Kitsho Restaurant and Sake Bar: Quality Japanese at Trader's Hotel Manila

Japanese cuisine is one of the most loved in the world.  Thus, whether it is with friends or family, I usually end up exploring more into the Japanese food culture.  

Last week, I got to try Kitsho Restaurant and Sake Bar at Trader's Hotel Manila.  It has a beautiful artificial Cherry blossom tree that brings you happiness when you see it bloom during spring time in Japan.  I believe that is a perfect representation of "Kitsho" which means happiness. 

Kitsho Restaurant and Sake Bar has a serene and harmonious ambiance with its traditional and contemporary Japanese zen interiors.  It has a cozy sake bar and elegant dining areas.  It is headed by Executive Chef Masahiro Mizumoto who trained in Fukuoka, Japan.  Aside from his 27 years of experience, he is also licensed to prepare the Fugu (pufferfish).  It is a licensed that requires at least five years of studying to acquire. (the length of studying period is almost similar to studying medicine huh?)  If you want to order it, please reserve it in advance because they have to ship it from Japan.  

It has a sushi bar and an open kitchen where you can watch chefs delicately doing the food preparation with the freshest ingredients.  

The set up is awfully familiar to me but I can't remember where.  

Food

Sashimi, Sushi and Maki

Sashimi Moriawase (1100 php)

The Sashimi Moriawase is a platter of assorted sashimi: Sake (salmon), Maguro (tuna), Uni (Sea Urchin) and Ika (cuttle fish).  The salmon sashimi is one of the freshest I have ever tasted.  Each item served melts in your mouth.  I especially loved the salmon sashimi because it had a rich natural sweet taste.

Take Nigiri Sushi (850 php)

The Take Nigiri Sushi is a mix of a Sake Sushi (salmon), Hamachi Sushi (young yellow tail), Unagi Sushi (eel), Ebi Sushi (shrimp), Uni sushi, Ikura sushi (salmon roe),Kohada sushi (black spotted sardine) California Maki,  and six pieces of Spicy Tuna Maki.  Of course, the sushi are also at freshest state but I personally prefer eating them as sashimi so I could devour on their natural flavor more.  

California Maki (180 php) and Spicy Tuna Maki (280 php)

Although California Maki and Spicy Tuna Maki were very delicious, they were overshadowed by the big sashimi and sushi platters.

Tempura

Uni Tempura (320 php)

If you want a new twist to the usual Tempura that you eat, I highly recommend you try the Uni Tempura.  The Uni Tempura is soft, creamy and briny uni sandwiched in nori (seaweed) wrappers and coated in light and crispy tempura batter.  

Others

Kaibashira Butter Shoyuyaki Uni Sauce (480 php)

It was my first time to try the Kaibashira Butter Shoyuyaki Uni Sauce.  It was jumbo scallops covered in a uni sauce.  It was my favorite among all the dishes we tried.

Buta Kakuni (350 php)

The Buta Kakuni is Japanese braised pork belly topped with a small amount of karashi (Japanese mustard) and shiraga negi (Japanese Green Onions).  Growing up with a health-conscious upbringing, I am not a fan of this dish.  But, I enjoyed Chef Mizuto's Buta Kakuni because the pork was succulent and the karashi and shiraga negi was a perfect contrast from the oiliness.

Hotaru Ika (280 php)

The Hotaru Ika is trully Chef Mizumoto's masterpiece.  We were told that it took him six hours to prepare this dish.  It was delightful!  It was drowning in sauce and was topped with a form of jelly. Upon biting into the soft firefly squid, it gave a unique popping sensation.  

Chawanmushi (280 php)

The Chawanmushi is steamed egg with seafood topped with Mitsuba (Japanese Parsley).  It is one of my favorite Japanese dishes.  Kitcho's Chawanmushi is the most flavorful and bountiful one I've tried.  It has a lot of seafood in it including a squid ball and an Unagi.

Salmon Tartaryaki (480 php)

The Salmon Tartaryaki is a fusion dish.  It is a salmon topped with a different style of tartar sauce.  It is pretty good!  Everyone loved this dish.

Before proceeding to the dessert, we had the Dobon Mushi.  It was my first time to try this classic Japanese soup.  It was served in a traditional Japanese tea pot with a slice of lemon on top of it.  We were instructed to squeeze the lemon and enjoy. It was a clear light dashi water enhanced by the chicken, fish, mushroom and shrimp contained therein.  I loved this! 

Drinks

Four Season Shake

Desserts

Grilled Banana with Vanilla and Kuromitsu (150 php)

On all my previous entries, you would probably notice that I always order Green Tea Ice Cream whenever available.  But on this occasion, I gladly accepted the Grilled Banana with Vanilla and Kuromitsu that was already prepared for us.  The banana was grilled lightly and topped with Kuromitsu which we commonly know as caramelized sugar, vanilla ice cream and whip cream.  It was pretty good because the banana was light and refreshing.  

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Kitsho Restaurant and Sake Bar offers the Quality Japanese dishes with the freshest and finest ingredients.  The price you pay is justified not just by the ingredients but also with the diligence they put in the food preparation.  They also have affordable bento boxes available.

*Would like to express gratitude and proper credit for the photos provided by purpledoll.net as watermarked.

Tsinoy Foodies Review Rating		Kitsho Menu
Ambiance	★★★★
Taste	★★★★★
Service	★★★★
Price	★★★
♥=Favorites or Recommended

Kitsho Traders Hotel Manila
Business Address	Traders Hotel Manila 3001 Roxas Boulevard,  Pasay City, Metro Manila
Business Hours	Lunch: 11:30am-3am Dinner: 6:00pm-11:00pm
Payment Options	Cash
Service Charge	10%
Budget/Person	400-1,000
Free WiFi	No
Contact
Other

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