MALATE MUSINGS AND GOOD AGEDASHI TOFU A couple Saturdays ago, the wife and I found a great new Japanese restaurant while we were strolling around a blessedly pedicab (a form of Philippine made bicycle cab) free Malate. Apparently someone somewhere paid the pedicab drivers Php1,000.00 and a cavan of rice not to ply their trade for the three weeks that the SEA Games were being held. What an idea. It only makes me think: Why can't they pay them do that everyday instead? Find some philanthrophist to foot the bill? Sounds like a bargain to me if only to rid our streets of those terribly designed things. Really. They are bicycles, they are great for the environment, but why are they such a nuisance in this town? Even in less motorized provincial towns, they are still a pain. Yoo hoo! Calling all Philippine designers out there! Redesign the damn thing to make it more pleasing to the eye and beneficial to society. Sigh... But I digress. Ahem. Tanabe is the real thing. Perhaps the best Japanese cuisine available in it's league within the Malate district. It's a step up classwise from DoSanKo on Mh del Pilar and definitely cheaper than Yurakuen at the Manila Diamond or Furusato for that matter. The tuna was red, the tempura wasn't Filipino sweet style and the wasabe was the real thing. The staff was extremely efficient and could even speak a bit of Nipponggo. The smoking section upstairs definitely had a classier feel than the downstairs area so too bad for the non-smokers. But most importantly, there were a lot of Japanese diners. Defitely a good sign when it comes to authenticity.
TANABEAdriatico Circle, Malate. Right beside Cafe Adriatico. For Malate oldtimers, it's the same building as the former Moviola and Racks.
