To celebrate the triumph of two teammates, Joggernaut and
Titanium, in the quarterly performance awards in the office, we assailed Yabu: House of Katsu in the SM Aura Premier. When the restaurant first opened in
Aura, my excited teammates immediately went there for lunch without waiting for
me to arrive at the office. Luckily, Aura is only a few minutes’ drive from
McKinley Hill, so last Thursday they found themselves again in Yabu -- but this
time, with me!
Honestly, I don’t have any idea with “genuine” katsu; I
haven’t been to Japan and I don’t cook at all, so all that talk about THE REAL
THING just leaves me wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The fact that Yabu brings
authentic katsu to Manila is not the reason why I wanted to eat there—it’s
basically the unlimited rice, unlimited salad and the huge portions of katsu
that attracted me, haha! Sounds incredibly Tokyo Tokyo, but let’s see why Yabu is a
lot more raved about.
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| unlimited miso soup |
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unlimited shredded cabbage -- perfect with the sesame (goma) dressing
|
For instance, Yabu uses only premium ingredients: the best
pork, chicken, and seafood meat wrapped in thin and crispy breading, unlike other
katsu types which are actually just … Breaded Nonsense. They serve thick and
flavorful cutlets of meat—with the Kurobota pork katsu, made of premium meat
from black Berkshire pigs (supposedly the best among the best), being the flagship
product. An array of awesome sauces goes along with the katsu of your choice (I
loved the sesame dressing!). And last but not the least, Yabu gives you the experience
of creating your own katsu sauce: the give you some sesame seeds to grind by
yourself and mix with their special katsu sauce. The sesame seeds smelled
wonderful!
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| Himalayan salt, soy vinaigrette, sesame dressing, katsu sauce |
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| They give you sesame seeds to grind and mix with their special katsu sauce |
I ordered the Katsu Curry Set so that I will be able to try
both the curry sauce and the tonkatsu sauce. The curry sauce was so flavorful, reminding
me of the dishes I have tried when I was in India. Unknown spices and
ingredients frolicked inside my mouth with each bite. I opted for the “Hot”
variant—you can choose if you want the curry sauce “regular” or “very hot”. I absolutely
loved it!
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| Katsu curry set: unlimited rice, Japanese pickles, cabbage salad, miso soup and a bowl of fruit (P350) |
After my second refill of rice, I could hardly move and
breathe. Still, I munched on the cabbage salad left on my bowl because the sesame
sauce was just so good! I also managed to finish two servings of miso soup and
eat the pineapple slices and watermelon that went with the Katsu curry set.
I’d like to think of Yabu as a feast, but no, it’s not just
an ordinary meal but a complete experience. I totally loved the ambiance and
the service, the informative menu, the food—everything about it! It was an
awesome first-time experience for me. And best of all, this superb dinner was for
free! Damn, I can eat Yabu every day!
I hope Joggernaut and Titanium get awards again next quarter!
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| Menchi katsu: minced beef and pork, cheese (P350) |
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| Rosu Katsudon set (P315) |
~*~
For info on Yabu's brances, see their official website: http://yabu.ph.
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