Ramen for the soul

MANILA, Philippines - Roku means six in Japanese. For the beauteous mother-daughter tandem of Sheila and Milka Romero, roku means friendship among the six members of their family.

Because they are big on family love, Sheila says Roku, a sushi and ramen restaurant on the fifth level of their Oracle Hotel along Katipunan in Quezon City, is her family’s bonding place. She and her husband Mikee Romero and their four children are all involved in running the restaurant — from creating the menu to operations, from product sourcing to creating the restaurant’s Facebook page, from bringing in customers to taking their orders.

All six of them have fun running Roku because it is in this restaurant where they can catch up on each other’s activities while slurping the yummiest ramen or “chopsticking” the freshest sushi. (They are so attuned to Roku that long before the restaurant opened last October, the whole family went to Japan to enroll in the Tokyo Sushi Academy.)

Roku, to borrow the words of Hemingway, is a clean, well-lighted place. For the quality of food that the fusion restaurant serves, one would think that it’s steeply priced. “But we make our dishes affordable because many of our customers are students from the area,” says Milka, a fourth-year Management Economics student at the Ateneo de Manila University.  Milka, being the eldest at 20, has been given the role of running the show at Roku.

Sheila is just happy to note that it brings her “so much joy to see my children bond at the restaurant.” It’s a bonus for her to see the happiness on the faces of Roku’s very satisfied customers.

Well, there’s no reason why diners would not develop an addiction to Roku. Take, for example, its to-die-for Roku Miso Ramen with freshly pulled noodles. It’s a shoyu-based ramen with three of four slabs of chasu pork (pork loin), bok choy and egg. This dish is sprinkled with spring onions and slivers of nori. On a rainy day, the Roku Miso Ramen becomes your best friend — it lifts your spirits as it makes your tummy high on good food. It’s ramen for the soul. (It’s also good to mention that no MSG is added to any of the food served at Roku. Ask any of the friendly staff if they add vetsin to their food and they might even tour you around their ultra-hygienic kitchen to show you that no MSG packs can be found at Roku.)

The Shio Seafood Ramen (with clams, mussels, squid and shrimps, bok choy and leeks topped with spring onions) is another testament to good comfort food at Roku. It is so comforting that you find yourself slurping away, the way a real Japanese enjoys his ramen.

But if you opt for Katsucurry Ramen with tonkatsu pork or Gyuniku Ramen with tender beef slices and shiitake mushrooms, I can’t blame you. Those items on the menu are ultra delightful, too. Ditto with Tempura Ramen, Butter Corn Miso Ramen and Chicken Karaage Ramen.  

And now, the sushi. The sushi at Roku is dangerous. Just one bite and you develop madness. Well, hyperbole notwithstanding, try its Firecracker Roll to experience little luscious explosions in your mouth. There’s always that delicious crunch every time your teeth sink into these explosively spicy salmon maki bites.

The Roku Roll will make you roll in delight. It’s kani maki topped with fresh tuna and salmon and drizzled with special Dojo spicy sauce. Each roll is indeed an experience of gustatory rock ’n’ roll.

If it is indeed spicy sushi that you crave for, the Sailboat Roll is perhaps what your taste buds are looking for.  This newest addition to the sushi roll comes with spicy tuna and crunchy wonton.

Other must-try sushi: Krunchy Kani Roll (with deep-fried kani strips), Fuji Roll (with cucumber maki and fresh salmon), S.S. Roll (with salmon skin, fresh salmon and cream cheese maki), Godzilla Roll (with ebi tempura and cucumber maki topped with unagi and drizzled with Roku sauce) and Jalapeño Popper (with jalapeño, cream cheese and salmon maki).

The Salmon Teriyaki at Roku is divine. The Chicken Yakitori is skewered to perfection and the tender meat seems to melt in the mouth.

Every cube of the pan-seared Beef Teppan (with garlic chips served with special teppan sauce) is a taste of heaven on Katipunan. On the other hand, the ponzu sauce showered upon slices of Tuna Teppan is another experience of gastronomic nirvana. 

It wouldn’t be Japanese if there were no donburi or rice bowl meals. I recommend Gyudon (rice bowl topped with tender sukiyaki-cut beef, egg and shiitake mushrooms) for those who have a big appetite. Burp happily after a serving of Gyudon. You’re forgiven.

Once at Roku, it’s a no-no not to end your meal with Milka’s Apple Pie Gyoza. The sumptuousness of the apple pie gyoza at Roku reminds me of this small stall in Tenjinbashisuji Shotengai, the 2.6-kilometer-long shopping district in Osaka, which is famous for its gyoza.

I lined up for my apple gyoza in Osaka for almost an hour. At Roku, to get the same heavenly experience, all I have to do is to tick apple gyoza on the menu, wait for a few minutes, then heaven comes on a small, pitch-black platter. Roku’s velvety apple gyoza is sweetened just right. Just the perfect ending you want to have at Roku.

Roku means six in Japan. On the fifth level of Oracle Hotel along Katipunan, Roku means more than six times the delight one will experience once one dines here.

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E-mail the author at bumbaki@yahoo.com. For reservations, call 352-5780 or 926-7777.