such as incorporating matcha and having an inordinate variations of parfaits.

Beloved and I had dinner at Katsu Sora. This katsu place is located right beside Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, and I believe they have the same owner or franchisee, at Trinoma’s alfresco area. This place is a direct competition of Yabu, one of our favorite food places, specializing it katsu. But does it offer any competition at all?

Beloved and I had dinner at Nanbantei. This Japanese restaurant is located at Bonifacio High Street, a place we rarely go to. According to Beloved, this is not the only branch of this place, and her uncle frequents the same restaurant’s Greenbelt branch, which is another place we rarely go to. This place specializes in yakiniku, or Japanese barbecue. What differs from the norm is that this place isn’t a buffet like YakiMIX or Sambo Kojin, nor is it a barbecue place where you grill stuff on your table. Instead, it’s just your typical sit-down restaurant specializing in yakiniku.

Another ramen place? Sure, why not. Beloved and I had dinner a couple of times at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka at Trinoma. This relatively new ramen place opened its doors at Trinoma’s fourth floor alfresco area, replacing our old tambayan Timezone Arena. Good old days.

Beloved and I had dinner at Ramen Nagi for the last two Fridays. This ramen place is apparently the most-reviewed so far this year. We never had the chance to visit it because of work even though a somewhat accessible one opened shop at SM North EDSA. We only had a chance recently because, for some reason, both of our Fridays became a bit more schedule-friendly.

Beloved and I had brunch at Ippudo earlier today. This world-famous ramen place is among the best, according to fellow foodies, having over 80 branches in Japan alone with a lot more worldwide. Ippudo opened its doors at Megamall’s newest Fashion Hall wing earlier this week, making all said foodies rave about it. Knowing the hype it generated will definitely mean a waiting queue, we decided to have brunch here instead of the usual dinners.

Beloved and I had dinner at Domo a few weeks ago. We’ve been here before and we actually had quite a pleasant experience. The reason we’re revisiting was because a week before, we learned that they offered a promotion. We already knew they offer unlimited tuna sashimi, but now, they’re offering at a cheaper price. Since we it was now reachable for us compared to before, we decided not to let the chance pass us by.

Beloved and I had dinner at Hanamaruken a couple of days ago. This relatively new ramen place opened its doors at Trinoma’s 2nd floor alfresco area by its Mindanao/North Avenue entrance. Some of our friends have already been here and have been recommending this place, so we opted to try it out.

Beloved and I had dinner at Taisho. This small ramen place took over a somewhat unlucky tenancy on SM North EDSA’s Sky Garden, having at least two previous tenants before it. Still, it looked like a relatively cheaper ramen place and seemed to be always full. We were lucky to be accommodated immediately when we went.

Because we were dissatisfied with Ginza Bairin, we found ourselves craving for great katsu. Since it has been tried and tested personally a couple of times, we know that Yabu serves just that. Since our last blog on this place more than a year ago, Yabu has expanded to many places, mirroring their success and perhaps starting a fad. One of their newest branches opened up in SM North EDSA, which is a more accessible place for us.