Celebrating Life at Octoboy

Last night we celebrated my dad's 63rd birthday at Octoboy, Tomas Morato. Octoboy is an establishment specializing in Japanese food.

My brother bought a couple of vouchers from Ensogo. The voucher was limited to the following food items: Okonomiyaki, Udon, Ramen and Sushi Rolls.

From that selection, we ordered the following:

Ramen - Roast Pork (Php 295) and Seafood (Php 285)

Udon - Beef Udon (Php 335)

Okonomiyaki - Octopus (Php 285) , Bacon (Php 290), Peppered Beef (Php 340) and Mushroom (Php 285)

Sushi Rolls - Unagi (Php 195), Philadelphia (Php 195) and California Crunch (Php 165)

The ramen were served first.

         

The Roast Pork Ramen had thin pork slices that had a decent amount of fat on it while the Seafood Ramen had kani, naruto maki and fish fillet. Both the Roast Pork Ramen (left) and Seafood Ramen (right) used miso as soup stock, and were garnished with spring onions and dried seaweed strips. The broth was really flavorful and it was a nice way to start our meal and warm our tummies.

The Beef Yakiudon came in next.



Stir fried noodles topped with beef strips, vegetables, Japanese mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce (I think). I couldn't really understand the overall flavor that it had, but it didn't taste bad. I guess it just had too many flavors in it.

Okonomiyaki (clockwise: Octopus, Bacon, Peppered Beef, and Mushroom) is basically like very soft and savory pancake wit toppings

            

The Octopus Okonomiyaki (octopus, mozzarella, okonomiyaki sauce, bonito shavings, Japanese mayonnaise and dried seaweed) had a very similar taste with their takoyaki.

The Bacon Okonomiyaki (bacon, mozzarella, okonomiyaki sauce, onion mayonnaise, lettuce and toasted cheddar) was very cheesy and was loaded with bacon in every bite.

The Peppered Beef Okonomiyaki (gyudon beef, mozzarella, black pepper sauce, miso mayonnaise, crispy onions and corn kernels) was the crowd favorite. It had a generous amount of beef with a peppery flavor that was balanced out by the mayonnaise.

Last was the Mushroom Okonomiyaki (sauteed mushroom, mozzarella, tonkatsu sauce, garlic mayonnaise, sauteed leeks and bacon bits). Unfortunately, this was the least liked and most forgettable among the four.

On to the next set, Sushi Rolls (left to right: California Crunch, Philadelphia Roll and Unagi Roll)



California Crunch is a variation of the traditional California Maki. This is basically california maki that's been fried and topped of with spicy mayonnaise. This one delivers a "kick", brought about by the spicy mayonnaise.

Philadelphia roll had salmon and cream cheese fillings and was also fried. I practically like almost anything with cream cheese in it, so this one's a keeper.

The Unagi Roll was the biggest disappointment of the night. The piece of eel that's used as the filling was tiny, and you could hardly taste the flavor of the eel. It was like eating a roll of rice with sweet sauce on it.

Over all, the food was just ok, nothing extraordinary.

 

Advisory: Certain portions of Tomas Morato's undergoing drainage improvements. Traffic is pretty heavy and parking is more limited than the usual.

OCTOBOY

Tomas Morato Branch - 186 Tomas Morato Corner Scout De Guia, Sacred Heart, Quezon City (02-9902357)

Banawe Branch - 670 Banawe Street, Santo Domingo, Quezon City (02-4092704, 02-5835496)

Libis Branch - Fourth Floor, Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City

Going Mexican!

Work was "knocked-off" early yesterday because of the intermittent power interruptions brought about by the recent typhoon Glenda. Hence, I decided to travel to Mckinley Hill instead of waiting for Kyle to fetch me from my office.

After his shift, we decided to eat out, since we were already starving. Being an unfamiliar territory, we drove around the area to scout for something promising. We decided to explore the restaurant strip at Tuscany. The choices were overwhelming, and most of the establishments were packed with diners. Our attention was caught particularly, by the small Mexican restaurant, B&T (Burritos and Tacos) Mexican Kitchen.

Luckily, they still had one table for indoor dining. Their interiors had a homey and rustic feel. The place is well lit with cute, decorative bulb shades and they also have a second floor dining area.



B&T's kitchen set up is like a typical canteen, wherein you can see the ingredients they use through a glass display counter. You could also watch how your food is prepared since this display counter is the only thing separating the kitchen from the dining area.



Their menu was a bit confusing since there was so many items to choose from. We decided to try the Carne Asada (steak) Quesadilla and the Fajitas. For the Fajitas, we opted for the three (3) meats. Our meat choices were Carne Asada, Carnitas (shredded pork) and Barbacoa (shredded beef). While waiting for our meal to arrive... :D



The Steak Quesadilla (Php 380) was served first.



We were really hungry, hence, the missing two slices (Ooops!). The tortilla was nicely toasted on the edges but still soft on the middle. The steak filling was well seasoned, but there were bits that were a little dry. The quesadilla also had pico de gallo, corn, and a generous serving of cheese. Overall, the steak quesadilla was really good and really delivered the Mexican flavor.

We were pleasantly surprised when our Triple Meat Fajita (Php 550) was served.



We weren't really expecting such a big serving size. Abundant portion steak chunks, shredded pork and shredded beef were the three kings of the dish. The steak tasted like the one's used for the quesadilla, but a lot juicier, the shredded pork was tender, spicy and had a smoky flavor, while the shredded beef had a hint of barbecue flavor. When combined into the tortilla, the flavors did not get lost, but was instead very well complimented by the veggie condiments.

The three tortilla pieces were not enough for the massive amount of meat. So we ended up finishing off the meat independently (yum!). B&T offers three kinds of sauces, roasted tomato salsa, sour cream and hot sauce. Of the three, we loved the sour cream and salsa.

B&T Mexican Kitchen

Mckinley Hill Branch - Tuscany, Upper Mckinley Road, Mckinley Hill, Taguig City (02-2163453)

Greenhills Branch - 368 Sekai Center, Ortigas Corner Madison Street, Greenhills, San Juan City