Hanayo (Scout Lozano near Tomas Morato)

Beloved and I had dinner at Hanayo. It's actually the second time we've been here, but we didn't manage to take photos the first time, which happened early last year. Found just a skip away from Tomas Morato, this Korean grill is similar to the likes of Don-Day, one of the food places I exclaim highly due to the budget buffet they offer. This isn't as inexpensive as Don-Day, however. When we first went, the buffet, which includes on-your-table grilling, only costed a bit more than 500 Php.

When we went, the weekend price costs 630 Php per head. I guess it's to be expected due to inflation. Nevertheless, the offerings remained the same. We sat down on a table and immediately went to the buffet table.

Nanbantei (Bonifacio High Street)

Beloved and I had dinner at Nanbantei. This Japanese restaurant is located at Bonifacio High Street, a place we rarely go to. According to Beloved, this is not the only branch of this place, and her uncle frequents the same restaurant's Greenbelt branch, which is another place we rarely go to. This place specializes in yakiniku, or Japanese barbecue. What differs from the norm is that this place isn't a buffet like YakiMIX or Sambo Kojin, nor is it a barbecue place where you grill stuff on your table. Instead, it's just your typical sit-down restaurant specializing in yakiniku.

Most of their menu consists of these yakiniku offerings, basically meat or veggies on stick, grilled Japanese-style, each having two pieces per order. However, they also serve platters which are collections of their yakiniku offerings for a cheaper overall cost. We ordered their Best Sellers Platter (985 Php). We also ordered two different kinds of their rice offerings. Beloved got their Yakimeshi or Japanese Fried Rice (110 Php) and I got their Shiitake Rice (100 Php) because it sounded interesting. Because they also had a promo on their cocktails, taking 50% off the price, we got those as our drinks: Japanese Mojito (175 Php normally) for me and Hibiscus Mojito (150 Php normally) for Beloved.

Woorijib (Kalayaan Avenue)

Beloved and I had dinner at Woorijib a couple of days ago. I was badly craving for pork belly, and since samgyupsal seems to be the most cost-efficient way to consume as much pork belly as I can, we considered going to Don-Day. I did a quick Google search for samgyupsal and Quezon City, and this place was among the first to pop up, receiving quite favorable reviews. It was located at Kalayaan Avenue, just a couple of jeepney rides away from home. Because I felt that Don-Day would be better for when there's more than the two of us, I urged Beloved that we try this place out instead.

Unlike Don-Day which is essentially a Korean buffet specializing in samgyupsal, Woorijib is a full-fledged Korean restaurant. However, all the tables seem to be ordering either their pork belly samgyupsal or beef version of it, since there is free endless side dishes, veggies, and soup. Beloved was leaning to the beef version, but since they probably wouldn't allow mixing up the two (or would make us pay for both for each of us), I convinced her to that: their Samgyupsal (299 Php). Beloved also ordered their Kimbap (200 Php), since, as I've mentioned, this place isn't really a Korean buffet. I felt that this was unneeded, seeing the grand feast the other tables were having, but I let Beloved have her order since she did agree to the pork.

Rub (Scout Rallos, near Tomas Morato)

Me, Beloved, and Hannah ate at Rub a couple of nights ago. This small restaurant is located beside H Cuisine, located beside Beloved and Hannah's new favorite place near Tomas Morato: Serenitea. Apparently, this place has been here for quite a while, but we never knew about it until recently because it's not found at Tomas Morato itself, rather at one of the inner streets, specifically Scout Rallos. Spoiling everything, this place specializes in barbecue, specifically barbecued ribs. Beloved has been wanting to eat ribs for quite a while, so this provided an opportunity. We were a bit surprised to find out that the place was full, and we had to wait two tables to be served before we were let in.

As I've mentioned, this place is all about barbecued ribs. They serve singles, for two, or for four, at incrementing prices and side dishes. We ordered their Family Brunch (685 Php) rib platter, consisting of said ribs good for four people plus three different side dishes. There were nine different sides, and we chose their Fresh Potato Fries, Garlic Spinach and Mushrooms, and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potato. Since this didn't include drinks, we also got a pitcher of their Iced Tea (110 Php).

Tempura Japanese Grill - UnlimEATed Grill (Tomas Morato)

Beloved and I had dinner at Tempura Japanese Grill a few days ago. Yeah, this post makes this place the most reviewed place on this blog. However, this is good reason, though. There have been drastic changes to the place. They now offer both a Japanese buffet, which I believe comes in a per-order basis on selected dishes, and also a unlimited grilling promo, separate from the buffet. Since, after all this time, we've yet to try the "Grill" portion of the place, we, well, I decided to take the opportunity to try it out.

They named their grilling promo "UnlimEATed" (499 Php per person), which comes with both unlimited drinks and rice. Similar to other yakiniku buffets, their choices range from pork, beef, stuff wrapped in beef, seafood, and vegetables. Unlike the conventional, though, where the raw food is placed at a buffet table for you to grab what you want, theirs come in a per-order basis. Yes, you can order as much as you want, but this presents a problem I found in Zensho—you wouldn't be able to gauge your appetite. Anyway, they ask you to choose from one of their sampler platters: all meat, all seafood, and combination; and then choose from their single orders. Since the combination platter essentially comes with everything they offer save the veggies, I chose that.

Beloved didn't join me. Instead, she ordered her usual Tempura Udon (210 Php) and their Salmon Sashimi (195 Php). We won't bother reviewing the udon, since she's been ordering that ever since and it hasn't changed much save for the slight price increase.

Urameshi-Ya (Little Tokyo, Makati)

Beloved and I had dinner at Little Tokyo a few nights ago. This special place features a small group of Japanese restaurants that serve authentic Japanese cuisine. As Japanese food lovers, we've been craving to go to this place since a few years ago. We finally had the chance to do so, and the area itself felt like another albeit small world, requiring you to pass through a Japanese garden to visit the interior restaurants. We tried out a couple of places on that area. Our first stop was the Yakiniku or Japanese barbecue place called Urameshi-Ya.

We researched this place before going, and we thought we got it all figured out. This is not your yakiniku buffet like YakiMIX or Sambo Kojin. First, this place does not feature eat-all-you-can meat, since the meat here was supposed to be authentically Japanese. In addition to that, the grill they use are live coal grills on small earthen pots. Similarly, though you get to cook over your table.

Now, what we didn't know was their menu was composed of purely Japanese and Romaji text. We can barely read what's in it. I had no idea what parts we were getting. Luckily, they had three set choices. We got the second least expensive, their Tarafuku Set priced at 2.1K Php. This is good for two to three, according to the servers, and, yes, we were aware of the steep price.

Mr. Miyagi (Timog)

Beloved and I had dinner at Mr. Miyagi last night. Similar to YakiMIX and Sambo Kojin, this relatively new yakiniku place is an eat-all-you-can smokeless grill and buffet. The place opened up at Timog Ave. late last year. Since they are priced similarly to their competition, we decided to try it out to see how they differ.

As I've mentioned, they are priced similarly to YakiMIX and Sambo Kojin at 599 Php for their Eat-All-You-Can Smokeless Grill and Buffet for a weekday dinner. For weekends and holidays, it is priced at 649 Php and for weekday lunch, it is priced at 499 Php, making the latter the best deal. We also opted to pay an additonal 75 Php each for bottomless drinks—green iced tea for me and plain iced tea for Beloved. After sitting down, we immediately went to their buffet with me having my Yakiniku Buffet Strategy™ in mind to maximize belly space at the best possible pace.

Don-Day (Malingap Street, near Maginhawa Street)

Me, Beloved, and friends celebrated one of our friend's birthday at Don-Day. This Korean barbecue place is located right across Pino, a walks way from Maginhawa Street. We've been wanting to try this since we've heard about it, especially when we learned about its price.

Anyway, the place itself isn't really praiseworthy. It looks like your usual open-air pares place devoid of air conditioning. However, upon entering, you are greeted with a whiteboard menu boasting it's small selection. On top is the Samgupsal Buffet, priced at 299 Php. This consists of a buffet of Korean food fare plus unlimited pork for you to grill at your own table, similar to YakiMIX or, perhaps more appropriately, to Sambo Kojin, only much, much more affordable. They also have the  Don-Day Buffet priced at 199 Php selection which removes the said unlimited pork, and just provides with a buffet of regular Korean food fare.

Sambo Kojin (Eastwood)

Ah, it's been a while... again. No, I haven't gotten paid yet from any of my apparent sources of income. But because yesterday was a special day for Beloved and I, we decided to rummage our savings to eat somewhere special as well. We went to Eastwood City Walk's somewhat newly opened restaurant Sambo Kojin.

This place is special because it's basically 90% similar to YakiMIX from our research. The only apparent difference is they also serve some Korean food apart from the smokeless grill yakiniku and Japanese food YakiMIX offers. If you've read our review of that place, you know how much we loved it, explaining why we wanted to try this place out. Of course, I must insist on comparing this place to that since they're just so similar. Consider that my forewarned apology.

The entrance to the place exudes an aura of... preparedness. They actually have a lobby where people can wait, complete with a water dispenser and actually comfy-looking furniture. Not that we had to wait at all—after signing in, we were immediately led upstairs to the dining area. After asking us our drinks, we went out for their Dinner Buffet priced at 595 Php per head.

YakiMIX - Revisited (Tomas Morato)

Beloved and I ate at YakiMIX last Saturday for lunch. We were supposed to go there the night before because it was my birthday. We didn't take the risk of going because it was pretty late at night when we prepared, so we delayed this date for the next day. We came in about fifteen minutes before it opens (which is at 11:00 AM). I was pretty excited because of unlimited sashimi and bacon, but I also decided for myself to try out their cooked food. Oh, if you can't understand what I'm talking about, kindly read my review of the last time we went here.

Anyway, because we came in early, we were seated immediately. However, we weren't the first ones there. There were already a couple of tables full and a lot more reserved. This just exemplifies how popular this place is. We had to wait a bit more before the buffet actually opens. Whether it was luck or not, we notice that we only had to pay 499 Php as opposed to the 580 Php we paid when we had dinner here. This cheaper tag was the price of their lunch buffet on Mondays to Saturdays. If the lunch buffet is actually any different from the dinner, we were about to find out.

As usual, we went in for their raw stuff first. We were surprised to find out that there was no tuna sashimi, one difference. Luckily, the salmon was still there, and was enough to make us happy. Both of us got a generous amount, and beloved also got some of their tamago and kani sashimi.

As for me, I went to their cooked stuff to try them out. Although I already tried their tempura before, I noticed that when I turned around, there was no more of the shrimp tempura. I did get a couple of pieces from the assorted basket. In addition to that, I tried out their jellyfish, yakisoba, fried rice, roasted duck, lechon kawali, and chop suey.

Seoul Garden (SM North EDSA)

A couple of days ago, beloved and I ate at Seoul Garden. This was one of the first restaurants to open during the opening of the brand new Annex of SM North EDSA. From it's name, it's safe to assume that it's Korean. What kind exactly, I wasn't too sure since every time we pass by, I see there's only a few people in to pique my interest. However, I notice there were plenty of dividers inside, so I couldn't be too sure. I grow curiouser each time we pass by, especially after our wonderful experience on YakiMIX and realizing that Seoul Garden was a do-it-yourself-barbecue-and-hotpot-buffet. The day before yesterday was our chance to try it out.

As I've said, this was a Korean buffet. They specialize in hot pot and barbecued items, although they also serve some bibimbap and other cooked Korean staples. Perhaps what was keeping me from being too enthusiastic (although still curious) on trying this place out was the fact that it eludes Korean just from its name alone. And, quite frankly, I'm not really fond of Korean, especially its spicy side. Anyway, this was an opportunity, so I said why not. They charge 585 Php for adults on weekends on lunch, which was the day and time we happen to eat there. We went in and they showed us our table. Each table had its own stove where you cook your food. They also asked us what soup base we would like for our hotpot. The choices were chicken soup, kimchi, spicy somethings, and Chinese herb. Because all the others sounded spicy, we picked the Chinese herb one. While waiting for our soup, we went to the buffet table to get our raw stuff.

My first impression on their available meat was disappointing. As I expected, everything was marinated in something spicy. They had kimchi beef, peppered chicken, spicy curried fish, spicy pork, et cetera. Luckily, they had pork belly, or, in my favorite words, plain bacon. They also had crab and shrimp balls, shrimp, and fish sticks for the hotpot. There's a lot of choices of vegetables as well. Since this was a hot pot, we got a very varied plate filled with meat, seafood, and balls, without any space for veggies, before going back to the table.

YakiMIX (Tomas Morato)

Beloved and I went to YakiMIX for dinner a while ago. I've been clamoring to go here ever since I saw some pictures posted by some of my contacts of food from the place. We had knowledge that this was a Japanese buffet specializing in sushi and barbecue (yakiniku). We also had knowledge of how much we'd be spending, which is a little over 600 for the unlimited food and drinks. We also had knowledge of what time it opens, which was from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. for dinner. What we didn't have knowledge of was how popular this place was and that the queue time would be an hour at least. After going to the nearby Kozui and Baang coffee shop to kill some time and a bit of our starvation, we went back to find out the queue was extended. There were many other patrons waiting besides us, but luckily, since there was only two of us, we got accommodated for at 8 p.m.—almost two hours from the time we came. Was it worth the wait?

There was no menus, of course. The buffet costs 580 php per head for adults and unlimited drinks costs 55 php, which you'll probably want to get if you're going here anyway. What differs from your usual Saisak.. er... Japanese buffet is that every table comes with a smokeless grill where you can cook stuff yourself. Extremely hungry, we dove in immediately.