When we were in Balesin Beach Club we didn’t eat at Sakura by Edo San because my friend didn’t have a good experience there. Luckily he changed his opinion and treated us to the branch at The City Club. Everyone in our big group enjoyed the food so much we ate there for two consecutive Sundays.
The restaurant was quite small so we had to sit outside. They have buffet on weekends.
Chef Edo San is half Japanese and half Filipino. He speaks fluent Filipino.
When I sat down I thought they had a pretty centerpiece until my friend started to eat the buds straight from the stem. I learned that these were stalks of popped rice that tasted just like popcorn. It was so much fun to munch on while waiting for our food to arrive.
If you really need to eat veggies then this salad with seaweed on top is a good option. Honestly I prefer to allocate my tummy’s space to heartier and more unique fare.
Both sashimi were very firm and fresh and reasonably priced.
My most favorite dish in Sakura was the Aburi Uni (sea urchin). I love uni and usually eat in its natural raw state. Chef Edo San topped fresh raw uni with his special sauce which is Japanese mayonnaise based and lightly torched the whole thing. Aburi means lightly grilled. The sweet and creamy uni was made even sweeter and creamier. I could easily eat one order by myself but forced myself to share with the others. Even those who weren’t uni lovers were very impressed with this dish. I highly recommend ordering one per person to avoid cat fights.
The next table pleaser was this makimono abomination called the Edo San Maki. The roll was filled with simple ingredients like eel, cream cheese & avocado. To take it to another level the chef dipped the entire roll in tempura batter and deep fried it to a crisp. If that wasn’t enough he slathered his special sauce (same as the aburi uni) and torched it too. A sprinkling of tobiko and a piece of shrimp completed this massive roll.
All sorts of flavors and textures played in my mouth with every bite of this roll. Be careful not to eat too much. Two pieces and I felt halfway full already.
Valerie, their ultra knowledgable manager suggested we try this papaya filled with 4-5 plump oysters and more special sauce and tobiko. Initially I found the pairing of sweet papaya and oysters strange but once you eat it together you will realize it made sense. The sweetness of the fruit enhanced the natural sweetness of the fresh oysters while the savory, sweet sauce added a little contrast and lots of creaminess.
Their grilled hamachi jaw was perfectly cooked and priced quite low compared to the other restaurants.
The meat in the jaw was extra fine and so soft.
I didn’t try the tempura since I was already stuffed. I only ate the more unique dishes and not the usual Japanese dishes.
Unfortunately the beef was cooked well done. I don’t know if the person who ordered it requested it that way so I can’t blame the kitchen. I did love the small bits of fat cooked until all the fat was rendered and all that’s left were delicious dark brown crispy bits. Those I ate all by myself.
The sukiyaki wasn’t horrible but the beef was a bit tough and I’ve had much better sukiyaki at Kitsho.
I asked Geoffrey how was his ramen and he replied, “Ok lang.”
I love coffee jelly but I found their version too weak with the taste of coffee barely there.
My friends had ice cream with their coffee jelly and I tried the ice cream and wished it was creamier.
There were 18 people in our group for lunch.
The next Sunday we ordered 4 Aburi Uni, the same sashimi and maki plus these new dishes. Spider maki was filled with fried soft shell crab and artfully topped with julienned dried chili which wasn’t very spicy at all.
Jin told me to order the usuyaki and she was absolutely right. Take a thin slice of good quality sirloin beef, fill it with shiitake mushroom and bacon, roll it up and cook it briefly. Top the whole beef pyramid with a generous amount of umami onion steak sauce and you’ve got a fantastic dish that had everyone oohing and aching. You barely need any effort to bite into the buttery soft beef to enjoy the amazing flavors from the whole roll. This dish was umami to the max.
From the teishoko (lunch set) menu my friend ordered the unaju set which was eel on rice served with miso soup and dessert. He said it was good but I found the quantity of eel insufficient for the price.
Nothing special with the chicken and beef teriyaki.
The coffee jelly was cut into cubes this time with a little more coffee flavor but it still wasn’t enough for me.
Currently Sakura by Edo-San is my favorite Japanese restaurant. I already have a list of dishes I want to try next time.
✖ skip it
✔ not bad
✔ ✔ do order with some reservation
✔ ✔ ✔ MUST order
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ IF YOU DON’T ORDER THIS YOU WILL REGRET IT. (or you’d be a fool not to order this)
Buffet is on Saturday lunch and dinner and on Sunday dinner only. Price is P1,100 for adults and P550 for kids.
Do not fret if you don’t know anyone who’s a member of The City Club or Balesin Beach Club. You can still get to try the Aburi Uni, Edo San Maki and Usuyaki at their branch in Alphaland along Edsa in Makati.
Sakura by Ed0-San menu
appetizer, sashimi, nigiri sushi, makimono & temaki, yakimono (grilled dishes), fish head & nimono, mushinomo
tempura & agemono (fried dishes), teppanyaki, hot pot & salad, gohan mono (rice dishes), noodles & ramen
dessert, teishoko (lunch sets)
Sakura by Edo-San
The City Club
4th Floor Alphaland Makati Place
7232 Ayala Avenue Extension, Makati City
telephone: (632)737-0000 local 121 or 0939-522-89-12
6/F Alphaland Southgate Tower, Edsa corner Pasong Tamo, Makati.
telephone: (632)310-5677
Shoot First Eat Later 