Uma Uma Ramen and Horse's Mouth

This is Russell Yu, the bossman at Uma Uma Ramen, feeling just a little bit frustrated 

that it is taking longer than expected for his restaurant to open in Manila.

He has been ready and excited since 2015.

Exactly two months ago, we flew to Singapore with the agenda of trying out every single

item on the menu of the ramenya-izakaya that originated from Fukuoka, Japan.

I kid you not. This was just one-eighth of all the dishes we ate during our visits to 

Uma Uma's Forum Shopping Mall and Millenia Walk branches.

Uma Uma has been making ramen for over 60 years and prides itself for using only natural

 ingredients. The broth is a result of boiling pork bones for hours and hours, with no shortcuts,

and most importantly, with NO MSG. Every bowl is 100% pure and natural umami!

Russell's favorite is the signature Uma Uma Ramen with tender slices of chasiu, 

spring onions, black fungus, and egg in a spicy miso broth.

I love mentaiko on anything and was delighted to see Mentaiko Ramen on the menu. 

A generous scoop of the fish roe sat on top of chasiu, egg, spring onions and seaweed strips. 

Garlic Ramen with chasiu, white onions, black garlic, egg, bean sprouts and fried shallots.

Did you know that black garlic is all the rage now in countries like Taiwan, Japan and Korea? 

It has twice the antioxidant properties of white garlic and is proven to lower cholesterol and

prevent cancer. So happy that Uma Uma is making this available to Manila. We not only

get a tasty bowl of ramen, but also a nutritious and immune system-boosting one, too.

My favorite had to be the Tan Tan Men. A mix of Chinese and Japanese

flavors, every bite transported me back to my growing up years in Taiwan. 

Guess who finished it all  :D

Witnesses to my crime: Cassandra, Cheryl, Lani, Andrew, ZY, Anton, and Russell

People watching their carbs (not me, obviously!) will be happy to know that Uma Uma

 also specialises in yakitori. Here is Chef Satoshi Nakamura doing his magic on the grill. 

Chicken Skin

Pork Belly

Chicken Thigh

Shiitake Mushrooms

For the rice lovers:

Chasiu Don with Onsen Egg - another culprit to the severe food coma I suffered that day

Salmon Don

Spicy Tuna Don

Fast forward 60 days, I am seated in front of a smiling Russell because his very first 

 Philippines branch is finally opening!

Uma Uma is located in S Maison Conrad, Manila's newest lifestyle and dining destination

And look who's here, too. Satoshi-san and his team of Japanese chefs flew in

many weeks ago to prepare for the special occasion.

To celebrate, I had tasty little One-Bite Gyozas

Chicken Karaage with the perfect crunch

And the crowd favorite, Mazesoba, which is really the perfect choice in this sweltering heat!

Dry noodles with chasiu bits, bamboo shoots, spring onions, leeks, sesame seeds, onsen egg.

I like it especially with an extra drizzling of chili oil.

An extra bowl of 100% MSG-free tonkotsu broth to wash all that down.

Along with Uma Uma, Russell brings to Manila his whisky and cocktail bar Horse's Mouth

It was love at first sip with my Kopi & Kaya cocktail, a brilliant concoction of Ketel One 

vodka chilled over ice with coffee and sugar, topped with hot kaya foam. Truly Singapore and

truly me! To this day I dream about that heavenly coconut jam foam and look forward to that

moment when my lips can be reunited with the sweet and creamy goodness here in Manila.

Good news is, Horse's Mouth craftsman Johan Fong is in town playing around with our 

local ingredients. Russell mentioned something about green mangoes and bagoong.

So exciting!!!

Horse's Mouth Manila, where you can have your ramen AND your cocktails

The opening menu

The vavavoom view!!!

Yes to ramen with clear blue skies

And cocktails with the most amazing Manila sunset

Uma Uma and Horse's Mouth Manila open on June 15, 2016.

Uma Uma: Level 2, S Maison Conrad, Seaside Boulevard corner Coral Way, Pasay City

Uma Uma Website
Uma Uma Facebook Page
Uma Uma Instagram

Tokyo Eat List ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Published on Manila Bulletin Lifestyle, August 20, 2015

Book Now, Thank Me Later!

Seven restaurants you should try when in Tokyo

In case you haven’t checked Instagram lately, Japan has become the new Hong Kong. With reasonable airfares, easier travel requirements, and the Japanese yen at a record low, more and more people have been vacationing in the land of the rising sun, and the bustling city of Tokyo is always the first destination.

People travel to the Japanese capital for several reasons: cherry blossoms, Disneyland, fashion, the energy, or like me, fabulous food, food, and food. It is not true you can get great meals anywhere in Tokyo. Trust me, I wish I skipped a few. For a 100 percent foolproof gastronomic trip, exercise prudence in making restaurant choices, or just trust me when I share my list of favorites. Book them now, thank me later.

TSUKEMEN AT FUUNJI

Come early or be prepared to wait in line (but it’s worth every second) for the best tsukemen, with noodles so perfect and dipping broth so addictive. I can only imagine how long the simmering process was to bring the chicken and fish broth to that level of depth and richness. Multiple layers of flavors cling to each fat strand of the chewy, bouncy noodle. Fuunji is not for the faint of heart as there is just too much sensuality and satisfaction in every slurp.

Fuunji is located at 2 Chome-14 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03 6413 8480
See detailed post on Fuunji here.

SUKIYAKI AT IMAHAN

Unlike the sukiyaki places you are familiar with, where the staff dump everything into a pot, at Imahan, they do things slowly but surely, and ever so gently. My server waited for me to finish my first piece of perfectly marbled meat before he started cooking the next, always making sure to give me a fresh bowl of raw egg to dip each new slice of Japanese beef. After I had consumed all the meat, he prepared the fluffiest, runniest scrambled egg in the same pot, the yellow goop soaking up all the precious beef sukiyaki essence.

Imahan is located at Odakyu Daiichi Life Building 1F, 2-7-1 Nishishinju-ku, Shinjuku, Tokyo; 81 3 3345 1470
See detailed post on Imahan here.

TEPPANYAKI AT UKAI-TEI

Go ahead, order the signature eight-course abalone and Ukai beef set and indulge in one of the best meals of your life, starting with a shrimp cocktail in avocado mousse, masterfully cooked fish, foie gras topped with black truffle (Wow!), chilled onion cream soup, tender abalone in seaweed butter sauce, and the main event–tremendously rich, flavorful, fatty ukai beef. Finish off the extravagant meal with dessert in the tearoom. I highly recommend the velvety, luxurious chocolate cake.

Ukai-tei is located at 5-10-1 Omotesando Gyre 5/F, Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo; 81 3 5467 5252
See detailed post on Ukai-tei here.

TONKATSU AT BUTAGUMI

Located at a quiet residential area, Butagumi is not the easiest place to find, but the search for it will end your search for the best tonkatsu in the city. The restaurant carries around 40 varieties of pork. I decided on trying the Hakkin-Ton sirloin from Iwate Prefecture. It is said that this pig’s parents have kurobuta blood. “Like royal family,” my server said. I was sold. Baby soft, delicate, tender, supple, porky, meaty, and rosy, it was unlike any other fried pork I’ve had before.

Butagumi is located at 2-24-9 Nishiazabu, Minato, Tokyo; 81 3 5466 6775
See detailed post on Butagumi here.

YAKITORI AT TORISHIGE

I wish I could insert the intoxicating aroma of grilled meats here so you can experience the magic that happens in this place. The menu at Torishige is in Japanese so I had no choice but to put my trust in Chef Sakamaki, who wowed me, stick after stick, with pork tongue, pork intestines, pork tsukene, and large intestines. Grab a seat at the bar to enjoy the kitchen action and don’t forget to treat yourself to that amazing Japanese beef topped with uni and caviar. 

Torishige is located at 2-6-5 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 81 3 3379 5188

See detailed post on Torishige here.

SUSHI AT SUSHI YOSHITAKE

Book early at this no-menu, seven-seater sushi bar and let Chef Masahiro Yoshitake take you on a sublime sushi journey. Expect a beautiful progression of sashimi, sushi, rolls, tamago, and soup, each piece showcasing the outstanding knife skills of the chef, his creativity, and his meticulous attention to detail. To this day, I still think about the abalone served in thick and creamy abalone liver sauce. It was like nothing I’ve ever had before, I wanted to hold the plate up and lick it clean.

Sushi Yoshitake is located at 8-7-19 Ginza, 3/F SuzuryuBuilding, Chuo, Tokyo; 81 3 6253 7331
See detailed post on Yoshitake here.

YAKINIKU AT YORONIKU

Go for the tasting menu and be ready to sample different cuts of meat—yes, including the male genital organ! My server spoke perfect English and pointed to the corresponding body part of the cow before she cooked each piece of the heart-wrenchingly tender meat, tableside. On her third reminder to eat the beef folded, I asked her why. She explained that because the meat is so fatty and marbled, if I ate it in one single layer, it would just melt, within seconds, in my mouth. Enough said.

Yoroniku is located at B1F Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo; 03 3498 4629
See detailed post on Yoroniku here.

Torishige 鳥茂 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I would never have found out about Torishige if not for CB and Mutsumi who I met during dinner at Den. See post here. 

When they mentioned this place was a favorite of Chef Yoshi Takazawa (yes, of THE Takazawa where I had one of my most memorable meals in Tokyo, read about it here), I knew I had to cancel my reservations and come here instead for my very last dinner in the city.

Although its address says Shibuya, Torishige is actually nearer to Shinjuku Station 

I specifically requested to be seated at the bar where I could see all the grilling action. 

My hotel concierge did an outstanding job. There were people waiting to be seated, but they

kept the best seat in the house for me!

More seating upstairs, although it's not as fun

Here at Torishige, you use sticks instead of chopsticks

Grilling action. I wish I could insert the intoxicating aroma here.

The menu is all japanese

But Sakamaki-san, the owner-chef, made my life super easy. Everything he fed me

was the best, I couldn't decide which my favorite was. 

I highly recommend you order every single stick I had.

Pork Tongue

Intestines

Pork Tsukene or Meatball

The softest pig organ, the piece that connects the tongue to the throat. 

And what insanity is this? Japanese beef topped with uni topped with caviar!!!

It was no ordinary japanese beef, either. Here's a virtual tissue while you drool on my dinner.

Larger Intestines

(YES, I EAT EVERYTHING!)

Damage

Don't forget to get their business card

You won't miss it, it's conveniently located inside the toilet! Lol!

Torishige: 2-6-5 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Tel: +81 3 3379 5188