Dinner at Mangetsu Japanese Fusion Restaurant

When Fran suggested we have dinner with Jin and Paul at the new branch of Mangetsu in Jupiter st. I happily said yes. I’ve eaten at Mangetsu at it’s old location at Mile Long and loved the food but not the place.

The lighting and interiors were a million times better.

They sell sake from P245 to P320 a shot.

Uni or sea urchin is a relatively new discovery for me so I always order it in Japanese restaurants. Mangetsu has a very nice presentation. I think you’re supposed to wrap the uni and cucumber slices in the nori and eat it that way. I was too impatient. A good squeeze of calamansi on the uni and I’m happy.

nama uni sashimi P330

Uni deserves it’s title as foie gras of the sea. It has the same rich, buttery texture that makes me happy. It’s cold, fresh and briny just the way good uni should be.

The chicken was well marinated and fried to a nice crisp. The 3 salts- sansho, green tea & black pepper salts were what gave it that extra special kick.

karaage fried chicken thighs with 3 kinds of salt P380

Spicy tuna sashimi is another new favorite of mine and I’m glad my dinner companions agreed to order this. This version was among the best I’ve eaten in Manila. The spice level was just right and it wasn’t swimming in mayonnaise. I also liked the crunchy tempura batter bits on top for extra crunch.

spicy tuna sashimi P330

The menu described the sauce covering the sea urchin omelet as ‘thick chicken broth sauce’. Since I don’t like eggs I just tried a little piece. Unluckily the omelet I got didn’t contain any sea urchin. I’ll stick to the uni sashimi.

sea urchin omelet P330

The Japanese love cheese and I just love the way they incorporate it into their food. Mangetsu even has a cheese section on their menu. I don’t think any Western chef will ever think of getting a cup of fried rice, drown it in shrimp flavored white sauce and top the whole mess with cheese and broil it until it can be called a gratin.

shrimp rice gratin P450

I don’t eat rice but I couldn’t help but try a spoonful. Wow! It really tasted as good and sinful as it looks. My friends did a good job of eating cleaning the serving dish.

Fran and her hubby Paul were avoiding meat so our only source of protein was tofu. Fried slices of tofu were topped with a thick paste made from red miso. Salty and interesting. I think I prefer agadeshi tofu but they were out of stock.

tofu dengaku P230