Ask anyone here about their favorite cuisine, and more often than not, Japanese tops the list. It’s not hard to see why. It’s diverse, full of choices, and caters to a wide range of palates—whether it’s the comfort of a steaming bowl of ramen, or the grab-and-go ease of handheld onigiri.
On that note, I am reminded of a conversation I once had with a restaurateur—that Japanese restaurants, at least here in the Philippines, try to be many things at once by offering a little bit of everything. Think menus that read like booklets, with 50 or more dishes to choose from.
In doing so, however, they trade focus for variety—a stark difference from restaurants in Japan that master just one specialty.
How so? There are restaurants there that specialize in ramen. Or sushi. Or even just takoyaki. Here though, a Japanese restaurant is often expected to serve all of that, and more. Yes, that may be a cultural thing, and yes, it may work for some brands, both here and abroad. But the appeal of having everything in one place is not lost in a country where dining usually means eating with family, friends, and big groups.
But refining said offerings? That’s where a restaurant truly shines.
New chef, new chapter
From its spot in Makati’s business district, Ginza One is redefining the Japanese dining experience. After establishing its name with a first branch in Bonifacio Global City, the brand has since moved to a more expansive location at the Ecoplaza Building along Chino Roces Avenue.
And with it came the opportunity to create a space that embodies elegance and sophistication, one that feels more like a lobby than a restaurant. Bathed in natural light and surrounded by greenery, the restaurant pairs high ceilings with rich browns and golden accents and tables set far apart for leisurely dining and pockets of intimacy, creating what Pepper Periquet-Guanio—sister of general manager Jay Periquet—calls a “very open lifestyle destination.”
“We’ve reached a point where there are many choices now, so accessibility has become a very big concern. What will compel you to go? Is the restaurant easy to go to? That’s why we decided to move here. It’s more convenient and a more pleasant experience,” she explains.
The redesign and new space, however, are not the only things being celebrated. As general manager Periquet puts it, “Every detail, from the architecture to the service, and most especially the food, reflects the dedication and passion of our entire team.”
As the restaurant celebrates its first anniversary in its new space, guests can expect to partake in well-loved favorites alongside its latest menu offerings—now under the direction of new executive chef Kengo Tomita.
A global twist on Japanese cuisine
Having led kitchens at Amanpulo, Nautilus Resort Maldives, Six Senses Fiji, and the Soneva Group, the Japanese-born chef comes with 30 years of international culinary experience as both executive chef and culinary consultant. He brings to the table what Periquet describes as “bold new offerings that are authentic in spirit and crafted with a modern touch.”
“Countries everywhere have the same menu—sushi, tempura… It’s boring,” Kengo says. “So when I started thinking about a new concept… a more modern Japanese cuisine, I thought of the new theme: ‘neo-washoku’ (the practice of incorporating Western elements into traditional Japanese cuisine, or vice versa). Here, we not only use Japanese techniques, [but we also] focus on the global touch, sometimes Spanish, sometimes Filipino, sometimes totally Japanese.”
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Ginza One’s anniversary menu
The anniversary menu started with a trifecta of appetizers: the Okonomi Potato, a refined take on okonomiyaki (a Japanese pancake) featuring potato cubes, drizzled with sour-sweet okonomiyaki sauce and topped with savory, aromatic bonito flakes; bites of crunchy unagi tostada with a smear of creamy, spicy Japanese wasabi tartare; and crunchy Japanese green soybeans tossed in a savory anchovy sauce.
Next up was a series of dishes that elevated Japanese favorites. The ebi fritas, described as “a modern-day tempura,” features the familiar crunchy-on-the-outside golden yellow battered shrimp but resembling more of the Western-style shrimp poppers, paired with a shichimi cream dip (a mildly spicy reddish orange sauce made from a Japanese spice mix, akin to a sriracha mayo) instead of the usual soy-based tempura sauce.
The kani salad takes on the form of a garden salad, with more elements. Think greens, fried tofu skin, and seasonal fruit but still maintaining the same familiar crabstick, tobiko roe, and creamy mayonnaise (used sparingly) to keep the salad light.
The mains naturally are the highlights of the new menu. The aburi hamachi crudo (by far my absolute favorite) takes on a Japanese-style ceviche with lightly-torched amberjack sitting in a bed of sour-sweet citrus ponzu sauce for that bright flash of acidity. Delicately-placed bits of tobiko roe go on top, and each bite is light, clean, and full of bright flavor. Another seafood dish to keep your eye on is the salmon mentaiko yaki. This broiled salmon fillet sits on a creamy mentaiko cream sauce, and is flanked by crispy mushroom tempura on the side. The contrast of soft, meaty fish, velvety sauce, and crisp tempura makes for a dish that sounds indulgent yet feels comforting and mellow.
But according to Periquet, the new Ginza One experience is not complete without feasting on the unagi donabe—a clay pot rice made with slow-cooked soft Japanese rice, slivers of grilled eel, tamago egg slivers resembling noodles, and a house-made kabayaki sauce. All this is cooked tableside, an immersive experience that proves that good things come to those who wait.
“At the beginning of your meal, it’s cooking and simmering, so it’s really fresh. It’s something like a show that gives an added experience for our diners,” says Periquet-Guanio.
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The meal ended on a sweet note, with a yuzu sherbet served in a yuzu, no less. Sweeter than a lemon but sharper than an orange, yuzu is a fruit that has been woven into many Japanese desserts and dishes. But in this creamy, ice cream-like dessert, the spotlight is on its citrusy brightness, which allows for a delicate balance of sweetness and tanginess to shine through a cream base.
It refreshes like a palate cleanser, but lingers like a promise—a finale that doubles as a fresh start for a fresh concept.
