a bite of brownie

During this time, I was sent to Makati City to attend some training for a week. The firm that conducted the training offered snacks and lunch to their students. And since there’s just a week that I get to be out of office, I think grabbing the chance to try some restaurants around the vicinity would definitely be fruitful. Tsumura Sushi Bar and Restaurant is located at 1F of 141 Sedeno Street, Salcedo Village in Makati. Technically just downstairs from where we had our training. Finding it was a little tricky though because the entrance is inside the building and is hiding behind the receptionist’s area so you can’t really see it from the outside. I’ve missed it twice and had to ask the security guard from another building where it was. He directed me back to the building and I thought then he was just tripping, but there it was. Hiding from plain sight.

The restaurant’s entrance is a long stairwell up to the 2F and practically occupied the whole floor. It looked like it’s good for group/team meetings and they did have some when I dined there. I also saw a bunch of Japanese folks there, so it was a good sign. Who do you trust about sushi, eh? And apparently, according to research, it is run by a Japanese sushi chef! The server then placed a cup of hot tea on my table and asked if I was ready to order.

I asked for their Ume Sashimi Moriawase and it was magnificent. Arranged on a huge plate, on a bed of shredded daikon, was a variety of fresh fish slices. Unfortunately, they didn’t have uni, but they filled my plate with salmon, tuna, octopus, squid, shrimp, and a few others that I do not recognize. I had a hard time finishing this plate because of the serving size.

Verdict: 3.5/5
If you’re looking for the best sashimi, might as well come here. The quality is superb and could really be at par with restaurants abroad. Sadly, they didn’t have the complete selection and I didn’t get to try other dishes. It’s a little pricey, but you won’t regret having this sashimi plate.

Festival Mall has a whole new section by the riverside which they’ve been developing for quite some time now and it has recently been opened to the public. And as crazed southerners, my sister and I checked it out and found this restaurant: Tori Ichi Yakitori Bar.

We ordered a bunch of food from their menu: Salmon and Tuna Sashimi, Enoki Mushroom Bacon, Asparagus Bacon, and their Shio Ramen. The sashimi slices were decently cut, presented neatly, and the most important part, it’s fresh. The shio ramen was just ok, nothing jumping out of the bowl, just some pork slices, onion leeks, bean sprouts, and a quarter of a boiled egg. The mushroom and asparugus bacon could use more crispiness as they were a bit soggy and feels like they’ve been sitting on the counter for a while.

Verdict: 1/5
This is a new restaurant and we might have caught them during their soft opening. Given the location (near parking and amphitheater), there’s a possibility we'll give it another shot, just not anytime soon.

Mom and I finally visited this place after buying a new set of fans for our rooms because several of them decided to overheat and die for the summer. After depositing our purchases in the car, we proceeded to the upper ground floor where the place is situated near the vicinity of our favorite Japanese restaurant in SM Cebu.

Zark's Burger is one of the better burger joints back in manila with so many branches scattered all over the metro. And after hearing so much about it from folks, we secretly wished that the place did not disappoint. And it didn't, thank goodness.

Anyhow, the ambiance of the place is good, and service is spot on. The design on the wall was what you could expect from a burger shop; a zoom in of one of their specialty burgers with fries on the side. Their menu has an extensive list of burgers; there was a variety of catchy names like "Tombstone" and "Jawbreaker", to a bacon wrapped burger.

The food arrived at a timely manner; Mom got for herself a Blue cheese burger while I got myself a Zark's ultimate burger. the staff were courteous enough to refill our glasses with water when we ran out too. The food itself is loads better than jollibee or burger king with their secret "langhap sarap" flavor (something I would prefer not to have in any of my meals due to the taste lingering hours after your meal).



Zark's burgers
SM City Cebu


Verdict: 4.5/5
A: Pretty spot on on how a burger should taste. Burgers on par with better tasting burger places like "burger joint" and "flame it!" Would definitely visit soon.