Tokyo Grill: Foodie delights at SM Manila part 2
Japanese cuisine has always been healthy, though they are big in presentation. Their food is meticulously prepared mostly because their tradition dictates it. In the Philippines, japanese food has been quite the status symbol as it has always been known to be the cuisine for both the rich and the learned. Sushi and sashimi used to be very foreign to us back in the 1980s that very few Japanese restaurants have become successful. In the 21st century, a resurgence of health and fitness awareness have seen the booming of Japanese restaurants along with the rest of Southeast Asian cuisine. Pinoys have started craving for the exotic and the healthy. These days Japanese cuisine have become standard fare for the strolling and the dating. Especially the dating, where men who know their sushi tend to impress their date.
Introducing Tokyo Grill, a great Japanese food place in SM Manila that’s got all the good Japanese goodies without the exorbitant prices.The Japanese food here is as authentic as its pricier counterpart Sumo Sam. The only downside is that it is only found in SM Manila. According to the owners, there are plans of bringing this restaurant to other places in the Metro but not anytime soon. So people in the SM Manila periphery will be very happy to know that they are privilege for having access to a restaurant that serves good food at rock-bottom prices.
The Beauty of Japanese Cuisine
One thing I love about Japanese food is that it looks as good as it tastes. It is simple, yet requires a great deal of preparation. Seasonings are mostly soy sauce, vinegar and sometimes Mirin, Japanese cooking wine. With what seems to be a narrow line of seasonings come the most explosive of flavors. Japanese cuisine is essentially healthy because it leverages on the natural savory taste of the ingredients’ freshness. Umami, as they call it, is now considered to be one of the seven basic tastes (also sweet, salty, spicy, sour, metallic and bitter). Thanks mostly to the taste of the supposedly harmful glutamate.
Japanese food is no longer the status symbol it used to be. However, it is still a bastion of culinary perfection in both flavors and presentation. Japanese chefs have raised the bar of perfection in what would normally be dismissed as a temporary respite from the eternity of human hunger and survival. With places like Tokyo Grill, Japanese cuisine is now within reach by more people.