A Taste of Authentic Ramen

Last night we tried out this ramen place called Ramen Nagi at Robisnon's Magnolia. This place is known to serve authentic Japanese ramen, and I'm pretty curious about how an "authentic" ramen tastes like.

Entering the restaurant gives you a glimpse and feel of Japan. Seats are all for sharing which makes it feel a bit awkward. Also, they have a "no take-out policy", even for left overs.

     

The menu features four types of ramen, we opted to share the Original King or more popularly known as the Butao King Ramen. The ramen broth is made from tonkotsu pork broth with classic Nagi pork chashu. You can choose to customize your ramen through their order sheet. I went with "normal" everything and got the pork belly. In addition to our ramen, we also tried their Chicken Karaage.

The ramen was served within a few minutes. I requested for two additional bowls, but we were given only one bowl. We had to ask for another bowl when the chicken karaage was served.

     

Original King (Php 390) looked really appetizing. We first tried the broth and we were both taken aback. The broth tasted like egg, to be exact, it had the exact taste of the soup of "balut". Balut is a Filipino delicacy,  it's a developing duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten in the shell. Yes, the broth of the ramen tasted like that of the balut. The pork belly was nice and tender and the noodles were cooked al dente.

The Chicken Karaage (Php 200) had a very strong umami flavor. It was crunchy and juicy and was accompanied by my favorite shredded cabbage with wasabi mayonnaise. The chicken wasn't really anything special.

It was worth a try, just to satisfy our curiosity. But it wouldn't be a restaurant of my choice.

I still can't get over the fact that I felt like drinking loads of balut broth.

RAMEN NAGI

Robinsons Magnolia Branch - Upper Ground Floor, Al fresco Dining Area, Robinsons Magnolia

SM MOA Branch - Ground Floor, South Wing, Mall of Asia Complex (MOA), Pasay City

Bonifacio Global City Branch - Fifth Floor, SM Aura Premier, C5 Road Corner 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

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