Have you been passing by Japanese restaurants lately? In my experience, I often see people eating noodles or sushi or maki or tempura or a Japanese rice meal whenever I pass by a Japanese restaurant in the Alabang area or in BF Homes’ food strip.
The one particular food that is not too commonly spotted being served is the Okonomiyaki.
This is the Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki as served by Fukuya Japanese Restaurant in Alabang. Below that fancy looking top are the other ingredients.
In case you are wondering, Okonomiyaki is a pan fried food that is made with batter and a variety of ingredients depending on what its type is. The cabbage is often the main ingredient. Its name is roughly translated as “to one’s liking” or “how you like”. With regards to variety or types of Okonomiyaki, the meal is most popular in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Osaka. The Okonomiyaki’s taste varies depending as to what its type is but for the most part it does not carry the sweetness of pancakes. In fact, the Okonomiyaki has more in common with pizza.
At Festival Mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa City is Fukuya Japanese Restaurant which serves not one but two types of Okonomiyaki. For this article, I tried their Hiroshima variant of the meal which is pretty flavorful and in their restaurant customers can watch the chef cook it.
The other ingredients of Fukuya’s Hiroshima Okonomiyaki are noodles and vegetables and some pieces of meat in between.
Fukuya’s Okonomiyaki has a nicely decorated top which is edible and below it are the other ingredients mainly cabbage, noodles and some meat pieces in between.
I noticed that it takes some unique skills to cook Okonomiyaki which can be fun to watch at times. While there are some Japanese restaurants that cook the meal in the kitchen for the customers waiting, there are other restaurants that allow customers cook it themselves.
So, have you eaten Okonomiyaki at a Japanese restaurant lately?
Thank you for reading. If you find this article to be engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book TheWorld of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco.
Looks can be deceiving. Recently I visited Sigekiya Ramen at Commercenter in Alabang for lunch initially wanting the Tsukemen which I enjoy. As I looked on their menu, I noticed one particular ramen I have not tried before – the Gojira Ramen. It was listed on the menu that it was available on small size but the waiter assured me that it comes with a lot of content.
So I ordered it and after about ten minutes waiting, it was served to me at my table. To my surprise, Gojira Ramen was plentiful and all the space of its small-sized bowl was really full!
A closer look at Gojira Ramen.
I took a closer look before consuming it. It had two nice servings of meat, lots of fresh vegetables, the soup and the noodles (located underneath). It took me a while to get through it at first alternating between eating the meat, then the noodles, then the vegetables and the soup. As I went on, I enjoyed it more.
More importantly, it filled my stomach. The small-sized bowl was deceiving to the eye but rest assured, the Gojira Ramen is rich with content and flavor. Do I recommend it? Absolutely!
In case you are wondering what Gojira means, read this – Gojira is actually the Japanese name of Godzilla (the cinematic icon from Japanese cinema). The very first Godzilla movie released in Japan in 1954 was titled Gojira.
If you are looking for a monster meal at Sigekiya Ramen, go for their Gojira Ramen. Meat, vegetables and noodles nicely fixed together to satisfy you.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article to be engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco.
I revisited Parañaque City Hall today to find out if there were any breakthroughs with regards to legalizing/legitimizing the use of electric vehicles for public transportation use within the city.
The result of my visit? NO PROGRESS whatsoever! According to my sources there, NOT EVEN A DRAFT PROPOSAL was made nor submitted by any member of the City Council until now (February 21, 2019).
On November 2018, City Government officials of Las Pinas formally received from the Department of Energy (DOE) one hundred electric tricycle (e-trike) units as a donation and the City’s Electric Tricycle ordinance (approved May 2018) made that possible. (photo source – City of Las Pinas Facebook page)A few of the 100 electric tricycles (e-trikes) donated by the DOE to Las Pinas. (photo source – City of Las Pinas Facebook page)
Going back to Parañaque, which was where I grew up in long ago, it is mind boggling that even though the national government has been heavily pushing for public utility vehicles modernization (or PUV Modernization) using technology that is cleaner, safe, more comfortable and less noisy, the City Government under mayor Edwin Olivarez still has not made any moves to legalize e-vehicles as a viable form of public transportation for the commuters. Safe to say, Parañaque is now behind Las Pinas and Muntinlupa on PUV modernization and commuters have no choice but to ride those noisy, unsafe and air-polluting tricycles and jeepneys.
No political will, no legislation and certainly no PUV modernization.
What is very funny is that mayor Olivarez has posed for pictures with electric vehicles more than once! Look at these pictures I found.
Parañaque’s mayor (7th from left) posing for pictures during the July 2016 launch of the FAILED electric tricycle project of the BF Federation of Homeowner Association, Inc. (BFFHAI), BFCOM and Barangay BF Homes. The project was launched but never went into full operation due to legal and technical problems. Of course, the City had NO ORDINANCE to legitimize such a project. It comes to show that the project handlers failed to do their research on the legality of e-vehicles for public transportation. (photo source – Ecos Efi Facebook page)In April 2017, Parañaque’s mayor (seated at the back) rode a solar-electric tricycle of Star 8 during a demonstration at Parañaque City Hall. It was all just a show. (photo source – Mayor Edwin Olivarez Facebook page)
All that posing in front of photographers. Smiling with guests. Looking handsome. Still no breakthrough!
With the next local election happening on May this year, it remains to be seen if the incumbent City Government officials will do anything to improve public transportation for the many commuters of the city. Those commuters have no choice but to endure the high noise and dirty air when traveling within the city.
If you are a concerned citizen and you want reforms to happen, better write formal letters to the City Council members, the City Administrator (Fernando Ding Soriano), the Vice Mayor (Rico Golez) and the Mayor himself.
Watch out for my next electric vehicles update. I got something significant coming.
Thank you for reading. If you found this article to be engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco.
I want to say that I am a fan of Marvel’s X-Men. Given the long publication history as well as how many creators – most notably Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio – defined and redefined them through the ages, the X-Men for me is the best superhero team comic franchise from Marvel.
Back in 1993, Malibu Comics launched a new line of superhero comic books called the Ultraverse and there I was inside a comic book store along Presidents Avenue, BF Homes, Paranaque one time struggling to decide which of the many Ultraverse launch titles displayed to buy with my very limited budget. As I was very fond of the superhero team dynamics of the X-Men, I bought Freex #1.
Cover of Freex #1.
Written by Gerard Jones with art by Ben Herrera (inked by Mike Christian), Freex #1 introduces Ray/Boomboy (a guy who lived hidden from the public due to his abnormal body), Valerie/Pressure (a very bitter lady who could produce steam or plasma out of sweat), Lewis/Anything (a guy who could reshape his body), Angela/Sweetface (who has several fleshy tentacles from her body) and Michael/Plug (a digital escapee).
The comic book emphasizes the five individuals’ respective struggles with not only their abilities but also with being social outcasts. This eerily parallels Marvel’s X-Men in more ways than one. The big difference is that the Freex do not have a mature adult to guide them nor do they have a large estate to hide and live in. Clearly the Freex are in a desperate situation to survive and realize their destiny.
In terms of storytelling, the pacing is fine and for the most part character development or spotlight was noticeably invested on three of the five Freex which is understandable since the comic book had only twenty-five pages of story and art. In terms of spectacle, there presentation is nice and the action scenes nicely reflect what the characters could do.
Valerie Sharp’s flashback.
Going back to character development, I find Boomboy’s back story to be the most interesting. Due to his rock-like appearance, his family had no choice but to hide him in the basement for an unspecified number of years. Unsurprisingly he became very lonely and he dealt with loneliness by reading a book about a certain literature classic.
Due to his high consumption related to his abnormal condition, Boomboy’s family realized that feeding him was too costly and they found a place where he could be transferred to and receive special care. Thinking that he would end up like a slave at the new place, Boomboy naturally rebels and forcefully leaves the house causing damage.
For the first time, Boomboy explores the suburban exterior while causing people nearby to panic as he looks like some monster to them. The uncertainty for him ended when Lewis meets and welcomes him.
It truly is very hard to be social outcasts.
Very notably, Boomboy claims that “Huck” (actually Anything) saved him and went on to really believe in him.
Being an X-Men fan, I noticed that Freex has some similar themes with Marvel’s superhero team in the sense that there is a group of individuals with special abilities (or abnormalities as some would call them) who are noticeably rejected by members of the local society they live in. Valerie said it correctly: So we are here, right? Living in some locked-up squat, stealing to eat with the cops all over us!
Valerie’s words captured the desperate situation of Freex. They don’t have a mature leader to look up to. They cannot go back to where they came from. They cannot reunite immediately with the people who care for them. They are already rejected by the local authorities.
Overall, I find Freex #1 as engaging as it was when I first read it way back in 1993. It has aged nicely with its fine mix of drama and spectacle composed with a more mature audience in mind. If you are a comic book collector looking for 1990s concepts or if you want something similar to the X-Men or even DC Comics’ Teen Titans, then I recommend this comic book.
It’s too bad that Marvel bought out Malibu Comics and shut them down. As of this writing, Freex and the rest of the Ultraverse characters and concepts are all in limbo and remain unused by Marvel for decades now.
Freex with a stronger superhero look they adapted later in their short-lived comic book series.
Still I can imagine the unlikely scenario that Marvel Studios (under the orders of their parent company the Walt Disney Company) would revive someday the Ultraverse properties in a limited way without cannibalizing their very own superhero properties already in use in movies. I think Freex would make an interesting animated series or as a video game or as action figures. Truly there is still good entertainment potential with Freex similar to the other Ultraverse franchises.
Thank you for reading. If you found this article to be engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco.
Author’s Note: This article was originally published at my old Geeks and Villagers blog. What you read on this website was an updated and expanded version. In other words, this newest version you just read is the most definitive version.
For motorists who have interests in Tahanan Village in Parañaque City, South Metro Manila, Philippines, the Tahanan Homeowners Association, Inc. (THA) has been processing and releasing the 2019 editions of their village vehicular stickers for residents, non-residents and commercial motorists and school bus operators.
This is the THA office sign at the village clubhouse in Tahanan Village. Just enter to apply for vehicular stickers.
The vehicular stickers cost P100 each for residents, P150 for non-residents and P700 for commercial vehicles and school buses when applied for on or before March 31, 2019. Effective April 1, 2019, the rates will be P100 for residents, P300 for non-residents and still P700 for commercial motorists and school bus operators.
To apply, one must secure an application form at the THA office located along Chrysanthemum street inside the village, fill it up, sign an submit the requirements as follows:
If vehicle is under the homeowner’s/applicants’ name: Latest Official Receipt (OR) of the vehicle and the Certificate of Registration (CR) of the vehicle.
If vehicle is not under applicant’s name: The OR and CR plus a notarized Deed of Sale.
If vehicle is under the name of the company: The OR and CR plus a Company Certification under the company letterhead stating that the applicant is the authorized user of the vehicle being applied for a village sticker.
If the vehicle has been recently acquired – no car plates yet: Delivery Receipt from the manufacturer/reseller and Sales Invoice.
For your reference, posted here are scanned images of the application form. Call the THA at 842-5955 and telefax 809-4345. Visit their Facebook page as well.
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this article, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well.
During my recent afternoon visit at Union Jack Tavern at Festival Mall in Alabang, I ordered an Apple Crumble of theirs which is a favorite dessert of mine. However they could not serve it because they ran out of Apple Crumble that day (Sunday) which was served during their Sunday lunch buffet as the dessert.
Then I glanced over their menu to check what other desserts were listed. Out of curiosity, I decided to order their Sticky Toffee Pudding. Around fifteen minutes later, it was served to me by their waitress. I took time out to take a close look at it before consuming it.
Sticky Toffee Pudding is composed of a moist sponge cake, vanilla ice cream and chopped dates which were covered with toffee sauce.
After taking a few pics of it, I decided to take my first scoop of the dessert with the spoon carefully getting a portion of both the cake and ice cream together. The result – a great taste with a satisfying feeling in my mouth! It was really tasty and in terms of sweetness, it felt rich yet not excessive to my taste buds. Anyone who loves toffee or chocolate-like food should try this!
Union Jack Tavern’s Sticky Toffee Pudding. This one cost me P233.50 which includes the 10% service charge. Truly it was worth the price!
Having enjoyed the first bite, I gradually consumed it as I want to enjoy it to the best I could. In between bites, I drank water.
Ultimately, UJT’s Sticky Toffee Pudding is a GREAT dessert to have and it truly is worth its high price (listed at P215 on the menu as of this writing). I felt that the unavailability of Apple Crumble was a blessing in disguise. Had that other dessert been available, I may not have tried Sticky Toffee Pudding.
If you are visiting Alabang in Muntinlupa City, I highly recommend you visit Union Jack Tavern which is located at the lower ground floor of the Expanded Area of Festival Mall. Physically their place is located by the “river” (across Landmark Alabang) and near them is Mesa restaurant.
This is the exterior of Union Jack Tavern at Festival Mall in Alabang. A great place to visit for drinks, meals and fun!
Origin of Sticky Toffee Pudding
While the origin of Sticky Toffee Pudding remains debated, it is likely that the delicacy was created by Francis Coulson at the Sharrow Bay Hotel in Cumbria sometime during the 1970s. Although the exact date of creation is unknown, Coulson reportedly admitted that the recipe might not have been purely his own and that he was inspired by a “sweet woman in Lancashire”. Believe it or not, each member of the staff at Sharrow Bay Hotel signed a secrecy agreement not to reveal the recipe that is kept in the vaults of the place. To this day people are arguing that the the pudding originated in the Lake District or in Aberdeenshire or Scotland (because the Scots love sugar).
Thank you for reading. If you find this article to be engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco.
Today I managed to visit a particular new place in the City of Las Piñas which has been getting some attention lately. It is called Las Piñas Cafe and it is located just steps outside of the main building of City Hall.
Las Piñas Cafe from the outside. It was recently inaugurated by the City Government of Las Piñas led by incumbent Mayor Imelda Aguilar.
Currently operating on one floor, Las Piñas Cafe is a canteen which has a large floor space with many tables and chairs (estimated sitting capacity of at least 80 people) kept cool with air-condition units.
Upon entering the front doors, you will find to the left is selection of meals and drinks where customers can line-up and pay for. There is also another spot of snacks (note: junk food) to choose from.
The self-service counter for meals and drinks.A selection of snacks on display.
Out of curiosity I bought a drink and sat at one of the many chairs across the room to drink and watch. In my observation, the place is pretty comfortable. I would not be surprised that very soon, the place will be occupied by more people (notably City Government employees and visitors) seeking comfort and refreshment.
With the summer season approaching, I can easily imagine a lot of people spending time inside the cafeteria to escape the scorching heat.
According to the City Government of Las Piñas, the Las Piñas Cafe actually had its soft opening last year. The formal and full opening happened very recently which was done by Mayor Imelda “Mel” Aguilar together with her daughter (and running-mate for this May’s election) April, Vice Mayor Louie Bustamante, members of the City Council and heads of varied City Government departments.
The construction of Las Piñas Cafe was described to be part of the mayor’s infrastructure development program.
A view from the far end of the cafeteria.
If you have time to visit City Hall, I suggest visiting their comfortable and cool cafeteria.
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this article, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your project or business, check out my services.
Former Parañaque City Mayor Florencio “Jun” Bernabe turned 71 and he is still in good health.
On the evening of February 5, I attended and observed the big-time birthday party of former Parañaque City Mayor Florencio “Jun” Bernabe who turned 71 and he showed no signs of slowing down.
The party was held at the multi-purpose facilities of Tahanan Village in Parañaque City which attracted some thousands of guests that include villagers (including those from BF Homes subdivision), business owners/managers, politicians, government workers and the like.
The many guests dining and waiting in line for meals and drinks at Tahanan Village.
Bernabe did not just celebrate his birthday. He is also running for Mayor in the May 2019 local elections and this explains why his teammates were present during the party such as his running-mate Jeremy Marquez (former Barangay BF Homes chairman) and the many candidates running for seats in District 1 and District 2 of the City Council of Parañaque.
To put things in perspective for those who are not familiar with Bernabe, he comes from a family that has a long history of public service in the history of Parañaque. Jun Bernabe first entered politics in 1998 and served as City Vice Mayor for six years (1998-2004). Then he served as City Mayor for three straight terms (note: 1 term is 3 years) from 2004 to 2013.
During his time as Mayor, Bernabe launched several city projects that not only helped the development of the city but also did so while following national laws. His administration won several awards and citations that are too many to list down in this post. Unlike recent times, Parañaque under his leadership was found to be very competitive with other cities.
What is most notable is the fact that Mayor Bernabe was named as Outstanding Mayor in 2006 with attention paid to his leadership, fiscal management and administrative style that boosted the locality’s finances through efficient tax collection. That award was won during his first term as mayor and so it was no surprise that he went on to get re-elected to serve the maximum of 3 consecutive terms.
Bernabe with Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos on stage. She supports his bid for Mayor, he supports her bid for Senator.
Back to the birthday party, Ilocos Norte Governor and candidate for Senator Imee Marcos arrived big time and was warmly received by Bernabe and the guests. This was the first I ever saw a Marcos in person. She expressed her support for Bernabe’s candidacy and the mayor returned the favor to support her run for the Philippine Senate. Here in the Philippines, voters nationwide get to vote for candidates for the Senate.
Former Senator Pia Cayetano expressed her admiration for Bernabe.
Shortly after, former Senator (and current Congresswoman) Pia Cayetano arrived at the party and was warmly received. Like Marcos, she expressed her support for Bernabe and expressed her family’s connection with Parañaque. She is running again for Senator this May.
Finally, I can confirm that the party was very lively. Guests reached out to the public servants and some celebrities. The band hired played very lively music and there was a special presentation celebrating Mayor Bernabe’s birthday.
Can Bernabe and his election team win big this May to change the tone at Parañaque City Hall? We will find out soon enough.
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Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this article, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your project or business, check out my services.
On display at the grounds of Parañaque City Hall was this large solar-powered electric tricycle (e-trike). The irony is that Parañaque itself has no law to legitimize electric vehicles for public transportation.
The love and care for the natural environment is often present in the minds of people who manage the city government. Really nobody wants to live in a city filled with scattered garbage, lots of air pollution and poor drainage.
An extension of the care for the environment is the focus on the use of electric vehicles which generate much less noise and much less air pollution. Here in the Southern portion of Metro Manila, the cities of Muntinlupa and Las Pinas respectively have laws that legitimized the use of electric vehicles for public transportation purposes.
This means that commuters can choose to ride a jeepney or a tricycle that runs on electric power whenever they are available in public. When they do ride an e-vehicle, there is much less noise and air pollution created by their ride. Potentially more e-vehicles replacing those gasoline/diesel-burning vehicles can bring down air pollution and improve the quality of air in the city.
Recently the Department of Energy (DOE) donated 150 electric tricycle units to the City of Muntinlupa and 100 electric tricycle units to the City of Las Pinas (which subsequently turned them over to local tricycle operators).
As for the nearby City of Parañaque……ZERO!
Considering the huge population of Parañaque and the City Government’s strong advocacy of environmental care and city cleanliness under the leadership of incumbent mayor Edwin Olivarez, it is weird that nothing has been done to legitimize the use of e-vehicles for public transportation.
I was at Parañaque City Hall on January 23 and during my visit I checked thoroughly with officials there to verify if there is any existing law (or city ordinance) that would make public transportation with electric vehicles happen.
As it turned out, officials confirmed to me that no such ordinance has been approved until now.
What is even more disturbing, as I kept on digging for answers, was the confirmation that there is not even a draft proposal submitted for legislation!
For as long as no city ordinance has been approved to legalize the use of e-vehicles for public transportation, Parañaque’s streets (including those inside villages) will be occupied by fossil fuel-guzzling jeepneys, buses and tricycles that are not only making the air dirty but also remain noisy and even unsafe and uncomfortable (due to outdated vehicular designs) for commuters to ride.
This also means that no village administrator can just establish and fully operate its own line of electric tricycles within the city. Back in 2016 in BF Homes, the BF Federation of Homeowner Associations, Inc. (BFFHAI) launched its line of electric tricycles with mayor Olivarez and vice mayor Rico Golez as special guests. Because they were in Parañaque (which has a huge jurisdiction of BF Homes subdivision) and there was no ordinance to legalize the use of electric vehicles for public transportation within the city, the BFFHAI’s e-trikes were not accepted by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and they were not fully operated. As such, those electric tricycles got wasted and was limited to being parked at the side of the BF Homes clubhouse along Elsie Gatches street. Because pictures of those parked electric tricycles became public viewed, the federation quietly had them removed.
Until now Parañaque remains behind Muntinlupa and Las Pinas when it comes to using technology to improve public transportation and reducing air and noise pollution at the same time. For the past few years, Muntinlupa has electric jeepneys on public roads and some electric tricycles serving villagers. In Las Pinas, the number of electric tricycles serving local communities is slowly growing which is the result of their City Council and Mayor approving the “E-trike Ordinance” (City Ordinance Number 1536-18, Series of 2018) on May 28, 2018. Back to Parañaque, no legislation means no progressive change will happen.
It is notable that Parañaque lost its edge when it comes to city competitiveness nationwide. According to the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index 2018 released during the 6th Regional Competitiveness Summit, Parañaque ranked only #21. Even provincial cities like Bacolod and Naga are way ahead at numbers 9 and 10 respectively. With these mentioned, Parañaqu
After finding out the truth about the lack of a law for the public transportation use of e-vehicles in Parañaque, I walked out of the building and as I moved on further on City Hall grounds, I saw two electric tricycle units (made by Star 8) on display at an environment-oriented exhibit. I pictured the more elaborate e-trike (the one above).
Wow. Think about that. Electric tricycles on display in a city that does not even allow electric vehicles to be used to serve commuters publicly.
Before I forget, let me state that the City Government was celebrating the 18th anniversary of Republic Act Number 9003which is the national law on ecological solid waste management which itself emphasizes care and responsibility of the environment.
Now when will Parañaque’s officials start working to legitimize e-vehicles for public transportation? If you are a certified city resident who wants to see those fuel-burning public utility vehicles be replaced gradually with e-vehicles, consider taking time out to write letters to the city government officials. Even though there is an upcoming democratic exercise in the form of a local election on May 2019, communicating with your officials is still recommended.
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this article, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format.
When it comes to dining at a Japanese restaurant, sushi and maki often interest me. On April of 2016, out of curiosity I tried the ramen of Sigekiya Ramen restaurant located inside Commercenter, Alabang, Muntinlupa City. The ramen was very good with its rich soup, pork servings and most notably freshly made, in-store noodles.
A few months later that same year, I returned to the restaurant and daringly tried something really new to me. Something I never tried before. That was Tsukemen. It was served to me with cold freshly made noodles (with a patch of seaweed and vegetable bits) and a bowl of hot broth that was pretty thick.
So there I was struggling a bit to drip the noodles into the soup and then consume it while using chopsticks (and sometimes the soup spoon provided). The struggle was worth it because the dish really tasted very delicious! The soup was so tasty, I never bothered to add some condiments. The noodles were so fresh and clearly thicker than most noodles, they were very satisfying to eat (pretty chewy) once they got wet with the hot soup. Since then, Tsukemen became my favorite dish to order at Sigekiya Ramen and for some time I’ve been searching for the dish in other Japanese restaurants in Alabang and BF Homes. So far I only saw two other restaurants serving Tsukemen.
What is Tsukemen?
Historically Tsukemen was invented by a Taishoken restaurant owner in Japan identified as Kazuo Yamagishi. At the age of seventeen, he came up with the concept of Tsukemen as a result of seeing a colleague consuming down the noodles after dipping them in a cup that contained soup. At his restaurant, in the year 1961, Yamagishi added Tsukemen to the menus identified as “special morisoba”. The experiment became a commercial success and the rest was history. Yamagishi died in 2015 and so far his contribution to Japanese and global cuisine won’t be fading away anytime soon. Slowly but surely, Tsukemen is making its way to more Japanese restaurants outside of Asia.
How to eat Tsukemen? Use the chopsticks to grab a manageable amount of noodles, slowly dip it into the soup, move them into your mouth then slurp it carefully. If this is too hard, you can use the soup spoon to help you support the noodles.
What you should NOT do when having Tsukemen is mixing the noodles into the soup to make it more like ramen. That’s wrong and improper. There is a good reason why the noodles and soup were served to you separately. Tsukemen is all about dipping the fresh cold noodles into the soup and then consuming it with a unique approach. Do not treat Tsukemen like ramen or like some other noodle soup dish.
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Author Carlo Carrasco 