Ukiyo Restaurant
6/F Alphaland Southgate Tower
2258 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Edsa, Makati City
+63(2) 310-5253/ +63(917)523-5763
www.ukiyorestaurant.com
One doesn’t usually associate after-work meetings and business gatherings with pleasure—that is, until the Ukiyo Restaurant came along. This newly-opened restaurant welcomes guests with a stunning stone entryway that leads to wooden interiors designed to resemble a traditional Japanese boat and a floating city, complete with walls and eaves reminiscent of the rise and flow of waves. The restaurant’s aesthetic sensibilities are just as impressive as its extensive menu, which boasts of dishes from high-grade beef, rare sushi and sashimi platters, and soba noodles, to a wide selection of shochu and sake that cannot be found in other typical Japanese dining places. Set your meal off to a great start with three of its best appetizers: Toro Maguro (P2,000), a special type of tuna sashimi that’s fresh and cut to perfection, the Alpha Roll (P480), a crunchy, specially-made sushi with mentaiko (roe), cream cheese, cucumber, and Japanese mayo, and the shrimp and scallop platter Botan Ebi (P1,300) and Hotate sashimi (P850).
Taking the word “authentic” to a different level is the Kitayama beef (prices range from P1,400 to P3,000), a juicy and flavorful meat dish that can be cooked according to a customer’s preference. So whether you like it eaten as shabu-shabu, sukiyaki or as steak, Ukiyo’s Nagoyan chef will surely whip up something extraordinary to please your palate. Other notable dishes are the grilled pork or Buta Miso Zukeyaki (P250), shochu-marinated pork, Ukiyo Rafute (P380) and fried chicken with sesame seed sauce, Ukiyo Tebasaki Karaage (P220). Dining with your boss and officemates never looked and tasted this good.
Umu Restaurant
G/F Dusit Thani Manila, Ayala Center, Makati City
+63(2)238-8819
https://dusitthanimanila.dusit.com
Meaning “born of nature,” the Japanese word umu provides the fitting inspiration for Dusit Thani Manila’s premier Japanese restaurant. The bistro’s walls that are decorated with wooden tablets bearing Japanese characters of different types of fish, fittingly contrasted by exquisite floral furniture provide a classy and sophisticated backdrop to complete your dining experience. A choice of Sashimi Gosyumori (P1,190), a selection of five different fish carefully selected by Chef Hiroyuki Fukata, will surely fire up your appetite. Umu Maki, salmon sushi platter with a fine contrast of avocado and cream cheese is a unique and welcome melding of flavors, while the Wafu Steak, a black Angus steak dish in wafu sauce (P680) is the perfect choice for those looking for a tender, flavorful main course. If you can’t decide on which treat to pick, try the Teppanyaki (prices vary), a grilled dish where you can choose to add your own ingredients, with options including squid, scallop, prawn, lobster or beef stir fried with fresh vegetables.
You may choose to dine al fresco or reserve one of Umu’s private rooms for a more intimate setting, while enjoying the chef’s tempting creations. Cap off your meal with any of its refreshing desserts such as the macha (green tea) ice cream (P165), sake kasu ice cream (P360), a sake-flavored ice cream, and its famous mochi ice cream (P275), a mouthwatering rice cake rolled in vanilla ice cream. For a hotel restaurant, the prices aren’t too steep, and even if they are, every peso is definitely worth it!
