For a nice dinner to jump start the week, my little brother from another mother invited me to Kenji Tei in Greenbelt 5.
It wasn’t full when we got there, it was a Monday, after all. We got a nice spot near the kitchen, and we can watch the chefs as they work.
First taste
I haven’t had ramen in a long time so I had to try one of Kenji Tei’s. I got a regular sized miso butter corn – something I have always wanted to try since I read about it in a culinary magazine. MJ ordered their katsudon. He made it his personal mission to try as many katsudon from as many restos as possible.
They serve the katsudon differently from all the other restos. They have the rice in one bowl, then the pork in a separate plate. I thought it was odd, since with donburi, you’d want your meat right on top of steaming rice, with the simmering broth and egg oozing right through the rice. I can’t say for sure why they did it that way, except maybe to differentiate themselves from the others.
I had a bit of the tonkatsu, it was lovely. Very tender, and the saltiness is just how I wanted it.
How about my ramen? Well, it was quite good. That bit of butter on top made it a little more creamy and the corn kernels added a nice crunch and texture to the dish. The broth is very flavorful and the miso does not overpower it. What I loved most about it is the chashu. So tasty and really tender – it just falls apart in my mouth, no need to chew. Haha.
Second visit
Weeks later, Jinbei and I went there for dinner (Bulgogi Brothers had a waiting line, haha).
I was feeling curry that night so I decided to get chicken curry rice — which I regretted almost instantly as I realized I should have ordered katsu curry instead. But it’s OK — as if I needed the extra dose of fats, right? ^_^
The first thing I noticed, it looks like Kenji Tei used curry powder instead of roux. Hardcore? Well, no self-respecting restaurant will probably resort to using curry roux, anyway. 😛
The color of the curry is lighter than the ones I make and I can see a lot of pepper flakes, which led me to the assumption that it was S&B curry powder that went into my dish. It was very nice – a little spicy for me but thankfully, I had a glass of soda waiting beside me. Of course, Jin Cullen just scoffed at me and said it was not spicy at all. OK, you with the almoranas already 🙂
Anyway, if anyone from Kenji Tei is reading this, please do not serve curry rice with the soup scoop for ramen. It is too difficult to eat rice if the scoop is that deep. With curry rice, it’s always a spoon — not chopsticks, not soup scoop.
If you want to try making Japanese curry rice at home, I posted an easy recipe here. Please check it out ^_^
Jin Cullen ordered a large-sized gomoku shio ramen – ramen with salt-based broth and 5 toppings: chashu (tender braised pork), veggies, squid and shrimp. Quite substantial, don’t you think? Since it’s shio ramen, the broth is less salty than shoyu and less intense than miso. Just the way I like it. Still, with my curry rice and this ramen, I was so full and didn’t have space left for a nice dessert. And I had my eyes on their green tea ice cream too!
The search continues
That being said, I am still on the hunt for that elusive king of ramen in Manila. I have already tried lots but nothing has been up to par. Yet.
I have a standard of what I would call topnotch ramen. I ate this at a small mom-and-pop shop at Kaminari in Tokyo, Japan.
It was a really small place, only 4 tables and the entire dining area can fit less than 15 people. Definitely not a place to go to when I want to dine and chat the day away, because apparently, their ramen is quite popular and the place gets customers at all times of the day.
I remember ordering wanton ramen. It was a no-frills ramen. Just wanton and a few veggies in a shio-based broth. It was just perfect. ♥ So perfect that my slurping noises upped a couple of notches on the Decibel scale. Damn, now I am craving again.
I am not sure when I will be back in Japan. But when I do, I hope this ramen house will still be there, waiting to serve me a hot bowl of perfection.
In the meantime, the search is still on for the best ramen in Manila. Any suggestions will be highly appreciated 😀
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Kenji Tei Ramen House
Paranaque: President’s Ave. BF Homes Paranaque
Makati: 3rd floor Greenbelt5
http://www.facebook.com/kenjitei
