Not Our Usual Makis At Red Kimono

If you're tired of your usual maki formula of nori and sushi rice either inside out and rolled in fish roe or enveloping raw tuna or kani, then the event I attended last week was definitely maki in various conoctions. Red Kimono held a contest entitled "My Maki Masterpiece", a contest that marks Red Kimono's 5th birthday. This contest encouraged participants to create their very own maki. They had to think out-of-the-box for other ingredients that could make a maki truly unique. Prior to this event, the participants were required to submit a recipe, photo of the finished maki, and a title. Ten entries were pre-selected and these were the makis we tasted that night.

Food and drinks were overflowing that night as we all gathered to witness the event where these 10 finalists would showcase their Maki recipes. These were judged by six prominent personalities namely Tweetie De Leon-Gonzales, Ricky de Vera, DJ Rob Joseph, Carlos Celdran, Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez, and Ernie Lopez. Host Issa Litton multitasks as being a judge too that night.

Of course it wasn't just them who got a taste of these ten recipes. We also did. Check out some of the favorites:

This three-in-0ne maki stresses how breakfast is an important meal of the day. These three makis contain salted egg, tomatoes, and sardines in one big cluster. Even without soy sauce, these makis are quite flavorful.

This was the crowd favorite, having incorporated kani and aligue on the recipe. I wasn't able to have seconds of these as it got wiped out in an instant. It's very tasty, in fact, and although I'm not much of an aligue fan, I found this maki delicious.

Is that shrimp I see? well I gotta have this Kurtswheel pretty roll, I think!

There were still seven more flavors that kept coming in, most of them taking inspirations from Filipino dishes. I was glad that there were also vegan makiI found the vegan makis quite refreshing and I would recommend them to someone who wants to try maki but is allergic but could take nori.

While on a maki break, Arpee tells me to lay low on the sake. At least this picture got me cheekbones!

The winners of the challenge would have their recipes included in the Red Kimono menu. That too and also Php5,000 cash and Php5,000 gift certificates from Red Kimono. Among the five winners, the grand winner happened to be a dessert maki made of mangoes and sticky rice drizzled in chocolate syrup. It was quite unusual and original to have maki as a dessert. From those who tasted it, they said it reminded them of suman. Suman and chocolate do go together! Looks like I gotta try them soon, but I have to hurry since these are available for a limited time only.

Affordable Sushi Platter? Yes Way!

I just realized that I haven't written for so long here in my food blog more than I do at my makeup blog. Guess I was so neck-deep with work and all that the kitchen and I have very little time to bond. Well, I don't cook for one thing (I'm super basic when it comes to cooking) plus the fact that I'm reinventing my diet since I had a huge bloat problem no thanks but thanks to my new addiction.



Anyway, I've got a lot of free time now so I have more time to work on blogging about food. This time, I actually know about this before but I got to blogging about it just now... after 10+ orders of it. hehehe.



On my way to Mike's I always pass by a stand along Makati that sells really affordable sushi. There's also a branch of it near my place here, so one time, I took down the number. While at Mike's for a shoot, we were expecting quite a number of people and when I mentioned it to him, he decided to give it a try and ordered a bilao this big...

It's bigger than my head! Hahahaha. It's a plateful of maki and kani sushi with a chockful of wasabi. Yummm! And yes, they deliver. Yes, they have a branch in Las Piñas so I could ask them to deliver when I get my Japanese food cravings.

I really love Japanese food, especially sushi and sashimi. I go for the raw food, and during buffets, I usually latch on to these exotic babies rather than the usual rice bowls. I could have those any time but not this. I really take advantage once there's sushi coz they're really expensive and not to mention quite rare. Wasabi's rates are really affordable and they're perfect for office parties, gatherings, or in this case, a photoshoot with 20 people. Boy the crew could really get hungry here. The rice isn't just authentic Japanese rice but the food tastes good nevertheless.

To order, you could call their two branches:

Makati: 703-0795

Las Pinas: 874-6548

For delivery, there is a minimum order requirement, as with all deliveries, but you could call them anyway for to-go orders.

Hi-Tech Dining at Sango!

Restaurants have their own different features to attract customers - organized systems, one-of-a-kind fusion food, something to tame the kids, interiors, the list goes on and on. One burger joint stood out during a resto adventure, not due to the menu but because, it's a high tech restaurant. Although I'm not much of a techie (my computer knowledge is just Photoshop, upload, download, surf, etc, no gigabyte mumbo-jumbo or the like. I'm a girl that way), this resto sure did surprise me.

Sango! had a branch along Milelong in Amorsolo and also a branch at Alabang, near Westgate. But since I came from Mike's at Bel-Air and he had to go to Rockwell for an errand, he dropped me off Shu Uemura for me to visit EJ and have a chat with Ms. Mari then dinnertime at Sango!

Looks like your ordinary fastfood joint? Uhm... not quite. This is Japanese with rice burgers, wasabe burgers, green tea milk shakes, and the like. Of course like any other fast food joint, it had the traditional counter people. Amusing, like an ATM machine. I just hope makeup counters do not have this apparatus or we'll be losing jobs too.

But hey, what's the fun in that when they have an automated touch-screen machine that takes your order, processes it, and even dispenses change when you pay in cash.

Just a note: please get your receipt after or else the next person in line will curse you because when the machine dispenses their receipt, it sorta eats up the paper and the natural, organized trend of movement will be interrupted. Not good.

I kept dinner light with hot dog on a stick and master fries. I'm not a ketchup fan with my hotdog so I opted for mustard. My big surprise too, was the mustard was actually... Wasabi based. Wiiii!

Pikachu and friends do like my master fries too. Fries with chilli and block slices of cheese. The Pokemon book actually came from the mini-library of Manga and Japanese books, along with the usual newspapers. Cute! Sorry boys, I didn't get to see Sailor Moon, maybe in the other branches.

I like the Milk Tea drink too. It tasted natural instead of like coming from the powder packs. Authentic and brewed and good for the lactose intolerant. With me forever pounding pavement and studios by being coerced to teet around in 5-inch stilettos on occassions, I need calcium too. Oh, and it was refreshing. Next time I'll try green tea as well, another drink I've been a fan of.

I just had to take a picture of these controls when I visited the loo. I remember my good friend Lenard, who's currently based in Japan, who told me about their high-tech toilet at home, which controls the toilet seat temperature, water flow, flush, bidet, squirts, stuff like that. Take a look at these controls:

There was no button on the toilet to flush it. all is in that keypad with the controls, and the seat is heated. There's even air circulation control. I don't believe it (expect a long line at the loo here, because I couldn't figure out the controls. Unggoy.)

Prices? definitely reasonable. Alot like Php250 per person on the average, depending on the order you're getting. Maybe next time when I've mastered the controls on the toilet, I'll blog that too, to minimize the long line on the bathroom that I could have created.

Wasabe Wontons?

Do you love wasabe? Then pass by Kimono Ken at Blue Wave and try this:


Wontons with wasabe-mayo dip and side salad (Php 95.00 without rice)

This is seafood-free for those who are allergic to seafood. The wasabe isn't overpowering but it's got the spice factor that sneaks up at you.

You want spice? Try it! For extra spice, grab the chili oil and go and add to your heart's content. Make sure though that the wonton has cooled a bit so you get to enjoy the flavors as well.

My Japanese Fix By The Bay

Being a fan of Japanese food and not having any adverse reaction to seafood unless you say it's sea urchin, which I hardly do eat since it's quite hard to find, whenever I'm in a Japanese restaurant, you guess what I order and it does not come in a big bowl of steaming rice....



I order the sushi/maki/sashimi name it...



So when we got in Rai Rai Ken at Harbor View, I wanted my fix of raw fish but unfortunately their sushi platters are just bank-breaking



I however, found a nice meal for less than 200 bucks






Unless I'm in any mood to splurge with the humongous sushi platter or have someone to split the bill with, this would do. Presenting my new Rai Rai Ken staple - the Salmon-Maki Bento which contains the usual vegetable sidings, rice, 3 pieces of California maki (I already ate one) And salmon teriyaki oh, and iced tea for Php180. Niiiice one since I get my seafood fix, my sushi fix, and it's not too heavy on the stomach or the pocket.

In fact, I still got room for FIC green tea ice cream right after. :)