One of the things I should learn whenever I go to a place is to make sure that I walk around and check out all the establishments. If it weren’t for an invitation to try out Izumi, I wouldn’t have discovered it. There are a lot of restaurants in Burgos Circle Taguig but I didn’t realise that there are also restaurants at the side. Good thing I now know about Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant. It was a good discovery considering Izumi serves good food and surprisingly, very cheap!
Reinventing Izumi
After ramen, curry is the most loved food by Japanese people. Knowing this fact, Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant recreated their menu and focused it on curry.
They brought in Chef Him Uy de Baron as consultant. With the famous chef on board, Izumi made four unique curry sauces to pair with different cuts of meat and seafood. Izumi definitely knows that curry holds a special place in the hearts of Japanese cuisine fans. I felt that they made it right considering that it’s a very unique way of using a well-loved ingredient as a theme in a restaurant’s menu.
House Blend Curry Sauce – most neutral, slightly spicy, creamy with hints of ginger and honey.
Spicy Peanut/Pork Curry Sauce – similar to a Tan Tan Men but laced with Curry and Sesame.
Dark Curry Sauce – balanced by the dark chocolate, chili, apples, and three Curry blends.
White Curry Sauce – Japanese Bechamel, with just a hint of curry, it lends itself well to the seafood dishes it’s usually paired with.
I love how they came up with the “Have Your Own Style Curry“. You choose the sauce that will come with your meat. It gives diners variety and flexibility as to how they wanna enjoy their food.
Izumi Ambience
Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant has a cozy ambience and well-designed layout. The bar definitely takes the spotlight with its display of premium sake beautifully arranged. It makes it hard for diners not to order sake with their Japanese curry.
The surprise for me was the private function room at the 2nd floor. I was blown away when I saw the reddish room with a pole in the middle. The place is perfect for bachelor/bachelorette parties or any good ol’ fun parties in general! You have friends who pole dance? He/she can flaunt his/her talents there!
Izumi Food
- Spicy Edamame (Php 185)
Boiled beans sauteed in spicy butter.
I’ve never seen edamame cooked this way. Usually, Japanese restaurants serve this boiled, that’s it. So Izumi’s edamame was a pleasant surprise. There were two orders of this in our table. However, one of which I finished by myself hehehe! 😛 I just love the seasoning! You have to be ready with your alcohol to wash your hands afterwards though.
- Steak and Onion Gyoza with Curry Sauce (Php 110)
crisp dumplings with chicken and mushroom filling on Izumi’s House Curry, topped with strips of nori.
Gyoza in curry sauce?? Yes, it worked! Crispy but at the same time flavorful!
- Umami Pasta (Php 270)
Looks can be deceiving. The pasta might look like that but boy, it was soooooooooo good! The flavors were too rich. Every spoonful of this pasta was heavenly! It must be the bacon! Yes, bacon, cheese and shitake make up Chef Him Uy de Baron’s Umami pasta. This is a must-order!
- Uni Cream Pasta (Php 550)
Another successful dish from Izumi is this seared tuna with Mentaiko pasta. The taste was totally different from umami pasta and I could not pinpoint the ingredients that make them unique. The obvious difference was the tuna. Whatever the secret ingredients are, it worked great. Izumi’s pasta are definitely worth going back to.
- Premium Seafood Furai with White Curry Sauce (Php 350 + Php 60)
Three premium seafood in one savory dish! The premium seafood furai is your dream seafood dish with salmon, soft-shelled crab and scallops. The scallops were just too yummy that I almost forgot that the white curry was there to give it more flavor.
- Japanese Salisbury Steak + Curry Sauce (Php 200 + Php ??)
I love salisbury steak and I usually order that whenever I see it in a restaurant’s menu. Izumi has its own version with of course, curry sauce! We were served two orders of the Japanese Salisbury Steak. One with House Curry Sauce (Php 200 + Php 75) and one with Dark Curry Sauce (Php 200 + Php 90). You can tell the difference just with the sauce. For me, the house curry sauce won!
- Beef Stew Curry + Dark Curry Sauce (Php 370 + Php 90)
How would you feel eating beef stew with dark curry sauce (Dark curry having chocolate in it)? For me, it was nice but I guess, I prefer the old, traditional way of eating beef curry. But that’s just me.
- Kurobota Pork + House Curry Sauce (Php 485 + Php 75)
Tonkatsu is a staple menu in a Japanese restaurant. With curry added to it, you’ll love it more! This dish alone could satisfy your hunger. A complete meal in itself, no need for any appetizer or salad.
It’s rare to see edamame in main dishes but I see that in 80% of the food that we tried out at Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant. Coincidentally, Chef Him Uy de Baron share the same fondness to edamame as me. With edamame in the food, it made me enjoy the meal more. I actually finished one order of spicy edamame by myself LOL!
I’m glad I discovered Izumi because now I know where to go for curry! Plus, I have Izumi to recommend whenever friends need a venue for bachelor or bachelorette party!
——————–
Izumi Sake Bar & Restaurant
29th St. cor. Rizal Drive Forbes Town Center, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Philippines
+63-2-8564090
Leave a Reply