It is a rare customary for Japanese restaurants nowadays, especially here in Manila to require customers from removing their shoes before going inside the dining area. So this is already one remarkable aspect of Sekitori that makes it interesting to eat there.
Mr. C can't sit with his legs folded because of his big body built. Thus it was quite a relief for him when we found out that the seemingly low-lying tables come in horigotatsu form wherein the floor is sunken underneath for the guests to have a leg room.
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| The chairs and tables setup. |
Our orders took for about 40 minutes before it got served to us. Good thing we were eating in a group as we were able to do some catching up, or else we could have left the place.
IT'S CHOWTIME!
When our orders got served, we rejoiced in a chorus that finally, our starvation will be put to an end.
Their lunch set contains gozen and teishoku which is, as per research, are a Japanese type of set meal that consists of a main dish, rice, a side dish, pickles, and soup. On their menu, the extras include rice, miso or udon, pickles, vegetable salad and a sliced fruit. The rice is nicely cooked. Others say that their udon is great but for me, it's just OK. The sliced fruit included is sweet watermelon. Mr. C liked it so much that I was surprised to see my share vanished!
Mr. C and I agreed that only one of us will order sashimi so that the other one can have their katsu.
SASHIMI GOZEN (PHP 570)
A combination of mixed sashimi, tempura, udon, salad and watermelon. The sashimi is OK. I loved the thick slices of mackerel. The salmon is good. Uni, my favorite, is there too!
KUROBUTA TONKATSU GOZEN (PHP 600)
Mr. C got interested in this tonkatsu option because it used Japanese Berkshire pork as the pork cutlet. Unlike the ordinary pork cutlet, its meat is tastier and fattier.
TONKATSU GOZEN (PHP 380)
The breading for the pork cutlet is crunchy and lightly seasoned. Perhaps the only unfavorable trait of it is that the cuts are thick.
TORIKARAAGE TEISYOKU (PHP 330)
The torikaraage has a thick breading, one thing that I never liked in a breaded recipe.
My sashimi gozen was served without tempura so we had to wait for a while before it got served to us. What's disappointing was that it took us three follow-ups to get it. What made it worse was that, while our heads were turning every time a waitress approaches the dining area, we were seeing tempura getting served to the tables around us. Out of disappointment, Mr. C couldn't control himself and asked, "Will it be possible if you just deduct the tempura from our bill? We're seeing tempuras getting served to other tables but none for us." The waitress then promised to follow-up, which eventually served the smoking tempura. Good thing the tempura was good but not worth the long wait, though. And that's the long story of tempura. Bow.
WHAT WE LIKED:
- The zaizu seats and shoeless dining are such a wonderful arrangement to set the mood.
- The pickles and sliced watermelon, according to them, are delish.
- The mackerel offered in their sashimi is something new to me.
- Their abundant servings are a perfect timing for our famished tummies!
WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE:
- The service was sluggish. It took a month of Sundays whenever we requested for something, without receiving an apology or ETA from the staff.
WANNA-CHOW-AGAIN METER
The food is gratifying in terms of the serving and quality. The Japanese styled dining room for setting the authentic feels cannot be overlooked. However, the service was disappointing because of its extremely slow pace, probably due to limited staffing. I would still recommend dining at Sekitori because of the food and ambiance. Nevertheless, we don't see ourselves eating here again. Should there be a chance of dropping by Little Tokyo again, it'd be for the other restaurants in that area. Voting this as "Never Again".
SUMO CHAYA SEKITORI, INC.
2277 Little Tokyo Chino Roces Ave.,
Pio Del Pilar, Makati City
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