HALF BLOOD JAPANESE

With my usual craving partial to Japanese food, I wouldn’t mind being reborn even as a half-blood Japanese, lol 😀

I noticed that my palate has been biased with Japanese food. I share this craving with my wife, Tina and our preschooler son, Gabby who favors kani tempura so much; he even enjoys eating it with bare clean hands and dipping it in tempura sauce.  Tina and I are partial not only to ebi and kani tempura but to sushi and sashimi and soups like sukiyaki and more.  

Over the past few weeks,  Tina usually comes home from work with 2-packs of takoyaki as her pasalubong to us.  And lately, if not Italian or Chinese, we’ve been dining out in Japanese restaurants – from HANA in Little Tokyo where we enjoyed sukiyaki plate, takoyaki and ramune or flavored ice shaving  to KAGURA also in Little Tokyo where we first tasted okonomiyaki.  We’re also loyal patrons of SAISAKI in Glorietta 3 and had tried ZENSHO  buffet in Tomas Morato.  Even fastfood stall like  KARATE KID did not disappoint my craving.  Of course, on the top of our list that we have tried is UMU in DUSIT THANI Hotel.  I swear, Umu’s one of the finest, that we have to experience it again soon.

Our last Sunday’s lunch was nevertheless, special.  We revisited KIMONO KEN; this time at the basement of Shangri la Mall in Mandaluyong City.  We first dined at this casual Japanese dining place a couple of years ago at SM The Block and since then, I’ve regarded it as one of those that offer best-tasting and affordable Japanese food.  

The pictures can only speak for itself, but the experience of tasting food and dining at Kimono Ken would be another story.  Service was fair, wait staffs were all attentive, courteous and quick.  Ambiance was always casual but with zen-inspired cleanliness and order.  With Kimono Ken’s great tasting food and value for money, without even charging extra charge for service,  they’re true to their tag line, Enticingly Japanese. For Less.

KANI SALAD, PhP 160.   A  chilled plate of crunchy cut lettuce, thinly sliced cucumber topped with generous volume of shredded kani strips with fish roe tossed with flavorful dressing.  It’s simply a must-try!

I have been craving for a good-tasting seafood ramen for the past weeks now, and I was content with Kimono Ken’s GOMOKU RAMEN, PhP 200.

The serving was good for 2 to 3 persons; the salt-based soup perfectly blended well with the shrimps, boiled egg, some chicken slices and noodles.  The waitress even offered a small bottle of  chili powder as an optional spice.   Tina enjoyed this ramen too.  But I also liked her beef rice bowl served with fresh egg.

GYUDON, PhP 195.  We both love eating Japanese rice.  It has thicker grains and sticky consistency when boiled; so flavorful when cooked or topped with dish like this.  Gyudon is a rice toppings of sweet-soyed beef with leeks and other ingredients that fused in that delicious bowl.  I’m lost for words to describe the wonderful experience of eating it. 😀 I can consider it another “I-can-eat-this-everyday!” -meal.

 Gabby ordered a glass of iced tea, PhP 40. And I’ve tried sipping KIMONO KEN’S SPECIAL, PhP 75.  

KIMONO KEN’S SPECIAL is a slush mixed of orange and mango but the taste is more than that mango-orange; it’s not that tangy but sweet and refreshingly similar to four seasons.  I guess everything’s reasonably special in Kimono Ken.

CHICKEN CHEESE ROLL, PhP 160.  With fried chicken rolls topped with melted cheese, how can you go wrong?

MANGO TEMPURA A LA MODE, PhP 100.  This was Gabby’s plate.   He ate the ice cream but did not finish the mango tempura.  This was probably because  he’s used to crab tempura instead of mangoes, and he was also craving for his favorite fastfood meal – McDonald’s fried chicken happy meal that we gave him after eating at Kimono Ken.  Nevertheless, this dessert perfectly ended our hearty lunch last Sunday.  

Thank you God for another opportunity to enjoy Your blessings with my family.

How was the start of your week?  May we have great days ahead! 😀

KIMONO KEN, Garden Court LG Level, SHANGRI LA, Mandaluyong City.