JiPan

Kojiro and I have found a new favorite Japanese restaurant that's accessible, easy on the pocket and serves great-tasting dishes. We've seen it so many times before, passed by it without giving much thought and now we're wondering why we only tried it recently when it was just under our noses.

Jipan is situated at the second floor of Glorietta 4, beside a textile shop and across the G-Shock store. An odd location you might think but on the contrary, it draws the crowd especially during the peak hours. This is probably because of the "open air" seating at the mall corridors. People passing by get to see what the customers are eating. If it looks good, maybe it does taste good.

And yes it does. The owner/manager is a middle-aged Japanese woman and I guess she is the reason for the quality of the dishes as well as the noteworthy service of the limited staff. Kojiro and I have been to the place three times already in just a month!

We sampled other dishes on separate occassions but these were the only ones I got to photograph:

Mabo Tofu Don - 240 Php

The Mabo Tofu Don is made of ground pork, tofu, minced vegetables and spicy sauce on top of Japanese rice. The serving was huge! Good for 2-3 people depending how hungry you are. It had the right balance of flavors, salty-sweet-spicy which goes well with the steamed rice.

Chashu Ramen - 250 Php

After watching non-stop Naruto Shippuuden episodes, Kojiro had the craving for ramen. He ordered the Chashu Ramen and from what I can remember, he counted 12 slices of pork in it! Well the menu did describe it as having "lots of pork slices", such generous serving! The ramen had the right texture -- springy and slightly chewy, the broth was subtly flavored, and the pork slices were also tender. He liked it so much, he orders this every time.

Miso Ramen - 220 Php

The Miso Ramen was also good, with the same springy ramen and marinated chashu slices but with a miso based broth and added ingredients of Chinese cabbage, corn kernels and half of a boiled egg.

Jipan Coffeeshop and Bakery
2/F Glorietta 4
Ayala Center
Makati City

Sentro 1771

L: Bottomless Sago't Gulaman
R: Watermelon Shake

Gindara Escabeche

Garlic Chicken Leg

Sentro1771

2/f Greenbelt 3
Ayala Center

Makati City

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

I've been talking for almost 7 hours per day for four weeks now, all because of training new hires at work. At this point I just want to shut up and let the photos do the talking.

Nestle Pops

Look at what just popped out of the freezer:

Regular container - P99.75

Nestle Pops is the only bite size chocolate covered vanilla ice cream pieces in the market today. Aptly named, I ended popping these into my mouth one after another. The contrast of the crunchy outer shell with the smooth ice cream is addictive. Too bad it melts easily and the direct contact with my fingers doesn't help. Oh well, I guess I just have to eat 'em faster!

Cafe Bola Kamias Shake

Kamias or Bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi) is a common backyard plant in the Philippines that bears sour -- make that acidic, cylindrical fruit in bunches. Back in my childhood, me and my friends would pick the fruits from the tree and eat it with rock salt as a snack. We would laugh at each other's funny sour faces and our teeth would feel funny afterwards because of the acidity. I think that's how I developed my fondness for anything sour. Just thinking about fresh kamias already makes my mouth water!

I have mentioned in a previous post that kamias can be used to make sinigang. Another popular use for it would be as a relish/salsa for fried fish. Just chop it and mix with cooked bagoong (shimp paste) and its ready, tomatoes and onions are optional.

I never thought that kamias could also be used for beverages. In Cafe Bola, kamias shake is served and I have friends who have been raving about it. I was a bit skeptical about it at first, thinking that it's too sour to be made into a shake but I gave in to my curiosity and tried it during my recent visit to the cafe.

Wow! My friends were right all along. The drink was refreshing and not just because it was served cold, but more so because it was a familiar flavor that I never expected to taste from a drink. My tastebuds were tickled with delight by the play of sour, sweet and a hint of saltiness of the beverage. I found a new fave and bid goodbye to the usual soda or boring iced tea.

Cafe Bola
2/F Greenbelt 3
Ayala Center, Makati City