Ramen Hunt at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Whenever I go window shopping at F21, I always pass by this Ramen shop called Hokkaido Ramen Santouka which was always full with Japanese customers. This pique my interest since I always believed that you can base the quality of a restaurant by its customers. Ergo if a Japanese Restaurant in Makati is jam packed with Japanese customers, it must be good! So I rounded up the officemates to try it out with me. :)

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka at Glorietta 4

As we were a party of 9, reservations had to be made for their private rooms. Hokkaido Ramen Santouka at Glorietta has 2 VIP rooms that can be booked in advanced. VIP A can fit 6 to 8 people with a consumable charge of Php 3,000 while VIP B can fit 8 to 10 people with consumable charge of Php 4,000, both are exclusive of service charge. The down side of booking their VIP room is, it is only good for only 2 hours. 

The creative team of Carbon Digital

When we arrived, we were immediately assisted to our room and were instructed to use the round device to notify the server that we are ready to make our orders. As we were starving already (it was already around 7pm), in no time we ordered the following:

Small Ramen and Char Siu Rice Bowl set, Php 410

Small Ramen and Chicken Gyoza and Small Rice Bowl set, Php 430

Small Ramen and Curry and Rice Bowl set, Php 430

Small Ramen and Grilled Salmon and Salmon Roe Rice Bowl set, Php 430

Best combination when you want to try Salmon Roe alone! Since the rice bowl is mixed with the grilled salmon, the taste of the roe is not that powerful.

Small Ramen and Santouka Style Chirashi Sushi Bowl set, Php 510

I was looking for a sushi dish in the menu and only found this. Although it didn't have any chunks of tuna, I still love it! 

Small Ramen and Salmon Roe Rice Bowl set, Php 620 

The taste of the salmon roe was so rich, that my friend and colleague, Jess, was sharing her salmon roe with everyone.  

Tokusen Toroniku Ramen with Miso base, Php 490 Large bowl

For dessert, green tea Mochi, Php 90 each

The soup may not be the best in town, however, it succeeded at soothing my ramen cravings for the time being. Two words remain stuck to everyone's mind: "busog" and "sarap" (full and delicious). Next time, I will try their other dishes!     

Tip:

• Go to Hokkaido Ramen Santouka early! It is almost always full after work, so to avoid queuing go there before 6!
• If you are a large group - reserve a room in advance.
• Reservation Time:
• 11:00 - 1:00
• 1:30 - 3:30
• 4:00 - 6:00
• 6:30 - 8:30
• 9:00 - 11:00

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Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Glorietta 4 (side facing SM entrance)

G/F Glorietta 4, Hotel Dr

Ayala Center, Makati

Opening Hour: 11am -11pm

For reservations call: (02) 7281381

Cravings at Maru Korean Restaurant

I have been craving for some samgyupsal since April and by a stroke of luck (or just good timing) there was a good deal being offered by Ensogo Philippines! Maru Korean Restaurant Set Meal for 2 at only Php 488! Although I was a bit skeptical about the deal since I wasn't sure if the restaurant was good or not, I decided to buy a voucher since it was cheap - I figured if the meal was enough we would just order some more.

 Deal from Ensogo Philippines

On the day we were going to redeem our meal, Ensogo philippines website had some technical problems and I wasn't able to print out the voucher (I know I should have printed it out ages ago but I love to procrastinate >.<). I called to confirm my reservations and told them about the situation with Ensogo, they were very understanding and just told me that I could show them mobile screen cap of the voucher when I come. 

My brother and I at the entrance of Maru

When we arrived at the Maru Korean Restuarant in A.Venue beside Kyss bar, we were greeted by a very enthusiastic host who ushered us to our seats immediately. When I informed him about my voucher - he was very courteous and told us to wait for our meal to arrive. We didn't have to wait long before our set meal arrived.

Our Set meal included the following dishes:

ChadolBagi - fat beef sliced into bacon cuts

Doinjang Jjige - soy bean soup with clams and vegetables

Banchan - 7 different side dishes (which was refillable, yey!)

Overall the food was good and the deal was worth it! Will definitely come back here for more!

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Maru Korean Restaurant
A. Venue Makati Branch
A. Venue Mall, Makati Avenue, Poblacion, Makati
contact no. (02) 403 9140/ (+63917) 8064172
Store hours: 11am - 4am