Tag: Japanese

My Observations: Have You Tried Okonomiyaki Lately?

My Observations: Have You Tried Okonomiyaki Lately?

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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.

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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.

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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 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.

My Observations: Sigekiya’s Gojira Ramen Is A Monster Meal For Your Belly!

My Observations: Sigekiya’s Gojira Ramen Is A Monster Meal For Your Belly!

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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!

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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 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.

Observation of the first twelve hours Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition

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Very recently I got to play the first twelve hours of Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition on my Xbox One console. As the subtitle showed, this is an enhanced re-release of the game which first came out on Xbox 360 in the year 2008.

This early I can confirm that Bandai Namco delivered its promise on Tales of Veperia: DE as the game’s visuals have been upscaled which means that the anime cut scenes and the in-game cut scenes (cel-shaded polygons and colorful 3D surroundings) look really crisp. More importantly this new version has two additional playable characters with Patty (the little pirate) and Flynn (rival of Yuri).

With Patty and Flynn added, so were the cut scenes and this also meant additional voice-overs, more in-game art and more sound effects altogether. Oh yes, their respective abilities and gameplay features added even more variety to the game’s big mix of features.

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Patty the pirate!

When it comes to the gameplay experience, I should say that this one has proven to be a lot of fun so far. For the first twelve hours the story moved at a moderate to quick pace while still allowing me to get to know Yuri and the main characters, the situations of the fantasy world and how the game plays.

When it comes to battles, they are pretty much low in stress. Unlike most JRPGs, there are no random battles to annoy me as I am given the freedom to decide if I want to fight a group of enemies (portrayed as individuals on the world map) or not. When I need to level up my characters, I engaged in many battles and the good news is that grinding (engaging in back-to-back battles to gain experience points to level up) in this game is not very stressful. Certainly not annoying.

This is because the battles are performed in real-time. Physical combat is done by button mashing which is quick and easy. Using magic uses the menu (which means pausing the game) to select a spell and which character to use. Switching between characters (up to four) is also quick and easy.

I already had my team engage in lots of battles to level-up, help them gain new skills or special abilities and of course raise money (called Gald). The good thing is that I never felt stressed out.

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Battles in the game are fast and relatively convenient to manage. (image from Bandai Namco)

When it comes to storytelling, the game has a wholesome tone comparable with past Tales Of games.

While I still have a long way to go in the game, I can confirm to you gamers and JRPG fans that Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is so far a fun game to play on your modern console. Once I finish the game, I will post a review. When? I don’t really know yet.

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