A few weeks ago, I met my mentor and closest college friend, Eric, to borrow his law books at Robinson's Place Manila.  We haven't seen each other for a very long time so excited to meet him that I arrived an hour earlier.  So what do foodies do when their bored?  I ate while waiting for him.  Little did I know that he was going to treat me for a dinner at Yakimix Sushi Smokeless Grill Restaurant as soon as he arrived.   Of course, I wouldn't say no to that right?  

P.S. Apologies for the crappy phone photos taken



We were really early for dinner.  It was 6 pm and yet a lot of tables are already reserved.  I haven't been to Yakimix since its soft opening at their first branch in Macapagal a long time ago so I was giddy to try it again especially since its a treat! Yey! =)  By the time we were over around 8 p.m., there was a long line outside so we felt fortunate to arrived ahead of them.
 
The ambiance is luxurious and grand.  The red cushioned seats are comfortable and the aisles are spacious.  Upon being ushered to our seats, we were asked if there's a birthday celebrant.  Too bad it wasn't our birthday so just watched other diners being sang a birthday song. 

Food

Sushi and Maki Station

Sushi and Maki Station

They have a wide array of Sushi and Maki selections.

Salad Station

For the health-conscious there's Salad.

Tempura Shrimp and Tempura Crabstick

A typical popular dish in a buffet is the Tempura Shrimp and Tempura Crabstick.  It's well-monitored and quickly refilled.  A server is even assigned to pour the sauce.

A Filipino favorite is the Pork Sisig and Liempo.

Dimsum Station

There's Beef Ball and Chicken Feet on the Dimsum Station.

Main Dishes

Korean Station

For Korean, they have the typical Ban Chan (side dish) and Chap Chae.
 

Garlic Fried Rice and Plain Rice

Grilling Selections

There are a lot of raw selections composed of seafood (squid, cuttlefish, salmon head, mussels), chicken, beef and mostly pork for grilling.

Sauces

There are also sauces and condiments which you can customize according to your preference.

Pizza and Chocolate Cake

Fresh Fruits and Salads

Ice Cream Toppings

There's also a freezer full of Nestle Ice Cream with a wide selection of toppings. 

Dessert Station

There are Chocolates, Cookies, Cupcakes, Mango Crepe and Turon.  According to Eric, the Cookies should be avoided.

Chilled Dessert Station

What I had

My Appetizer Plate

The Salmon Maki and Tempura Maki was good.  The Tempura Shrimp, Curry Bread and Fried Buns was mediocre.  The Spicy Salmon was filled with fish bones.  The Octopus Slices were so tough that I couldn't bite through!  I even let Eric try some and he said the technique is to gulp it down in whole with a glass of water. XD

My Main Course

I'd suggest skipping these for the grilled selections...

My Grilled Serving

I got the Barbecue Beef which was the only beef selection I saw.  The Spicy Squid is pretty good.  The Chicken is good with sauce.  I got all the Mussels I saw.  Eric was waiting for it to be refilled but that didn't happen so lucky for him I was so kind enough to share.  Also got the Bacon and Quail which was a sinful delight.  Eric was so child-like, he got Mini Hot Dogs and Sausages. 

Pizza

Eric's healthy option is the pizza cause he says there's greens on it.  He apprently liked it as he finished these all by himself.

My Dessert Plate

We were so excited for the Dessert but it turned out to be so-so.  I only liked the Coffee Mouse and the Mango Crepe.  The Blue Lemonade Jelly, Coffee Jelly and Blueberry Cheesecake was tolerable.  The Tiramisu is the saddest one I've had yet.  It was filled with graham crust and condense milk.  Because of our too fun chat, I forgot to get some Ice Cream.

Drinks Station

Drinks were not included in the normal rate so we opted to skip them.

A Personal Note (Skip this if you find it boring!)
On a side note, I just have to recognize how grateful I am to my dear friend.  When we were in college, I was too shy to talk to anyone.  Then on our first accounting subject, I intimidated with our professor Mrs. V and couldn't catch up so I was forced to talk to my seatmates to ask.  Unfortunately, the guy who sat beside me was such a snob!  Fortunately, because of that, I got to meet Eric who was seating next to him. 
Eric is the cool and simple guy-next-door-type.  He'd always comes to school with only his blue pen in his pocket.  The guy rarely brings a bag and never takes notes.  Yet whenever quiz results came, he'd ace them.  I don't know how the guy manages his time back then with school and his love life but he was always there for me.  He was always open to all my questions even in late hours.  He is always ahead in making homework so he let's me "double check" with them.  He'd even go to school on his non-class days just to tutor me. 

Now, he's a promising lawyer-to-be who just took the bar a few months back and is already signed with a leading law firm even though the results are not out yet.  But, he's the same nice guy who'd go from north to south just to lend me his books and even treat me to an extravagant dinner.  Did I mention, he's single right now?  Seriously, I don't get why other girls are too blind to appreciate "nice" guys.  I think smart, cute and nice guys are the best catch. 

I missed all our college reunions cause I didn't think there's something to reminisce but I guess I was wrong.  It was nice to laugh about campus crushes and our professor Mr. M who looked like Mario who made all my female classmates' heart thump.  I also realized through our discussion that we've also grown so much from the passage of time and vast experiences that we now had a deeper perspective about life.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Yakimix Sushi Smokeless Grill Restaurant is a great option for affordable eat all you can grilling and more!  The price is reasonable for an eat all you can dining that is conveniently settled in the malls and other prime areas near you.   I think the selections vary per branch though.  The service is really good so my friend felt generous with the tip.  The servers are very keen on refilling our glasses, getting our empty plates and applying butter on our grill.  They are very polite too. 

Once in awhile, we like many other prefer to enjoy a simple Korean grill.  A perfect option in our area is Makchang Korean Grill.  Unlike its neighbor Doniz Korean Restaurant which I've shared before that offers an extensive Korean menu,  Makchang offers only a dozen items which are mainly grilled.

Seating during peak hours usually have to be assigned by numbers.  You can sat inside their sister establishment "Unlimited Buffet Korean Food Bbq Grill & Shabu-Shabu" while waiting.  But if you can't stand the smokers in such an enclosed area, you can just wait by standing outside watching the staffs burn their charcoal endlessly.


The interiors are downright simple with big round tables that are equip with charcoal grillers and exhaust.  You'll see servers running to and fro to cater to customers necessities.  

Food
Upon being seated, we were supplied with baek kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage), lettuce, raw sweet potatoes, pajori (green onions mixed with chili powder and sesame salad), garlic and doenjang (soy bean paste sauce).  You can eat the sweet potatoes raw which will have a crunchy consistency like singkamas or cook it to make it mushy like fries. 

Complimentary Miso Soup

We were also given our a bowl of Complimentary Miso Soup each.


Makchang has a minimum order rule:

• 1-3 persons: Minimum of 2 orders
• 4-5 persons: Minimum of 3 orders
• 6-7 persons: Minimum of 4 orders

Beef

Kotdungsim (550 php)

For beef we tried the Kotdungsim.  The staff fully assisted in the cooking of each dish. 

Kotdungsim (550 php)

Pork

♥ Pork Galbi (250 php)

The Pork Galbi is a thick marinated pork rib meat. 

♥ Pork Galbi (250 php)

Upon being cooked, it is cut into bite-size pieces.  We loved this!  It as flavorful and tender. 

♥ Samkyupsal (250 php)

The Samkyupsal is the classic unmarinated pork belly slices known to have a fatty layer.  I enjoying eating this with the lettuce, pajori, garlic, baek kimchi and doenjang.

Galmekisal (290 php)

The Galmekisal is pork skirtmeat taken from the portion beneath the ribs and between the pig liver and the midriff. 

Galmekisal (290 php)

This is tougher to chew that the Pork Galbi probably because it is leaner. 


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Makchang Korean Grill Restaurant offers a no fuzz and straight forward menu.  Their prices are very affordable making it a great choice for regular korean grill cravers.  As expected from the price, the meat quality is passable and the blend is nothing special. The service is great as staffs are lively and friendly despite being very busy.

One important lesson my mom has always impart on us is the respect to the elders.  There is always ranking when it comes to age.  So when her eldest brother or my Twa Koo told us to try the Ramen Yushoken, mom said we will.  I guess Twa Koo really liked Ramen Yushoken because after he had a meal there with his golf buddies, he brought home their menu place mat for us to see.  

According to the place mat, Ramen Yushoken's ramen is derived from "Ramen God" Kazuo Yamagishi, who in his 80's, still manages to his Taishoken ramen shop in Tokyo.  He is also the inventor of the tsukemen or dipping ramen.  His successor known as the "son of ramen god", Koji Tashiro, came to train Ramen Yushoken's staff in December 2012.  Ramen champion Hideo Aoyama, known to be have a "golden tongue" with the ability to adapt to any of the 22 known styles in Japan regularly visit Yushoken. 

During the non-working holiday for Barangay election, we took the chance to drive all the way from Manila to Molito Alabang just to try it.  We arrived at around 6 pm.  We were quite happy because we got to park just in front of it.  And, we saw an empty table through the glass window. 

As we entered, I saw them making the gyoza.  So my mind automatically listed that as a must order. 

The staffs explained that we couldn't fit on the table so two of us had to seat on the ramen bar.  We asked why couldn't we just add an extra chair and they reasoned that the other table might not have a wide enough easement to go out.  But, after insisting they allowed it.  We were so excited to dine that we didn't realize who was wearing yellow on the next table.  Oops! That explained everything, I guess.  >.< 

Food
A quote from a movie called "Ramen Girl": "A bowl of ramen is a self-contained universe with life from the sea, the mountains, and the earth. All existing in perfect harmony. Harmony is essential. What holds it all together is the broth. The broth gives life to the ramen."

Tonkotsu Ramen

♥ Shio (320 php)

Mom ordered the Shio which is salt-based to appreciate the basic broth.  Since we went all the way, we ordered all kinds of their Tonkotsu Ramen to try and compare.  Every one agreed that this was the least favorite among the selections.  The texture of the noodles is the best I've tried so far. 

♥ Shoyu (350 php)

The Shoyu which is soy-based won all our vote.  We love the flavorful broth.  It's so good we ordered another one of this.

Tantan-men (380 php)

I ordered the Tantan-men.  The spiciness is just enough to tickle my taste buds.  But, my siblings apparently felt it was too spicy after one spoonful.  The blend of spiciness, nuttiness and meaty flavor makes this a great tantan-men but I still prefer Ukkokei's. 

♥ Miso (380 php)

This is the best Miso I have ever had.  What makes this so special is that they blend 7 different kinds of miso to concoct this masterpiece.  It's not the ordinary sweet miso. 

Tsukemen

♥ Tonkotsu (390 php)

I have to be honest here. None of us are fond of Tsukemen.   But since we wanted to try it out, we ordered just one.  After we found out that the half Aji Tamago (egg) as part of the Tokusei is not available, we settled for the Tonkotsu.  It offers a bolder yet smoother taste than the ramen which we all loved. 


I just had to note that the convenience that their spoon is offering is cool. =D 

Side Dishes/Extras

♥ Gyoza (150 php)

I was totally blow away with a bite of their Gyoza.  The shells are lightly moist and not soggy at all.  And, yet look at how thin and beautifully molded they are.

♥ Gyoza (150 php)

One side is evenly fried to be crisp and dry. 

♥ Gyoza (150 php)

Each Gyoza was plump and juicy!  So far this is the best among the rest I've tried. 

♥ Karaage (210 php)

Crunchy skin plus succulent chicken meat equals a superb Karaage! 

♥ Chahan (220 php)

I rarely rave over Chahan or mixed fried rice.  But, their Chahan deserves it.  So although the ramen gets the highlight, reserve some space for this.

Tsinoy Foodies Other Ramen House/Shop Reviews
Akira Restaurant 
Curry Bee Japanese Curry Shop
Hanamaruken Ramen 花丸轩  
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen
Kitchitora 1 | Kitchitora 2
Kokoro Ramenya
Menya Genki Tonkotsu Ramen
Miso-Ten
Mitsuyado Sei-Men
Moshi Koshi 1 | Moshi Koshi 2
Rai-Rai Ken Ramen House
Ramen Bar
Ramen Cool
Ramen Ichiban-Kan
Ramen Nagi
Ramen Sora
Ramen X (Closed)
Ukkokei Ramen Ron
Wrong Ramen

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Ramen Yushoken offers the best ramen in the country yet!  Its ramen is worth going all the way to Alabang and maybe even further because the other dishes are also exemplary.  I'm so glad the hype and tales about it was true. =D  Better go early because by the time we were finished, there was a long waiting line.