CARLOS RECOMMENDS!
I THINK I'M TURNING JAPANESE I REALLY THINK SO...
I don't know why I love this restaurant but I do. Perhaps it's because of it's location. Situated right next to Malate Church in the charming Ma. Daniel Building, it's the closest decent place to eat next to the The Living Room besides Chowking and Aristocrat. Owned and operated by Nagoya native Yoshio Kaneko and his Filipina wife, Catherine Chancoco, Ebisu finds me eating in there at least twice a week.
Is the wild carmine orange color scheme and the garden atrium view (above) that attracts me? Or is it the free fruit salad/jelly dessert and the cold towels that I receive before and AFTER the meal that keeps bringing me back? Then again, it could be the tropical rainforest themed bathroom that I like or maybe it could be the food. Truth be told, I'm not sure if the cuisine is authentic but it certainly is different from other Japanese places that I have tried in the past and that's what I enjoy most about the place. Ebisu is the only Japanese restaurant that I've been which serves tempura with the shrimp head still on, that has dinner service pushcart OTSUMAME (or Japanese dimsum as I like to call it), and that serves chunky shaven wasabi (the kind that burns your nose worse than microwaved Colombian cocaine and not the weak electric green pasty stuff we usually get). I also noticed FUGU (raw Blowfish) on the menu. I yet have to try it. So come on downtown, and overlook the cheezy vinyl signage that says "JAPINO FOOD. MURA (CHEAP). MASARAP (DELICIOUS)" and tell me if I have good reason for eating there so often.
EBISU
Ma. Daniel Building
470 San Andres St.
corner MH del Pilar St.
Malate, Manila
Phone: 5218714
Is the wild carmine orange color scheme and the garden atrium view (above) that attracts me? Or is it the free fruit salad/jelly dessert and the cold towels that I receive before and AFTER the meal that keeps bringing me back? Then again, it could be the tropical rainforest themed bathroom that I like or maybe it could be the food. Truth be told, I'm not sure if the cuisine is authentic but it certainly is different from other Japanese places that I have tried in the past and that's what I enjoy most about the place. Ebisu is the only Japanese restaurant that I've been which serves tempura with the shrimp head still on, that has dinner service pushcart OTSUMAME (or Japanese dimsum as I like to call it), and that serves chunky shaven wasabi (the kind that burns your nose worse than microwaved Colombian cocaine and not the weak electric green pasty stuff we usually get). I also noticed FUGU (raw Blowfish) on the menu. I yet have to try it. So come on downtown, and overlook the cheezy vinyl signage that says "JAPINO FOOD. MURA (CHEAP). MASARAP (DELICIOUS)" and tell me if I have good reason for eating there so often.EBISU
Ma. Daniel Building
470 San Andres St.
corner MH del Pilar St.
Malate, Manila
Phone: 5218714
posted by carlosceldran @ 8:30 PM
11 Comments:
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Would you know what time they're open? I'd LOVE to finally get a taste of fugu!
Oh, by any chance, did you see a license there that mentions an authentic fugu cook in the premises? :D
sounds totally delish!!
Ill get the story behind the fugu.
It was just written on the menu. That's all I know...
Lemme research..
Cool blog! Good luck tomorrow!
Be careful when you try fugu! I'd like to try it myself but I'm too chicken to do so.
I've always been on the lookout for an affordable but good Japanese restaurant in Manila. I will definitely check this out. Thanks for the tip!
there's also this good pinoy-japanese resto i know, PINOYDON, it's in magallnes village in makati.
this post has made me curious about the place..i'll try to drop by one of these days...
Ooohh... will definitely check this place out. Your blog has made me curious about it. =D
hi carlos. I tried this place last Saturday cuz I was inspired by YOUR review (that spanky posted in our food yahoogroup.)
Here's what I have to say about it:I decided to post the whole thing for the benefit of those who might wanna know more about the place esp. from a first-hand experience:
EBISU (the tawdry and tasty experience)
I had a wonderful time in Ebisu last weekend~
I finally ignored my friend's dissuasion from trying this place, which
simply “looks so cheap” daw according to his singular logic.
My friend had a much-deserved come-uppance after that night- we
should never judge a restaurant by its paint or signage!
Women hustling and flurrying about ever ready with a gleeful cry of
“hai”, the vivid shining colors of their kimonos, the wooden polished
tables and chairs with their incongruous and gaudy upholstery and the
extremely cluttered way they’re arranged, the dramatic hues of their
red-and-orange bamboo-madness theme looking all the more stark and tawdry under the
bright white lights, the pots of big plants they scattered in the
place probably because their owners wanted to get rid of them - all
these make for an overall tacky and cheesy ambience that should deter
people who are particular and meticulous about appearances.
Sure it looks spanking new and very clean, and if you isolate the
“parts” there are some good things, like the glimpse of the winsome
Japanese rooms for those who want some privacy while kneeling on the
low tables and the quaint musical shell curtains begging to be
tickled, but when combined the effect is something heady and hyper and
totally lacking in beauty. (Although I'm sure the maladroit
"designers" did it all in good faith.)
Superficial judgments aside, the food is slightly at par with Shinjuku
�" and coming for a Shinjuku addict- this is as generous a compliment
as they come.
The prices are a bit cheaper but then the servings are a tad smaller,
too. Their miso soup is quite disappointing- too salty and not
different from your instant ramen broth variety. The rice in their
maki’s isn’t as thick or sticky as the ones in Shinjuku- but at least
they’re tasty and somewhat authentic. I am so used to California maki
having many fillings but their version is a strict and Spartan rice
and mango ONLY.
The P130 chicken teriyaki is so tender, juicy, yummy and tasty, the
sauce tastes lighter and thinner than the ones you usually get from
other Japino restaurant impostors. The serving is so nakakabitin!
The grilled salmon P168 seems a little dry but so soft and delicious
when combined with other foods. The P138 bento seems pretty
insubstantial to me- but that’s probably because I was so hungry when
I ate there. It already has soup, 2 pieces of sushi (mine had crabs
and egg), the “viand” of your choice (it was a VERY DELICIOUS gindara
in my case), macaroni salad, and salted vegetables. The P126 tuna
sashimi was fresh enough and naturally, delicious (tastes the same as
Shinjuku’s but this one is cheaper).Extra rice is P36 and the
watermelon shake was P56.
All in all, THE TOTAl damage for my friend and I is P844 but we were
smacking our lips for a long time afterwards. It’s not a cheap meal, I
say- I was expecting that the total would be a little more than P500
lng. You really can’t help ordering more cuz of the scrumptious and
delectable aftertaste in your mouth crying out for an encore.
ill come back next time ordering only bento and sashimi. I am pretty
sure two people have a gratifying meal there for just P500 with shrewd
plotting. They also have ‘set meals’ or viand and rice for P78 which
shows that they’re sincerely living up to their “MURA (cheap)”
proclamation outside.
Ofcourse it’s nothing compared to the more expensive Sugi or the
high-end Tsumura in Makati- but the fact that there are many Japanese
people eating there should give you a hint of their authenticity.
address:
Ma. Daniel bldg 470 San Andres St., Cor. M.H Del Pilar St., Malate, Manila
tel no. 528-1573
business hours: lunch from 12-1:30
dinner from 7pm-12mn
THANKS SO MUCH FOR WRITING ABOUT IT, CARLOS!
p.s I wrote this for our pinoyfrugalchowhound yahoogroup,hence the emphasis on price and cheapness.
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