Happy new year, hope y'all are having an awesome start to the year. On today's food diary, I'm sharing yet another Japanese restaurant discovery, but all hail, this one isn't from Metro Manila so hey, that's new lol. When I was archiving my posts the other day, I noticed the category under Japanese food was the only one that was moving lol. I don't intend on making this a repository of ONLY Japanese food so I'm trying to make the content a little more diverse by posting recipes. Since when I go out, I mostly do Japanese restaurants so that won't be much of help. But hopefully, you've been seeing more diverse content lately. And I'd also stop apologizing for posting content about Japanese cuisine because, can't stop and won't stop!

On the way to a friend's house, we chanced upon this restaurant along Malolos. My eyes are peeled to spot a Japanese restaurant no matter how invisible it may seem to the naked eye lol. Another Japanese restaurant was also beside it, which I've also tried and will talk about in the future. 

THE PLACE

The place is pretty easy to spot since it's just along the road. Don't be confused as there's also another Japanese Restaurant beside it. I say don't get confused because the two oddly have the same signage so when I pass by the place I also get confused lol. It looks Japanese on the outside but not so much on the inside. On the outside it looks spacious but once you get inside, the place feels a bit cramped. Parking is available but in my estimation can only for about 3-4 cars since it only occupies the space in front of the restaurant. 

Genki Sushi is a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants established in 1990 in Japan. The chain expanded to include locations in Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Kuwait, the Philippines, China, Australia, Cambodia, Myanmar and the United States, including, California, Hawaii and Washington. (via)

Place

The location that I frequent to is the one over at Ayala Malls the 30th. The closest to me though is the newly opened branch in Megamall but we all know how parking is a nightmare in Mega. I also love the 30th's ambiance since there aren't a lot of people and the branch isn't always full. Parking is also always available at the mall. One of the things I love about Genki is the ordering system. It isn't like the conveyor belt sushi places in Japan where food just keeps on coming and all you need to do is get your desired dish. In Genki, you can use a tablet to place your order and in a few minutes you can expect the cutie patootie train to deliver your order. 

Some dishes aren't delivered through the train because 1.) they're either too big and actually does't fit the train 2.) the dish has soup and being transported via the train can cause the soup to spill. In this case, the waiter delivers your order. 

Food

Ahhh, where do I start. Okay so while waiting for your order, you can make your own green tea. On the table you'll have matcha powder and a faucet of hot water, amazing. I also love this part. The tea isn't overwhelming and that's coming from someone who doesn't like Matcha. You can also start preparing your soy sauce. On the side of the table, they also have pickled radish available at your disposal.

And noooow, on to the Sushi and Sashimi! So obviously, I've been here several times. But during this visit, here's what we ordered : Salmon Roll (P90), Miso Soup (P90), Salmon Belly (P90), Norwegian Fresh Salmon (P90), Salmon Roe Gunkan (P280), Chuka Wakame (P140) and Gyudon (P280). Lol don't judge me, I love Salmon! Of course everything was good but of all the things I've tasted here, my top favorites would probably be Salmon Belly and Salmoe Roe Gunkan! The Salmon Belly because, while it isn't the best Salmon that I've tasted, it comes close to the best one I've tasted in the past. And for the price, I'm not complaining! As for the Salmon Roe Gunkan on the other hand, this is the only place I've had it because other restaurants are sooo pricey! But my first time was an amazing experience. When people told me it's salty but creamy, I couldn't quite figure out what they meant until I had my first bite. If you want to know how that actually tastes like, Genki Sushi would be an awesome starter!

My blogging calendar is way out of schedule, that it even surprises me how I can still upload posts despite the insane timeline, haha! I remember starting off with my Discover Davao series towards the end of November but halfway through the series, I started posting recipes and food discoveries. I apologize for the inconsistenies! I promise to get my shit back together during the Christmas break!

As of this writing, I'm on my last day at work. Last hustle and bustle before I finally end this year, yay! And before I do, I find it apt that I share this before I finally cap the year off, lol. The boyfriend and I visited this Sushi joint a few months back. Right around October if I remember correctly, because it was after we had a 2-week vacation in El Nido. We love Filipino food to death, but once we landed here in Manila, we both just looked at each other and immediately knew that we had to have our Sushi and Sashimi fix! I've been reading all the rave about Ta Ke Ho Me Sushi Stand because of their unbelievably cheap sushi rolls. And since we wanted Japanese food but didn't exactly have the budget (our funds were depleted in El Nido, heh), we decided to give it a go. 

As I type this, I'm already drooling just by looking at the photos. I had to satisfy myself by watching Youtube videos of sushi and sashimi while I still can't go out of the office--ahh, what a torture! Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I had a movie date with my sisters at Cine Adarna in UP. We watched Ang Kwento Nating Dalawa, and I had a minor flashback and recollection. The movie reminded me why I loved film so much, and why I chose to direct a movie in college. When I think about it now, I find it funny because life doesn't really go the way we want it to. I would've wanted to pursue film after graduation if only money wasn't a problem and if only I didn't have any responsibilities with my family, lol. No regrets though, I'm in a good place and I've helped my family since I started working so we good, bruh. 

Moving ooooon, I asked my sister (who's still studying in UP Diliman) if she knew any Japanse restaurant that has Sashimi and she told us we should try ROKU. We got a bit lost on our way to the place because it is located inside a building. More on that as I discuss the place. Let's begin!

THE PLACE

As mentioned earlier, ROKU is located at Oracle Hotel Building. While on our way, Waze told us we've reached our location but we couldn't find it. We decide to move forward a little bit more until Waze recalculated the route and we finally found our way to Oracle. The place was quiet, simple and pretty straightforward. You can choose to be seated at a table or at the counter for a legit Japanese experience! Parking wasn't a hassle as well because we were able to easily find a place for the car. I just think the parking space was a bit small though; we got the last slot so I think we're lucky. But still makes me think how it'll look like when it's packed. Service was okay. The staff was very responsive and our orders did come quite fast. One order though took quite a while. If I remember correctly, it was the ROKU rolls. But other that, everything's all good.