Location:
Ground Floor, North Wing
SM City Cebu, Cebu City
Contact Number: 0922-885-4493

Specialty:
Japanese

Rating:
Nyss – 5/5
Geus - 4/5

FOOD:
When I was younger, I had eaten Beef with Teriyaki sauce at one forgettable restaurant and it tasted so awful that from then on I swore off Japanese food.  The sushi and sashimi I tasted while I was growing up also did not satisfy my palate so until last week, I never tried Japanese food again.

It's a good thing that G is adventurous when it comes to food because had it not been for him, I would not have tried eating in Tempura Japanese Grill.

Since I was apprehensive at eating Japanese food again, I ordered what I considered as a "safe" dish.  I ordered Gyudon.  And can I just say that because of this seemingly simple dish, I no longer and will no longer stay away from Japanese food?  The dish arrived hot – hot enough to cook the raw egg on top of the dish.  As I mixed the food, I can smell the sauce and my stomach started grumbling.  I did not even know I was hungry.  The smell was as appetizing as the taste.  The sauce was rich enough and plenty enough to cover the beef strips and the rice.  The sauce is so good that even without the beef I would've finished the rice.  The beef was tender and there were enough mushroom to make a mushroom monster like me happy.

Gyudon – Rice Topping with thinly sliced beef tenderloin with mushroom, onion leeks, and light sauce with egg on top

G wanted something different so he ordered tofu.  I know that not a lot of people like tofu so I did not expect that the dish would be good.  G also ordered rice to pair with his tofu.

Gomoku Chahan – Fried rice mixed with seafood and meat

Tofu Teppanyaki – Japanese beancurd with fresh mushrooms and diced chicken in teppanyaki sauce

The tofu was a little crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.  There was still an "overflow" of mushroom.  Although the diced chicken was not as plentiful as the mushroom, overall the dish was still very good.  Maybe this is because of the rich teppanyaki sauce.

G's rice tasted like Valenciana – a yellow, sticky rice dish which originated from Spain's famous Paella dish.  I would've wanted the Gomoku Chahan rice to have more flavor but then again the sauce of G's main dish was already very flavorful so there was no need for an equally flavorful rice.

G and I both ordered the Citrus Green Tea which, at only Php 50.00, was already refillable.  I liked it.  Very much.  The green tea flavor was not strong and it was sweet so it was the best companion for the dishes we ordered.

AMBIENCE/SERVICE:
Tempura Japanese Grill's tagline is Leading the way in Japanese Dining Pleasure and they were true to their words.

From the moment we entered, the waiters were attentive.  There was a time though where the waiter forgot to give us our menu but it only took a few seconds for us to call them and ask one from them.  They served the food in less than 10 minutes.  Before we started eating, G took pictures of the food first and a waiter approached us and reminded us that our food is ready.  It was funny but it just showed us that the waiters are really attentive.

Since the restaurant is inside a mall, the ambience is not really impressive.  However, even if the restaurant is crowded, the tables are situated far enough from each other for the customers not to bump into other customers while eating.  Next time, we would try their grilled specialties and get ourselves seated in our of their tables with smokeless grill.

One good thing about this restaurant is it is Filipino owned which makes you proud of the taste of their food and their impeccable service.

PRICE:
Gyodun – Php 174.00
Tofu Teppanyaki – Php 107.00
Gomoku Chahan – Php 49.00
Citrus Green Tea (Refillable) – Php 54.00

VERDICT:
Nyss – I've discovered that Japanese food can actually taste good so I would definitely go back.  How does next week sound?
Geus – My first set of Japanese food (other than Sushi) and I like it very much. Lami!