a bite of brownie

Japanese cuisine has a lot to offer the world and maybe one of my favorites to-date. I haven’t been to Japan to try the food there but I’ve come to realize that there’s a lot of places you could get good Japanese food, if you just know where to look. Being sent to Vancouver for work and spending most bingeing times with poeticnook, we’ve uncovered these gems all over the city. And for me, that’s the closest I could get to authentic Japanese food for now. I don’t even want to try any here in Manila, because I’m sure it will not be at par with the ones we’ve tried.

But then, Sushi Ninja came. And to my surprise, it’s just near the place where I live. It’s situated at Westgate Center, Filinvest Avenue, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, which is just a 5min drive from our place. At first, I was really on the fence in trying this restaurant because of concerns of taste, quality of handling, and overall cleanliness. I guess curiosity killed my doubts, i mean the cat.

To start, I ordered the Tuna Poké from their special menu. I know that’s not so Japanese, it’s actually a Hawaiian dish, haha! But might as well hit two birds with one stone. Maybe the poké bowl was too much for one person, definitely looks like it’s for sharing. Or if you really dig poké I guess this is alright. The salmon was fresh and was tossed in some light teriyaki sauce, garnished with black and white sesame seeds and onion leeks. Next I had the Uni Nigiri. Now I’ve tasted uni imported fresh from Japan and golly, I will bet my life that this isn’t one of those but nevertheless, it’s fresh and had that sweet, delicate taste. Better than your average local uni.

The place had a Japanese vibe to it. Decorations made from bamboo lined the walls reminiscent of the animé shows I love to watch. The servers were polite and were all attentive. Food came in fast. Value for money is fantastic, I just paid a little over 500Php for the two dished I ordered.

Update: 
Didn't I say we’ll go back here? During my 2nd visit, I ordered 2 new dishes. First, the Grilled Salmon Belly. I’ve had grilled salmon belly in other restaurants and the servings were small or limited. So I had to ask the server about how small their serving was, and he was taken aback and using his two hands, measured what looked like more or less a half ruler’s length, about 6in. And it was my turn to be taken aback, especially when he said they had two of those. So I said yes to it. And it did not disappoint. Enjoyed every bite of it!


And then came my Mentaiko Udon, made from spicy cod roe and Japanese flour noodle. The mentaiko was mixed with Japanese mayonnaise, topped with chopped chives, nori (dried seaweeds) strips, and bonito flakes. The serving is good for 2, so I had some to take away. Leaving the verdict the same for now.

Verdict: 3/5
There are a few others in the menu that needs to be tried like the mentaiko noodles and chirashi. And since this is just close to my place, I will definitely go back.