Japanese food – On Purple Wings

Let’s try TENYA

“Enjoy! Life is Delicious!”

To eat is an activity that we Filipinos are fond of. We dine to bond, to chat, to be relaxed, to cherish moments and look forward to the next “eating out” together.

As diversed as we are, we are adventurous and fearless to try new things, we appreciate different cultures and cuisines. One of ours is Japanese food along with the rest of the world’s offerings.

Jen and I’s favorite are Italian and Japanese food, of course we love our own Filipino dishes too. Jen recently fostered a penchant for Korean dishes which I couldn’t support since I am not into too spicy food. =)

When Festival Mall did an expansion last year, Tenya is one of those exciting restaurants which occupied the expansion wing – The Water Garden. Strategically located at the entrance and just a short walk from Civic drive, Alabang.

They’re in Indonesia and Thailand too. And more than 200 branches in Japan.

We opted to try it out usually due to our cravings. We’re in sync this time, usually, we craved differently so we had to decide whose wish will be granted. =)

Tenya’s interiors maintained the image of a typical Japanese restaurant with lanterns bearing some significant characters, always eye-catching you can’t help but look-up.

That Zen feel (less is more), the unique atmosphere, minimalist approach and often uses neutral color scheme and natural woods with touches of bright colors like red, yellow or green.

The wall calligraphy added the space a modern bibe and cascades commitment.

Tenya’s offering boast its’ expertise in tendon. Mr. Yoshio Iwashita, opened a restaurant way back 1989 which provides a more affordable offering since tendon are expensive, and so the menu says. =)

Tendon, also known as donburi (a bowl of rice with toppings),usually a complete meal, with everything on it, shrimp tempura, fish, vegetables,
squid, or any meat will do, topped on a steamed rice that comes with a special dontare sauce.

So I got the one with a poster outside. The Ultimate crab tendon teishoku. It comes with a special “aligue” (crab fats) sauce.

Jen had the Jo tempura soba/ udon teishoku.

Mine is with a miso soup while Jen’s Udon came with 2 Black tiger prawns, kani stick, green beans, sweet potato and eggplant tempura.

For sharing, we also tried their rendition of California maki.

t15 — That dressing tasted like Kewpie…=) While their batter is so tasty.

We truly enjoyed mixing our own sauces. Their claim that theirs are the freshest is very distinct. The servings are just good enough, and the taste just met our expectations. We weren’t disappointed at all.

Due to the season, they just had a hard time attending to requests per table as swiftly as they can. As they only have 2 attendants when we came. There were times when people from production area are the ones serving our orders. Even the Security Officer is extending a hand already. Probably due to lack of personnel.

If I can also suggest, using pitchers with cover that might fall off is also not recommendable. It might spell trouble.

Over-all, we’re still wanting to come back here. =)

And it’s good to know that they are in the following locations:

Itadakimasu! (spoken with a silent “u”!) =)

Watami – Casual Japanese Restaurant

“Japanese food makes me feel particularly good.” ~David Mitchell~

Jen and I haven’t been hanging out lately and when we did. She suggested to veer away from our usual favorites.

After we got the stuff we need from some specialty shops at Shangri-la mall, our feet led us to this casual Japanese restaurant: Watami.

When it’s casual, does it mean that there would be no Geisha’s to serve you, there’ll be no Tatamis but the usual dining tables, still if it’s a Japanese restaurant, I normally think of the sublime execution of an authentic cuisine. Which is why it is one that always fascinates me. Refined, unmatched manner of preparing and serving each entree, this specific Art and not to forget that Japanese hospitality which is popularly known as “Omotenashi”. Lastly, theirs is healthy.

We’ve been to Akira and Sumo-sam in the past so Watami deserves a try. Besides, we haven’t had Japanese food in a while. =)

This friendly barker helped us decide right away after reviewing the menu that’s displayed outside. There was no mention of miso soup from the menu so we asked him if they have my favorite soup and they have it in 2 variants. A plain one and another that is spicy.

This is faultless, all of the restaurants I’ve tried didn’t fail to pour their guests some cup of tea.

Watami is one of the many restaurants under the Bistro Group:
#tastethelove

– Plank Sourdough Pizza – Conrad Hotel Manila
– TGIFridays and Italianni’s – with more than a dozen branches all over the country
– Fish and Co – Mall of Asia and Trinoma
– Krazy Garlic – Greenbelt 5
– Bulgogi Brothers – Alabang Town Center, Greenbelt 5, Harbor point, SM Lanag, Mall of Asia
– Village Tavern – Bonifacio High Street
– Modern Shanghai – Mall of Asia
– Tonkatsu – Ayala Cebu
– Buffalo Wild Wings – Glorietta 1, Conrad Hotel Manila, Estancia Mall, Uptown Mall, Vista Mall Sta. Rosa
– Texas Roadhouse – Uptown Mall, Conrad Hotel Manila
– Denny’s – Trinoma, Bonifacio Global City, Eastwood, Vista Mall Sta. Rosa
– Baker & Cook – Conrad Hotel Manila, U.P. Town Center

Sometimes, it is slightly annoying that while you’re enjoying your food, an attendant will approach you to offer the advantage of getting the Bistro Frequent Foodie card or popularly known as BFF Card.

Photo grabbed from: https://www.bistro.com.ph/

But come to think of it, if I review all of their restaurants, they are the most frequented and been thriving all these years and some of the best restaurants in the country. I must assume that those annoying attendants are one of their most effective Marketing Strategy for a continuous growth and carry one brand after another.

Personally speaking, I have been a regular customer of TGIF and TEXAS Roadhouse. I’ve tried Fish & Co when they still have one at Alabang Town Center. I even got this chance to see some contestants of “American Idol” (Jessica Sanchez’s time) since they held one of their activities at Italianni’s when they had their concert tour years ago.

So even if we haven’t seen and tasted our orders yet, we’re counting on that we will enjoy this early dinner. Later I learned that there are more than 700 branches of Watami all over the Asia Pacific region.

Take a look at what we’ve had:

Chasu rice for me and Jen, special curry Udon with cutlets for Jen and assorted tempura for me. Prior to deciding what to order, I had a miso soup called in advance.

All of these except for my soup were recommended by the attendant who took care of us.

The Chasu rice is truly delicious and its’ flavor matched my tempura. Jen’s Udon is tasteful too but is a little spicy and the hint of curry is just right, it is very mild. I enjoyed my tempura, however, I missed something from the sauce that came with it.

Over all, it was another gastronomic experience. Not to forget mentioning the intricately planned interiors of this casual Japanese resto.