My friend Frannywanny and her hubby Paul now live in Singapore. They come back to Manila from time to time and Jinlovestoeat and I try to meet up with them whenever Fran can fit us in their super tight schedule of non-stop eating and meet ups. Such is the life of an in demand food blogger.
The three of us wracked our brains on thinking where to eat, preferably a place where none of us has eaten. That’s quite a hard feat since Jin has eaten in all the new restaurants Fran and I wanted to try. Fran remembered she had an invitation for her to try Kitso Japanese restaurant at Traders Hotel in Roxas Blvd. and she brought us along. Thank you Fran for bringing us.
I don’t eat raw fish to the dismay of Jin and Fran but I told them I will try all the sashimi at Kitsho and it was the perfect timing since all the fish were extremely fresh and imported. What better time and place to educate me on the wonders of sashimi.
My favorite was the salmon which was firm and wonderfully oily. It had terrific mouthfeel. I was disappointed they didn’t have uni (sea urchin) which I love. There were also a couple of Jin’s favorites not available.
This was the first time I’ve had unagi (eel) sushi and I really liked it. My mom always orders unagi donburi. I like the sushi version more.
The first thing I wanted to order was the uni tempura but they didn’t have stock of uni. I hope they have it when I go back.
I consoled myself by ordering fried oysters. These were imported plump oysters with a thin coating of panko and fried to a golden brown. Delicious!!!
Jin ordered the beef tongue which had good flavor but was on the hard and chewy side which was the way it was supposed to be. Fran and I were just used to the soft, you-don’t-need-to-chew kind of lengua.
I love Shinjuku’s buta kakuni (braised pork belly) so I ordered this one. It lacked flavor and could be softer.
The Japanese chef who spoke excellent Filipino came out and told us about the sources of the ingredients he used. He said most are imported from Japan.
Inah did a lot of ordering on her own which we didn’t know of that’s why we had an over abundance of food. Well, I’m glad she did since everything she ordered were my favorites starting with these grilled King Crab legs from Hokkaido. You can’t imagine the most amazing smell when the small plates of crab legs were placed on our table. An order yielded several plates which was more than enough for the four of us to eat without fighting.
The crab meat was so soft and sweet and grilling added texture and a smokiness that was fantastic.
Inah must have read my mind when she ordered sukiyaki. Their version was a winner with a not so sweet broth and uber tender beef.
My second bowl was more beef and thick, al dente sotanghon (vermicelli) which I loved unlike some other Japanese restaurants which have thin and mushy noodles.
The pièce de résistance was the Hot Pot King Crab. The large platter which fed all of us at least two bowls each plus leftovers was a steal at only P1,800.
The broth was light and so sweet from the king crab legs.
I can’t decide which I liked better the grilled or the boiled crab legs. Both are delicious in their own way but I’m leaning towards the hot pot version.
I always thought king crab legs had little meat but I was wrong. Just take a look at how much crab meat I got from this small piece. If you like crab or seafood then you MUST try this King Crab Hot Pot!!!
Even though I was already so full I still managed to consume two bowls each of my favorite sukiyaki and hot pot.
Inah had this sinful banana dessert.
Jin and I had the matcha ice cream. Dessert goes to another stomach and ice cream doesn’t add to your fullness. The oracle has spoken.
Fran had the strawberry. Paul skipped dessert that’ why he is the skinniest.
You can see from our smiles that we were all very, very happy and very, very full from the delicious lunch. I told my family and friends all about the King Crab Hot Pot and we will definitely be back for more!!
Kitsho menu
Kitsho Japanese Restaurant and Sake Bar
Traders Hotel, Manila
3001 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, 1305, Philippines
telephone: (632)708-4888 ext 2312 or 2313
website
Operating Hours:
Lunch 11.30am – 2.30pm (Tuesday to Sunday)
Dinner 6pm – 10.30pm (Monday to Sunday)
Shoot First Eat Later 
❤ ❤ ❤ see you again SOON!! miss you girls already
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If you’ve flown PAL recently, Chef Mizumoto’s name will probably sound familiar – he’s one of the 6 chefs featured in the revamped inflight menu. I chose the Japanese menu designed by him on a PAL flight to Tokyo earlier this month and thought it was quite good.
Speaking of beef tongue, I first tried the stuff (in the form of gyūtan) on a visit to Sendai last year, at one of the better-known restaurants specialising in the dish. It wasn’t bad, but had a slightly tough side to it that didn’t really win me over (not the fault of the chef, I think that’s just how it’s meant to be). Also, with every bite, I had a hard time ignoring the fact that I was eating a cow’s tongue, which may have coloured my opinion a bit (never had lengua before so not used to chewing on the tongue of anything). Still, if you’re ever in that part of Japan, I’d suggest you give it a go at least once: Sendai’s very famous for it and, as I mentioned, it’s really not bad.
Cheerio.
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If you eat lengua you won’t think it’s tongue at all. The last time I flew Pal in Dec they didn’t have this new menu yet. Maybe it’s just on flights to Japan?
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