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.

Yabu (SM Megamall)

Me, Beloved, and Hannah ate at Yabu. This Japanese restaurant inadvertently replaced now closed favorite of ours, Curry Curry House, at SM Megamall. However, this place doesn't specialize in Japanese curry, nor does it specialize in typical Japanese food. Instead, this place specializes in katsu: the deep-fried breaded style of cooking. Beloved has been clamoring to try this place out, and an opportunity presented itself a couple of days ago.

Although this place offers only katsu, it practically offers almost all the possible dishes that can be applied with the said style of cooking. They offer the usual pork and chicken, as well as the not so common fish and other seafood and veggies. They also offer variations of katsu, such as curry and katsudon, which is basically the dish with eggs mixed in. Most of the items in their menu comes in sets with unlimited rice and cabbage, as well as some sides, fruits, and miso soup.

The most premium item in their menu is the Kurobuta Tonkatsu (575 Php for 120 grams, 515 Php for 90 grams). According to the menu, kurobuta, literally "black pig", is the "kobe beef of pork", having prominent marbling in the meat. I've seen the said black pig used in an episode of Iron Chef, and like most episodes of Iron Chef which uses unusual ingredients, it instantly became one of my have-to-eats in my bucket list. I ordered the 120 gram portion. Beloved ordered their Seafood Set #1 (485 Php) and Hannah got their Hire and Seafood Mix (475 Php).

Roti Mum (SM Megamall)

Before passing by Komoro Soba, we saw this somewhat new stall at the corner of where Komoro Soba is located. It's called Roti Mum. Beloved and I love Kopiroti's kopi buns (coffee-flavored buns) so we decided to grab some as well.

Beloved got for herself the Choco Bun and I got their Kopi Bun, both priced at 55Php. It was a take-out store, so there's no tables whatsoever, but you can see their buns being prepared, raised, and baked from their counter.

Komoro Soba (SM Megamall)

Yesterday, beloved and I went to Komoro Soba. This was actually the second time we went here, but the first time, we only got to try their ice cream. We accompanied our friends who actually dined there. Their orders looked good and seemed like a great bargain, so we decided the next time we go to Megamall, we would eat here. That next time happened to be yesterday.

Komoro Soba specializes in their soba, or buckwheat noodles, but they also serve udon, or thick noodles, among their common Japanese foodstuff. Since I like thin noodles better (if you've been following my nomnom adventures, you probably know by now), so I ordered their Ebi Soba set (158 Php). Their set meals come with a small serving of katsudon, and their noodles come in your choice of cold or hot. I had mine cold. Beloved also ordered cold noodles, but hers was Ebi Udon (104 Php) without the katsudon. She also ordered Miso Soup (25 Php) for herself. Our drinks were plain bottled water.

Rai-Rai Ken (SM Megamall)

Rai-Rai Ken is a ramen restaurant and sushi bar. The first Rai-Rai Ken I ate in was in Robinsons Galleria, and it was a pleasant experience. I forget what exactly I ordered but I do remembered it was filling and delicious. Me and beloved went there today for lunch.

I found the prices to have steepened by quite a bit. It's a bit understandable with the current situation of our economy, though. Anyway, I had a coin toss between Sharksfin Ramen (210 Php) and Beef Sukiyaki Ramen (205 Php), and the beef won. I was also craving for raw fish, so I ordered Salmon Sashimi (260 Php). Beloved ordered Seafood Hot Pot Ramen (150 Php), and we both ordered Red and Green Iced Tea (both at 50 Php, non-refillable) respectively.