Dining Snippets: Kko Kko x Tomo Japanese Restaurant x Yo! Panda
KKO KKO
CHICKEN CHEESE FONDUE (P588/P988)
Ever since Kko Kko first opened in Sapphire Bloc, diners couldn’t stop posting about its Chicken Cheese Fondue. Not only does it provide a fun interactive dining experience, but the fondue set is actually delicious. On its own, there’s nothing spectacular about the cheese (best to still go to trusty Old Swiss Inn for that); and its sides of fries and onion rings aren’t even done well. The sole reason that this dish clicks is because of the restaurant’s new spin on the classic Korean fried chicken. These little wonders are juicy, oozing with flavor, and come in a smacking delectable glaze (we opted for the original flavor, and paired it with the Oh My Garlic! glaze). Dip these in the cheese and you’re simply in heaven!
SNOW CHICKEN IN CHEESE POWDER (P288/P538)
However, not all chicken and cheese combinations work. Its Snow Chicken delivered on the crunch; however, they went a bit overboard with the powder. Unfortunately, the cheese flavoring gave off an odd artificial sweetness that didn’t work well with the fried chicken.
GALBI JIM DOSIRAK (P228)
Since its pioneer branch finds itself in the busy business district, the restaurant serves a range of Dosirak or lunch boxes to cater to employees looking for a quick and hearty working meal. If you have room to spare, make sure to order their Japchae (P128). Kko Kko’s Japchae is saucier than most, but successfully balances the sweetness and saltiness of the noodles.
Kko Kko
North Tower, The Sapphire Bloc Building, Sapphire Road cor Onyx and Garnet St., Ortigas, Pasig City
Date of Visit: January 5, 2017 with Lily Chua, Jem Chua and Kino Mendoza
TOMO JAPANESE RESTAURANT
If you’re looking for a more secluded dining experience, Tomo Japanese Restaurant is a nice fit for you. The menu’s pretty straightforward as it offers classic Japanese favorites; however, as the restaurant’s not partial to a particular theme, options run aplenty as it offers a little bit of everything. We did our best to make sure our orders were representative of the different cooking techniques the kitchen employed.
KAKI CHEESE YAKI (P320)
The Kaki Cheese Yaki was a delightful start of our meal. Oysters bathed in cheese and grilled to perfection? I don’t think you can go wrong with that.
DYNAMITE ROLL (P300)
The Dynamite Roll sounded promising as it featured the killer combination of spicy tuna, fresh salmon, and unagi as its filling. However, upon presentation, the rolls failed to live up to such excitement. What’s worse was that the rolls weren’t compactly rolled; making them susceptible to crumbling into a mess while eating.
SUKIYAKI (P640)
Tomo’s Sukiyaki aimed to give a proportionate balance in terms of ingredients. You have crisp Chinese lettuce and carrot flowers occupying half of the bowl, slices of Chinese mushrooms and a bunch of enoki mushrooms in one quadrant; and slices of tofu, thinly sliced sukiyaki beef, and glass noodles in another. All of these are simmered in a pleasant blend of rice wine and soy sauce. My only complaint in this dish was that the serving bowl was too shallow which made it difficult to scoop from.
GRILLED UNAGI FRIED RICE (P280)
My family decided to indulge a bit and do away with the customary Mixed Fried Rice by opting for the restaurant’s Grilled Unagi Fried Rice. Despite the measly size of its unagi, the fried rice was flavorful on its own. The nice thing about it was that its flavor wasn’t overpowering, allowing it to pair well with the other dishes we ordered. We opted for the Kakiage (P365) tempura from its fried selection; while we each got a stick of the Wagyu Kushiyaki from the skewer selection. The table had mixed reviews on the Kakiage. I actually liked it because of its light crunchy batter; however, my mom and sister think it went overboard with the sweet potato. Fortunately, all of us agreed that the Wagyu Kushiyaki sticks they served were really juicy, and comparable with the Gyu Kushi served by Izakaya Kikufuji! I'm just happy that I don't need to queue up in Little Tokyo to have a bite of these droolworthy cubes!
Tomo Japanese Restaurant
137 Araullo Street, Addition Hills, San Juan
Date of Visit: January 5, 2017 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua, and Jem Chua
YO! PANDA
MANGO CHEESECAKE (P180)
I was never really into the bubble waffle craze, which was why my mom had to drag me to try out Yo! Panda in Megamall. I naturally tend to avoid things that are messy to eat, and one look at these bubble waffles and I knew that we’d end up in a messy disaster. I couldn’t grasp the logistics involved in eating the waffle cup. Are you supposed to scoop the soft serve ice cream first and nibble the waffle edges after? Or should you just attempt to scoop everything (which may trigger an avalanche of ingredients afterwards)? We settled with sharing the Mango Cheesecake variant, and opted for eating it via method number two. It was a struggle to eat as so many mango cubes and cheesecake cubes were sacrificed in the process. However, I’m pleased to say that the struggle was worth enduring. The waffle was surprisingly crunchy, made with batter that’s quite tasty. The winning proponent was definitely the cheesecake pieces.These pieces are quite dense, but they tend to magically melt in your mouth! A must-try for the hot season!
Yo! Panda
4F SM Megamall, Bldg A, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City
Date of Visit: January 14, 2017 with Lily Chua
