Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (Trinoma)

Another ramen place? Sure, why not. Beloved and I had dinner a couple of times at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka at Trinoma. This relatively new ramen place opened its doors at Trinoma's fourth floor alfresco area, replacing our old tambayan Timezone Arena. Good old days.

Anyway, our first time was a couple of weeks ago with friends. Since that was a bit unplanned in Beloved and my part, we weren't really sure what to order there. Luckily, our friends have been here a couple of times and, to my surprise, they recommended not their ramen, but their set meals. They actually have quite a few, pairing up ramen with salad, dessert, and another main dish. Most of their stuff in the menu were the usual Japanese fair, such as tonkatsu, Japanese curry, and ebi fry. However, I found one item unique, which was why I went for that. I ordered their Set J (470 Php) with shoyu broth. Beloved ordered their Set G (470 Php) and added 20 Php for their kara-miso broth. We also ordered their Kurobuta Gyoza (240 Php) because the sets didn't look very filling for us (very big disclaimer for normal eaters here).

Ramen Nagi (SM North EDSA)

Beloved and I had dinner at Ramen Nagi for the last two Fridays. This ramen place is apparently the most-reviewed so far this year. We never had the chance to visit it because of work even though a somewhat accessible one opened shop at SM North EDSA. We only had a chance recently because, for some reason, both of our Fridays became a bit more schedule-friendly.

But that's aside the point. The SM North EDSA branch of this apparently world-famous ramen place is located at the first floor of the City Center, a.k.a. "Main". Since it's very well reviewed (although a bit mixed), we were somewhat prepared on their specialties. Apparently, there are four kinds of broth, easily distinguished by their color. They have brown, red, black, and green-colored broth all named as "kings". Yes, we were weirded out at first with the latter two. We decided to spend two weeks to try out all the kinds of broth.

While there was a slight queue (not as terrible-slash-amazing as Ippudo's), the turnover was very quick. We discover that, similar to most ramen places, seating was communal. They also have a now familiar ordering process where they have the tickets left blank and you fill in your order. This showed how pricey their ramen were. Anyway ordered the Butao King (390 Php) for me (the brown one). My customizations were normal richness, normal special sauce, and light garlic for soup base; belly for pork, and green onions for vegetables as toppings; just one level of spiciness (you can go up to 10) which, according to the instructions, is the suggested standard; and hard noodles. I also added tamago (50 Php), pork shoulder (100 Php), and extra noodles (70 Php).

Beloved ordered the Red King (410 Php), shoulder and green onions as toppings, and 7 levels of spiciness and forgetting the rest of the details. She also added tamago (50 Php) to hers.

Ippudo (SM Megamall)

Beloved and I had brunch at Ippudo earlier today. This world-famous ramen place is among the best, according to fellow foodies, having over 80 branches in Japan alone with a lot more worldwide. Ippudo opened its doors at Megamall's newest Fashion Hall wing earlier this week, making all said foodies rave about it. Knowing the hype it generated will definitely mean a waiting queue, we decided to have brunch here instead of the usual dinners.

To our non-surprise, there was already a queue when we arrived, just before 11am. The provided row of seats wasn't enough and had a good half of the queue standing. Good thing they gave us peeps in the queue a cup of cold tea. We also had the chance to look at the menu and prepare our orders. Unlike other ramen places with complicated menus, listing a bazillion varieties by mixing and matching different toppings to different broths, this place only has three main varieties, differing only in broth. The first is their shiromaru motoaji, which seems to be the "classic" broth. Next is their akamaru shinaji, which seems to be the first broth with blended miso paste and garlic oil. Finally, there's the  karaka-men, which is similar to the second one with a spicy twist. You can get all varieties in either plain; tamago, or with egg; chasyu, or with barbecued pork belly; or special, which has both egg and chasyu. In addition to that, you can also add additional toppings if desired. They also serve other sides such as gyoza.

After an hour, we were finally welcomed inside the packed-full restaurant. We were already decided on what to order. I had their Shiromaru Special (480 Php) and Beloved ordered their Karaka Special (490 Php). We also ordered their Ippudo Hakata-Style Gyoza (195 Php). This is cheaper than the Orishi Ponzu Gyoza, which seems to differ only with the topped radish and spring onions. Similar to Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen, we were asked by our server the desired hardness level of our noodles. She recommended we have it hard, and we did so.

Taisho (SM North EDSA)

Beloved and I had dinner at Taisho. This small ramen place took over a somewhat unlucky tenancy on SM North EDSA's Sky Garden, having at least two previous tenants before it. Still, it looked like a relatively cheaper ramen place and seemed to be always full. We were lucky to be accommodated immediately when we went.

Aside from the relatively cheaper price (still a bit expensive for the average eater), the place boasts their tonkotsu or pork-based soup, and most of their ramen offerings uses this as their base. They also have donburi or rice-topping offerings, but, since they were flaunting their ramen, we ignored them. With little choice aside from the toppings, Beloved ordered their specialty, the Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen (235 Php) and I ordered their Chasyu Tonkotsu Ramen (295 Php). We also ordered their Gyoza (155 Php) as a side.

Akira (Shangri-La Plaza)

A few weeks ago, Beloved and I had dinner at Akira. On a no-deadline mission to try out most, if not all, of the restaurants in Shangri-La Plaza's East Wing, this was our next restaurant on the list. We actually have no idea what to expect here. Feeling adventurous, we carried on.

According to their signage and menu, they specialize in teppanyaki and sushi. Unlike Ikkoryu, this place was devoid of any waiting queues. However, I noticed a couple of tables were large, and perhaps communal, for the teppanyaki patrons, which is done by the chef beside the table. It was a bit late, so there weren't anyone cooking on said tables.

When I looked at the prices, I was turned off and surrendered to the fact that I will not be able to afford their teppanyaki offerings on my meager income. Instead, I decided to settle for some of the more interesting and relatively affordable pieces on their menu. I ordered their Chicken and Bacon Mozzarella Ramen (348 Php). Yes. Mozzarella Ramen. I also decided for me and beloved to share their Blow-Torched Maki (289 Php). Beloved ordered their Bento Salmon (458 Php). Finally, we ordered their Miso Clams (78 Php) just because it looked unique and was pretty unpricey.