Shoppingu ya dainingu Yamazaki de

I have been to Little Tokyo several times in the past few years, and i must say they really offer a good variety of Japanese food at very affordable prices. While most are not perfect or excellent, they are still a good buy. But one place in the compound comes through as an affordable and delicious treat, all at once - Yamazaki grocery and Ramen house.

The place faces Makati Cinema Square, and is right beside a Japanese spa. Inside is a very lowly looking grocery, but it is stacked full of everything you will need, Japanese food-wise.

They have sauces, seasoning, frozen seafood, meat and processed food. They also have noodles, drinks (non and alcoholic - they have all of my favorite coffee and juice drinks there) baked products, snack food - you name it, they most likely have it. On the left side of the grocery is the ramen house area, with a smoking and non-smoking section (yey!).

Japanese crepe cake, sliced to bite size. yummy!

The selection of ramen is decently wide, and are priced lower than most other ramen places. They also have other dishes, but they stick mostly to ramen.

I must say, their ramen is comparable to ramen I've tasted in the city. The service is fast, the menu is in Japanese and English (another yey!), and the friendly Filipina waiting staff can actually explain to you the dishes if you ask for it (another yey!). They cater to mostly Japanese clients and the place is very quiet, homey and modest and very, very clean.

the smoking area

menu in english, yey! and the wait staff can explain each dish to you, if you want!

gyoza is crunchy outside and melting delicious inside!

some of the Japanese pocket books they lend to customers

Their ramen is really good, not too oily, ingredients are fresh and serving is large enough

each table is partitioned for privacy. the place is modest and clean

Their customers are mostly Japanese the last time I went, but the grocery has its share of Pinoys like me.

While it may not be comparable to venerable Japanese establishments like Hatsu Hana Tei or Kimpura or Shinjuku, or even Tsumura, it tastes a lot better than most other Ramen shops I've visited. So if you are hungry for some Ramen, but is not open to spending a whole lot but still looking for something worth it, your place is Yamazaki. It's near, it's delicious and it's affordable!

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Healthy shabu-shabu, aren't they all? and the Hat that was never quite white

Our new favorite lunch or dinner place at Alabang town center is Healthy Shabu-Shabu. It has been there for quite some time, at the Cinema wing, but it has just been in the past year that we "discovered" it - i.e., my parents agreed that it is indeed well worth going back to.

Our latest trip to it was about a month ago, just to get away from the searing heat of the weekend.        

So there we were - my parents, I, my sister and brother. We had our fill and we enjoyed the long lunch and chat time, and our free halo halo, japanese style (if ever there ever was, though it tasted good, nonetheless).

fight!

break

burp!

Of course, true to the family spirit of never-ending eating, we had to pass by White Hat for the perfunctory frozen yogurt that has become a default pass-by-before-going-home for everyone in the family. It really is a bottomless pit, when it comes to good food.

nomnomnomnomnom

It was great, and shabu-shabu delivered on its name that it is indeed healthy. So next time you are in Alabang Town Center, check out Healthy Shabu-shabu at the cinema wing. It's cheap (if you order right), filling and fantastic comfort food fit for a family weekend runaround.

my soup doesn't look as nice as it tastes

fish, beef, chicken and pork just rounds it out quite nice

an egg, fresh vegetables and nice oriental balls (LOL) and noodles comes with every order

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Shabu-shabu and the not so fit MINI moniker

I used to just pass by all these shabu shabu for the past years thinking that it really isn't my cup of tea. And for good reason - what decent restaurant will charge you for ingredients that you would cook yourself. I usually don't go out for a meal so that I can cook it. If I wanted that, I would probably just stay home. But a good friend and colleague introduced me to it a couple of years ago. It didn't quite catch on to me, but in the past year, I am starting to get the hang of it for two reasons: they really offer a healthy fare, and I always relish the excitement of eating what you cook up, bad or good. It seems to excite me always.

I actually have two favorite shabu shabu places - healthy shabu-shabu in alabang town center and mini shabu-shabu at bonifacio high street. I always volunteer these places when people start asking where we should eat out.

Now let's start with mini shabu-shabu. This place isn't really mini. Their serving plates are humongous and an order of ingredients is always too much for one person. I don't know where the "Mini" name came from - it just probably stuck when they were starting and they didn't bother to change it. I don't know! ask someone else! If you are ever at Boni High Street wondering where you should go for lunch, this is a good place to park and lounge the afternoon away. They won't push you out even after you're done!

Anyway, here are some pictures from the place care of the visit with my sister and cousin.

the place is quite nice and clean

our initial orders

and then another order

by this time we have over ordered. nobody cares.

yes we've over ordered

my sister even had to order a rice dish

my creation - simply heaven

The prices are reasonable, the food is fresh and really delicious, the place is clean, quiet and not too crowded, even on a weekend. Worth going back to, I would say. On my next post, the Healthy Shabu-shabu at alabang town center.

bigboy promises to get back to you soon with new news! nunus!