At work, I always buy food for lunch. I do not know how to cook, that is why. To be totally honest, I’m really starting to get tired of the same food that we eat. We do not have much food choices nearby our office. So one day, we decided to eat out somewhere.
One of my colleagues’ wife is Japanese. He told us that a restaurant in Makati Creekside Mall serves good authentic Japanese food. Who else do we get advice when it comes to Japanese food but him, right? We were excited!
The name of the restaurant is Mangetsu. I never heard of it but I was looking forward for a great dining experience. According to my colleague, Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant’s lunch boxes are pretty popular. I couldn’t wait to order one!
As we entered Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant, I noticed that it’s very dark. The first thing that came to my mind was, “Gee, this is going to be hard to take pictures!”. hahaha! Anyhow, I was able to take some pictures.
We went straight to the 2nd floor. I immediately checked the menu and started deciding which lunch box set to order. I was really excited as I was starving then. I certainly loved the view because while we await for our orders, we can take a peek at the kitchen through the backseat.
We saw the chef preparing our food. And it made us feel more excited to eat their food!
I noticed that the chef kept cleaning after cooking a single dish. Apparently, Mangetsu uses Ozone Water to clean food. As written in Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant’s menu: “Ozone Water is a sterilizer several hundred times more powerful than conventional chemical treatment (chlorine). It deodorizes, bleaches, preserves food freshness, resolves pesticides and many other profitable effects as secondary effects.”
I also enjoyed the free tea being served. If I guess it correctly, it was rice wine.
We were a group of 10 but all of us ordered Mangetsu’s lunch set. We ordered almost the same thing so even if there were 9 different lunch box sets available that day, I can only share 3 in this post.
Some of my colleagues ordered the ff.:
- Stir-fried Eggplant & Beef (red miso flavor) with Rice & Soup (Php 300)
This set is a unique one. Only one of our colleagues ordered this but I was able to taste it and I kinda liked it! The set includes the eggplant and beef, rice and soup.
Miso, a popular Japanese ingredient was used in this eggplant-beef combination. Miso has 2 types, the red and the white. For this particular dish, red was used. The difference between the 2 types is that white is much sweeter and milder.
This Eggplant-Beef box set can be a great choice but I still loved the one that I ordered [I’ll get to that later. Continue reading on :)].
- Mangetsu Bento Box (Php 420)
Several of my colleagues ordered this. You see, with just Php 420, you get three authentic Japanese dishes! I almost ordered this bento box but I had to order the other best seller. I said to myself though that I’d be ordering this when I get back to Mangetsu next time.
Box 1 – Tuna Sashimi Salad
Box 2 – Potato Salad. Pork Tender Cutlet. Boiled Broccoli.
Box 3 – Deep fried tofu with Beef thickened sauce and rice
My colleague let me try the beef and I must say it was delicious! It didn’t feel oily or buttery thus I didn’t feel much guilt when I sampled Mangetsu’s version of Beef Yakiniku.
Overall, the Mangetsu Bento Box is a must order lunch set when you have a big appetite!
Finally, the most recommended lunch set in Mangetsu was my order. Most of my colleagues ordered the Chicken namban lunch set too! I had high expectations of this dish. I must say that after I tried it, the Chicken Namban didn’t disappoint!
Chicken Namban Rice Bowl with Soup & Salad (Php 350)
The set includes soup…
mini salad…
and of course, the star of the meal — Chicken Namban Rice Bowl.
The chicken was basically fried and seasoned with vinegar and tartar. I’m not a fan of tartar sauce but the combination of ingredients just made me like the dish. The chicken was juicy, the meat was soft and the sauce was just heavenly! Delicious!!!
My colleague was right! Mangetsu is definitely a restaurant to try out if you love Japanese food! Authenticity at its finest. The chefs aren’t Japanese but I heard they were trained by Japanese chefs thus we can’t tell the difference anymore. It’s always nice to have a taste of international cuisine in our own country.
Have you tried Mangetsu?
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Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant
RG4 Makati Creekside Mall, Amorsolo corner V.A. Rufino streets, Legaspi Village, Makati City, Philippines
(02) 894-1553
Hi Roch! What’s the camera you use to take photos of the foods in your blog? Thanks in advance!
I use a Nikon D7000
I use a Nikon D7000
great! now im craving for japanese food :p
great! now im craving for japanese food :p
Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant is being managed by its owner, a Japanese guy who incidentally was the one who trained all the chefs in Mangetsu. You must try also the shrimp rice gratin, an all time favorite, fried rice with sea weeds, cheese risoto, their hot pots though I must say, all the food they serve in that restaurant surpass the others who serve the same, in terms of taste and presentation not to mention the different ceramics they used for different dishes.