Uma Uma Ramen: Flavorful Broth and it's MSG-free

Up next in our S'Maison food series, we went to Uma Uma Ramen. Their MSG-free offerings is fit for the health conscious. One of us ordered ahead and the noodles were served promptly. But the rest of us were a little late and the ramen already cooled down.

Uma Uma Ramen

It's a dish named after the restaurant with a noteworthy ramen broth. Mixed flavors of pork, egg, mushrooms and other ingredients that enhance the natural umami flavor that fill every slurp. The chasiu slices were really tender and melts in your mouth. This was also topped with marinated egg.

We arrived a little later so a layer of oil was already forming on top of the ramen broth when we arrived :( Nevertheless, it is still the best broth I have tasted so far. I bet it would have tasted better if we arrived on time.

Here's my own little serving of Uma Uma ramen. I removed the spicy miso for this bowl.


Tonkotsu Ramen

This one had a grilled flavor from the pork toppings. I was expecting a sesame taste since it was topped with sesame seeds but I didn't find it in there. The pork was not that tender as the chasiu slices in the first ramen we had. This one is good for those looking for a grilled-soy-like broth, but the signature Uma Uma ramen is better.


Chicken Karaage

Fried chicken fillets with a hint of ginger and lemon served as a contrast to the smooth and creamy noodles and broth.

We will go back and have the Uma Uma Ramen and maybe taste the one bite gyoza. The firmness of the ramen can be improved (or we can just have the ramen served when everyone in the group arrives). In the end, I think I found my new favorite ramen.



For other restaurant's in the area, view our Chibo Okonomiyaki experience here


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Kimukatsu: Katsu with Layers of Flavor

Some time last December, we dined at Kimukatsu. They serve layered tonkatsu with different varieties. We also had an online discount voucher for this.

Pretty interiors. We went on a weekday so the place was not that full. Only 2 other groups were dining.


The Set Meal

Each set meal includes unlimited rice, cabbage salad, soup, pickled vegetables, and tea. The cabbage was served in a single bowl.



The rice was in a single wooden container which had the katakana characters spelling out ki-mu-ka-tsu. We each had our own bowl of soup and saucer of pickles.


Condiments were readily available on each table

 The white miso soup option was mild in taste.

The red miso soup option had a more prominent flavor.

The Katsu

The katsu were already cut when it arrived on our table together with the set meal.

Cheese

The creamy cheese oozes from the slice. The cheese was not strong in taste, just a gentle creaminess to match the crispy coating.

Yuzu Kosho

The layering is more evident in this one. It was a little sour coming from the yuzu.

We finished two whole servings of rice and 2 and a half servings of the cabbage., and half of the sesame dressing.

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Jang Ga Nae: Korean Birthday Lunch

Celebrating my cousin's birthday lunch! With her being a fan of Korean drama and variety shows, we went to Jang Ga Nae for lunch. The funny thing is we kind of got lost along the way (wrong location in tagged in Google maps and we did not take note of the house number :( ). The good thing is we found it.

It's sign says "Jang Ga Rae", but the name that lined the windows and the online sources say "Jang Ga Nae". I'll go with the latter. The place may seem a little smaller outside compared to the other Korean restaurants lined up on the street, but the interior is actually quite bigger (compared to one Korean restaurant on the same street). We arrived a little past lunch time so it was not crowded anymore.


Appetizers

They have a lot of free appetizers which are refillable. The photo above also features the bibimbap.


Bibimbap

Vegetables plus egg plus sticky rice, it's already a complete meal by itself. I like that the spicy sauce is separated so you could control the amount of heat as you want.


Gal Bi Tang - Beef Rib Soup

There are big servings of beef rib with matching ligaments and tendons. This could actually serve more than two people. We chose a soup that is not spicy. The taste is quite similar to nilaga.


Sam Kyup Sal - Grilled Pork Belly

Since we only ordered one order from the grill, we did not get to experience cooking on our table. The pork belly was served on a hot plate instead.

My cousin oriented me on how to eat (and prepare) this one. Get a piece of lettuce, get a slice of pork and dip it in the sauces, get some vegetables, wrap the lettuce up and eat the whole wrap.



We were so full that we were not able to ask for refills on the appetizer. There were many options on the menu and the menu cover was actually quite pretty.

Branch visited located at: Aguirre Ave, BF Homes, Parañaque City


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Backlog Post: Tokyo Cafe: Mother's Day 2014

Mothers' Day is fast approaching! Around this time last year, my mom and I had a mini food trip of our own at Tokyo Cafe in SM Mall of Asia. Aside from Japanese dishes, they also have American and Filipino inspired dishes in their menu.


California Maki

The mayonnaise inside the maki itself is what I remember best about this. The rice was good too. It was the first item served and being at my hungry state, I easily devoured some.


Tokyo Boneless Chicken

Pieces of herbed chicken fillet in gravy. The chicken itself was tender but the sauce was a tad bit salty for us.


Pork Tonkatsu and Ebi Furai Bento Set

We ordered the Tonkatsu and Furai as part of a bento set. Bento sets are good deals if you want to get more than one type of food. This one came with rice, soup and side dishes.


We got a free set of lifestyle magazines and a tote bag due to the special occasion.

*This is a backlog post. Actual food expedition was made a few months prior to publishing of this post.

Branch visited located at: Ground floor, Main Mall, SM Mall of Asia

Village Tavern: Celebrate with Burger, Pizza and Ribs

Have you tried a Black Pizza? And have some burger and ribs too.

Off to celebrate something special, we went to Village Tavern at Bonifacio High Street. This was a perfect time to use our 40% off coupon for any Bistro group restaurant (Italiannis, Fridays, etc) which includes Village Tavern.

We arrived before noon for an early lunch. One side of the wall, the one beside the couches, features a mural. The other side features wine display and the bar.

Cowboy burger and Black Pizza arrived first.

I’m intrigued at how the Black Pizza would taste like. It is a thin crust pizza with chewy edges and with squid ink infused in its dough. I did not taste the squid ink in the crust though. Or maybe I am just not familiar with it. The more dominant flavor is the cheese which I liked. Other toppings include onions, bell peppers, mushroom, pork, and pepperoni.

The Cowboy Burger has a thick patty with pure beef goodness. It is the cheese and sauce gives the cowboy burger a Mexican taste. The bacon added saltiness to the mix. This is what I liked best among the dishes we ordered.
We ordered this with sweet potato fries instead of ordinary potato fries. The sour taste of the dip went well with the natural sweetness of the fries.

The Pan Seared Lapu-lapu and Texas Ribs arrived next. It is seldom that I see a lapu-lapu dish in a restaurant’s seafood menu nowadays since the fish commonly used in fillet or other dishes is cream dory. A slice of lapu-lapu sat on a bed of potato wedges. Potato wedges serves as the carbohydrates of this dish. The saltiness of the sauce complements the fish and potatoes but is quite salty for me to eat on its own.

The Texas Ribs had a good amount of meat and a little fat on it. It has just the right amount of sweet BBQ flavor.



A Previous visit:

We visited this place some time last year and we had this dish with wonderful slices of tender pork and mushroom gravy.

While this one is the lime flavored dessert we had that time.

Branch visited located at: Bonifacio High Street, Taguig