Kozui Green Tea (Tomas Morato)

For lunch today, beloved and I went to Kozui Green Tea. We planned to go to the newly-opened Bubble Tea at Tomas Morato, but we soon found out that they were still on a dry run. Since we didn't want to risk anything, in particular not being able to get the 1Php-for-every-50Php-rebate we invested on, we decided to walk towards Omakase and go to a place we somehow fancy on the way. Kozui happened to be one of those places, featuring healthy green tea infused drinks and foodstuffs.

We had no idea what to order except for beloved's main course which she saw on their banners outside that featured Hiyashi Chuka (158 Php), which is basically similar to the cold udon noodles she orders most of the time except the noodles are made of thinner wheat ones, like a ramen. I saw cold soba in their menu, which they labeled Green Tea Cold Soba (158 Php), and I went for that. For our drinks we went for the cashier's recommendations—Genmaicha Lemon Green Teaz (90 Php) for me and Pom Tea (100 Php) for beloved, both Grande-sized.




Our drinks came first. While I wasn't particularly exalted with the size, they tasted divine. Mine had a strong nutty taste with a soothingly bitter green tea aftertaste, almost similar in flavor to the hot tea served in Chinese tea houses but served refreshingly cold—a treat for green tea lovers like me. Beloved's was pretty delish as well; it was fruity-sweet, not sugary-sweet, and equally soothing.

Beloved's meal came shortly after. There was plenty of noodles in her plate, covered in vegetables; tomatoes, carrot, and some greens that I can't quite identify; scrambled egg, and ham, all swimming in a shallow sesame soup. The sesame was quite overpowering, taking over the taste of almost everything in the plate. Beloved commented that it wasn't as filling as her usual hiyashi plate, but I found it pretty good.

Mine came quite a bit later, but it was worth the wait. It was your usual soba plate, soba noodles topped with nori and bonito flakes served over cubes of ice to maintain its coldness, and cold soy broth which you can add spring onions and wasabi. This soba was different from my usual soba orders such that this was much greener than the others. It was apparently infused with green tea, which had just a hint of it. The broth provided a strong punch with the first slurp and a refreshing mild soy taste afterward, making the noodles the real star of this plate. Every noodle has that healthy feel I'm sure weight-watchers would enjoy.

Verdict? For a place we decided to have lunch on a whim, this was an excellent stay. While I do somehow frown upon the price of their drinks, the quality somewhat makes up for it. Their noodles are also excellent. I wouldn't recommend this for hungry people or carnivores, but for vegetarians, weight-watchers, and green tea lovers, this is a place to come to every once in a while. Next time I go here, I plan to order their takoyaki, which every other table seems to have ordered for themselves. If you love the taste of green tea, Kozui will surely sate your fill.

Worth a try

tl;dr
Location:
Tomas Morato, across Little Asia
Budget:
250-300 per head.
Recommended for:
Green tea lovers, weight watchers.
Not recommended for:
Carnivores.
Smart nomnomnom tip:
Sip their drinks, don't gulp.

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