Like Japanese food? Looking for a quiet, secluded place to eat in the middle of the Makati CBD? Then you should pay a visit to Little Tokyo in Pasong Tamo (aka Don Chino Roces Avenue). It's actually a collection of small restaurants owned by Japanese expatriates, serving all sorts of authentic Japanese dishes. We've been here lots of times before; usually we have the okonomiyaki from that one joint inside that serves the stuff (review to follow :)).
Today, we went to one of the other stores inside the complex, Riozen. Chesca had some of the salmon sashimi to start off with. Even though it was the small sized portion we ordered, the salmon slices were quite generously proportioned. Well, compared to every other place we've been to, anyway. Fresh and sweet-tasting (almost), this was some very good sashimi. We noticed that the soy sauce they have tasted a bit different from the usual Kikkoman soy sauce. It had a sort of savory flavor to it (maybe it was some MSG?), it complemented the mild flavor of the salmon quite well.
My usual order curry :). There's just something about the taste of Japanese curry that I just can't resist. Riozen's tonkatsu curry was a bit on the petite size for me though. Maybe I was just hungry then, but for the price I think they could have served more protein. Tastes great, but I just wish that it lasted longer.
One of the best things about Little Tokyo is the variety of food there. Add to that the fact that you can order from any of the restaurants in the compound and eat it in another one. This is what we did with the takoyaki from Hana. Chesca really, really, REALLY loves takoyaki. However, she seems to like the ones from Salcedo Market and Octoboy more. Taste-wise, they were quite similar. But the takoyaki from Little Tokyo were more gelatinous, perhaps it was this texture that was the difference.
The place is a bit lacking in terms of parking, but if you aren't above taking a jeepney ride it is quite accessible. Eating here's a bit pricey (all of the above cost around 800Php), but with the amount of flavors to be had, you can never go wrong with taking a trip down to Little Tokyo.
Riozen at Little Tokyo,
2277 Chino Roces Avenue,
Makati City
