Entries Tagged 'SM Megamall' ↓

10 Reasons to Visit TENYA in SM Megamall

Preceded by the tonkatsu, curry, and ramen, another Japanese food staple has come to the Philippines – Tenya’s authentic Japanese Tendons!

Having started by Mr. Yoshio Iwashita in 1989 through his first outlet in Yaesu underground mall at Tokyo Station, Tenya has grown to be one of the famous restaurant chains in Japan known for high quality tendon and tempura at a good price.

Their first foray into the Philippine market is a 50-seater restaurant at the bridgeway of SM Megamall‘s 3rd floor. We’ve visited the restaurant and tried some of their dishes 2 weeks ago.

Tenya Restaurant

Tenya Tendon Restaurant in SM Megamall

What is Tenya’s Tendon

Tendon is a culinary tradition from Asakusa, Tokyo which is short for tempura donburi (rice bowl). It is composed of battered, deep fired seafood, meat, or vegetables with Japanese steam rice drizzled with Tenya’s secret donator sauce and served miso soup.
All Star Tendon

All Star Tendon

Here’s NomNom Club‘s 10 flavorful reasons why should visit Tenya as well:

1. Black Tiger Prawns

Tenya uses Black Tiger Prawns (Suahe) raised with sanitary aquaculture practices assuring a sweet, succulent, and juicy product.

2. All Star Tendon (P325)

A bowl of mouthwatering black tiger prawns, squid, salmon, kani stick, green beans and mushroom tempuras perfectly complemented by steaming hot Japanese rice and Tenya’s signature Dontare sauce.

Classic Tempura Teishoku

Classic Tempura Teishoku

3. Infrared Automatic Fryer

Good food nowadays are not just a result of good recipe and cooking, it can get a boost from technology as well. Tenya tempura dishes are cooked using specially developed automatic fryer powered by infrared heat technology for quick and consistently fried tempura.

4. Classic Tempura Teishoku

A Japanese set meal classic. Served with Japanese rice, potato salad, miso soup, tempura sauce, radish, ginger, and pickles.

Isobe Cheese

Isobe Cheese (P 185)

5. Asakusa Special Tendon (P295)

Big succulent black tiger prawns (3) and green beans, battered and deep-fried to perfection with a hint of Tenya’s signature Dontare sauce, served on top of steaming Japanese rice.

6. Isobe Cheese (P185)

Cheddar cheese wrapped in roasted seaweed and tempura fried.

Buta Kimuchi Tendon

Buta Kimuchi Tendon (P295)

7. Buta Kimuchi Tendon

Big slices of perfectly cooked pork belly (3) served with Japanese Kimuchi and authentic steaming hot Japanese rice.

8. All Star Soba

This is like your ALL Star Tendon but with Soba! High quality soba and udon imported from Japan. Served with choice of hot or cold udon or soba., Japanese rice, tempura sauce, radish, leeks, ginger, and noodle soup.

All Star Soba

All Star Soba (although this photo has the Asakusa Special Tendon)

Popsciles & Cheesecake!

Popsciles & Cheesecake!

9. Popsicles & Cheesecakes for Dessert

The photo says it all! 🙂 I was reminded of Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecakes here while the posicles are perfect for summer here in the Philippines.

10. Secret Dontare Sauce

As if Tenya’s tendon is not enough by itself, each tendon is made even more special with their secret dontare sauce.The sweet flavour is a perfect combination for the tempura and rice.
So I hope those Ten Tenya Reasons are good enough to make you salivate and try Tenya Tendon Restauran in SM Megamall soon! 🙂
Kids Meal

They also have a Kid’s Meal with Yakult for your little ones. 🙂

Tenya Restaurant SM Megamall

Tenya Restaurant @ SM Megamall

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Aside from Japan and the Philippines, Tenya Restaurant also operates in Thailand and Indonesia.

KyoChon Redefines Korean Fried Chicken in the Philippines

Surely you have tasted at least one of the more known Korean fried chicken brands in the Philippines. Top of mind may most probably be BonChon, 4Fingers, or even the one from Kogi Bulgogi.

Kyochon Philippines

Kyochon Philippines

But barely 6 weeks in the Philippines, new player Kyochon have been making waves based from both customer reviews and media feedback for its double fried chickenKyochon Chicken. NomNom Club was able to try ’em first hand a few weeks ago.

Kyochon Chicken

Kyochon Original

Kyochon Original

Their star offering, are of course – the Kyochon Chicken. It is offered in four (4) variant series – Original (Kyochon series), Honey (Honey series), Spicy (Red series), and the Soonsal series.

The first variant is a crunchy and crispy chicken with a light taste of garlic and soy which is a good starting point if you’d like to eventually try all four.

Honey Series

Honey Series

The second one is my personal favorite. The honey series is the sweetest among the four because of the honey glaze sauce covering its crispy chicken skin. Did you know that the chicken is marinated for 24 hours in a special seasoning then fried and coated with natural honey sauce?

The third variant is for spicy-chicken lovers. It uses Kyochon’s original hot sauce made from Korea’s hottest red chili peppers. Surprisingly, I liked this as well because its level of spiciness was tolerable and just right for my taste.

Red / Spicy

Red / Spicy

Finally, the Soonsal series is a special rice-battered, boneless and skinless breast-thigh meat. It comes with a choice of 3 dipping sauces. Among the four, I think it’s the KyoChon honey chicken which would click with Filipinos because of it’s sweeter profile.

Soonsal Series

Soonsal Series

Kyochon Philippines Chicken Prices

For WINGS, a ‘small‘ order consists of 5 pcs of chicken and costs P149. The ‘medium‘ order has 10 pcs at P290 while the ‘large‘ order with 20pcs is at P540.

For DRUMSTICK, a ‘small‘ order consists of 2 pcs of chicken and costs P149. The ‘medium‘ order has 4 pcs at P290 while the ‘large‘ order with 8pcs is at P540.

Tip: Cost-wise for both wings and drumsticks, the small and medium orders are similar. You can only save with the large order.

The Soonsal pricing is similar to the drumsticks as indicated above. Other soonsal variant includes Soy Soonsal, Soonsal Ricebowl, and Soonsal Salad.

Kyochon Salad with Blueberry Sauce

Kyochon Salad with Blueberry Sauce

Kyochon Chicken Arrives in the Philippines

Kyochon Chicken Arrives in the Philippines

Kyochon Chicken Sauces

A particular Kyochon difference I noticed from other Korean fired chicken in the market would be its sauces. Kyochon Chicken are more moist and sauce-heavy in the glaze which is a good thing. The Original Kyochon series sauce is a mix of garlic and soy while the Honey series uses real honey. The Red series uses domestically grown red pepper concentrate

Potato Wedges

Potato Wedges

Other Kyochon Dishes

The other Kyochon dishes we were able to try were the salad with blueberry sauce (P120++), wedge potato (P150) and Kimchi Fried Rice (P99).

They also serve Barley, Corn, Green, and Sparkling Tea at P70. The barley tea I was able to try was plain and simple. If you want your drink without the fancy mix, then they’re for you.

They also serve beers like San Mig Light, Pale Pilsen, and Premium SMB at P65.

Perhaps I’d try their Chili Chicken Steak Rice and Galbi Chicken Steak Rice, both priced at P280, in my next visit.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Kimchi Fried Rice

Lastly, I highly recommend KyoChon’s combo meals. They are wallet-friendly considering that it’s a served restaurant and not fast-food:

  • Combo 1 10pcs wings + salad + 2 rice + 2 drinks = P549
  • Combo 2 20pcs wings + salad + 4 rice + 4 drinks = P999
Barley Tea

Barley Tea (right) & Green Tea (left)

Kyochon: From South Korea to the Philippines

Kyochon SM Megamall

Kyochon SM Megamall

Kyochon started in South Korea as early as 1991. With a tagline “Chicken Like You Never Had Before,” Kyochon Korea has established its iconic Kyochon Chicken.

KyoChon Philippines strategically choose to open its first branch in SM Megamall, in particular at building B which houses the newest mall wing – the Mega Fashion Hall. In fact, it was part of the recent Mega Food Tour as curated by top blogger Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet.

Kyochon Industrial Interiors

Kyochon Industrial Interiors

Moreover, SM Megamall is situated at the center of Metro Manila, not too far from Makati, and still considerably reachable from Quezon City.

The Kyochon Promise

Kyochon Philippines Prices

Kyochon Philippines Prices

Kyochon offers three core promises. The first of which is that they offer good dining experience because they “are not fast-food“. This is followed by their commitment to serve only good and healthy chicken. And finally, the use of all natural ingredients so you can be assured that their pickled radish does not contain lacier acetic acid, sodium saccharine, and no MSG.

Kyochon Chicken is double fried with thin batter resulting to a less greasy and light taste made rich with its various sauce. We highly recommend it specially the Honey Chicken.

KyoChon Korean Fried Chicken

The 4 Kyochon Korean Fried Chicken Series

Kyochon Philippines might be a late-comer when compared to its competitors but I think they just elevated the standard for Korean fried chicken in the Philippines. Have you tried Kyochon in SM Megamall? Share with us your feedback and review in the comment section below.

Top 10 Restaurants From My Mega Food Tour

Lugang Cafe Restaurant

Arabian Coffee Maker @Lugang Cafe

16 restaurants, 4 hours, 1 stomach. That in a summary, is how you would describe in numbers the SM Megamall “Mega Food Tour” held the other night at the new wing called Mega Fashion Hall. It almost broke my 18-restaurant- food-tour record back in 2009. 🙂

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