The Japanese temple and Bollywood

As a food columnist, the oft-asked question I get is: “What is your favorite restaurant in Manila?” It’s such a difficult question to answer. Because of my work, I get invited to lovely dinners and lunches (it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!). However, in the end, it’s a little biased because at that moment they put their best foot — and best food forward. I actually enjoy coming unannounced or outside “press” conditions, spending my own hard-earned money in a resto I choose and hope that I’ll be pleasantly surprised or nicely comforted.

Food is so subjective. Restaurants, even more so. There needs to be that balance between cuisine, ambience and service, all factored out into price. There is always that quintessential battle between the high-end and the low-end. It is the same battle in fashion. Being dressed up from head to toe in flashy name brands don’t mean you have style, it means you have money. It’s kind of the same with people eating only in fine-dining places. There are gourmet snobs and there are “gourmands” who eat everything.

The sublime toro is so marbled with fat that it melts in the mouth.

I’ve eaten in so-called gourmet establishments that well, wasn’t worth the time, money or calories. I’ve eaten in small hole-in-the-wall joints where the meal was so fantastic I almost felt like paying more! I’ve been to places where, despite the prices being nosebleed high, I was happy to pay the bill and leave a large tip. I’ve been to places where the food was good, but the staff was either zombies staring out into space lurking in the corner by the bussing table, or the exact opposite where they were so over eager they could make things easier and just pull up a chair to join us. There are places where the dishes were passable, but the service! The oh-so impeccable service.

I guess what I’m saying is that my favorite restaurants are places where I feel like I paid the right price for a good meal. Whether it is P5,000 per head or P150. My preferred eateries are all about good food for what it’s worth. Value for money. To illustrate, I’m sharing two of my top establishments in the metro. You’d be amazed at the diversity of the two, both in food and price.

Sushi Kappo Kobikicho expert sushi chef Shintaro grating some fresh wasabi root on sharkskin

Sushi Kappo Kobikicho has to be hands down, all around, number one place in the city, can I boldly even say in the Philippines? It is a temple for food. It’s an inconspicuous door, beside a blindly neon glowing BDO sign in Legazpi Village. The door opens to a Japanese Alice in Wonderland paradox, void of all fantastical décor, yet the fantasy lies in the precious handmade stoneware and amazing creations the chef’s deft hands prepare.

Take a seat by the sushi bar. Don’t even bother staying in another seat. All the fun is in watching the dance between man and food. I once ate a raw shrimp that was still somewhat twitching on a perfectly formed nigiri mound of rice. It was so sweet, fresh… a true fruit of the sea. A slight stain of soy, that perfect amount of spike from wasabi.

Swagat's papadum masala has a delicate salty crunch topped with onions and tomatoes.

Pure heaven. I never order. I just give them my budget… Omakase. I trust you. I surrender my sense and belly to the destiny of the season. From the strange cockles that you start with tasting like the ocean, to thin slices of toro that were so marbled with fat that it wasn’t pink but the ever-so-faintest tone of blush, just like a baby’s slightly rosy cheeks; to the tiniest cube of a slowly simmered kurobuta pork belly that disintegrates with the gentlest touch of your chopsticks; the slices of matsusaka beef that melted like pure, decadent butter in my mouth only to end with one simple grape. One very large Japanese grape flown in just that morning that burst into the most exquisite flavor I have ever had in a long time. My eyes tear up a bit remembering this fleeting moment. It wasn’t just a grape, it was a wondrous grape with an aroma I have never experienced before. Order some sake and for the brave some soju, offer up some to Shintaro behind the bar and he may just slip you an exotic meat or two. (I may have tried whale here once… but it was so long ago… kind of like a dream.) The water is served in hand-cut crystal glasses, the Murano ashtrays I’ve long wanted to slip one in my bag. The service is impeccable and yet, it never feels stuffy. It’s all for the food. Perfection has a price. At the very least, P3,500 per person. And you have to love simplicity because here, tradition reigns and quality is king. It’s so pricey that the last time I was there was on my birthday. But still… the memory lingers on.

Chicken surprise: The fiery chicken makhanwala makes your mouth water.

On the other hand, another Legazpi village establishment is so dear to my heart: Swagat. Swagat is a small Indian eatery that looks more like a canteen than a restaurant. Plastic placemats, flimsy flatware, simple furniture, and that customary fake plastic single rose atop each table. Not one wall is bare. It is covered in tie-dyed fabrics that run across the ceiling, hanging golden thingies, silver sparkly thingies, colorful beads, and more funky- looking thingies! The waitresses are dressed in saris, and they carry it well. Bollywood videos play on loop on the flat-screen TV that still had the manufacturer’s stickers on it. There’s a charm in all the kitsch that I love. That even my mom in all her glamour also loved! Just thinking of Swagat right now makes my gut crave for that fragrant lemon rice and chicken makhanwala! You see Swagat is the anti-thesis of Sushi Kappo Kobikicho, but the food is just as satisfying! The menu is relatively lengthy but not confusing. It has more or less the same variations on different meats and classic Indian dishes. I always order a fried papadum masala, palak paneer, chicken makhanwala or murgh korma, some raita, and my favorite lemon rice. The beer is cold and the spices are hot! The perfect combination! That crisp lentil wafer has this delicate salty crunch topped with fresh onions and tomatoes that actually whet your appetite instead of killing it. As soon as that bright red makhanwal arrives, my mouth is watering… those are just little chunks of plain old chicken breast but the flavor? The intensity of the heat? Then balanced with the leafy tasting spinach sauce on the creamy cheese pieces and the cold cucumber raita! Blending with those little puffs of bright electric yellow lemon rice, tiny fenugreek and crispy lentil bits popping up for a little crunch here and there. It’s like a scene from an Indian movie where everyone is dancing, including the pretty girl, the villain, the granny on the street corner and the chaiwalla selling tea. It’s strength in diversity! Power in complexity! Nothing is missing! Everything I want is there: taste, heat, texture, aroma, exotica. There’s a Bollywood party in my mouth and I wanna jump up and shout “Jai Ho!” Then I get the bill… just over P600 per person. And when I count all the beers on our table … it was those bottles that caused the price to skyrocket. Oh, by the way, they deliver.

Kitschy but cute interiors of Swagat

In the end, you might find Sushi Kappo Kobikicho pretentious and overpriced. You might also find Swagat a sketchy looking dump. You have every right to choose where you spend your money and for what kind of meal because food is relative. Nonetheless, some things like a perfect piece of toro or a really cold beer with a fabulous spicy curry. Argue all you want, buddy, but that stuff is universal.

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Sushi Kappo Kobikicho is at 150 Legaspi St, Legaspi Village, Makati. Call 752-1280.

Swagat is at 119 Rada St, Legaspi Village, Makati. Call, 752-5669.