Japan Fudo Street: A Food Hall for any Japanese Craving
SASHIMI PLATTER (P540)
Vertis North capitalizes on the Filipino’s penchant for Japanese cuisine by dedicating an entire wing of the mall exclusively for Japanese restaurants and dessert stalls. A similar concept is in the works for a ‘Korean Town’; however, this has yet to be fully operational.
Going back to this Japan-centric wing, you can find growing franchises Botejyu and Tsujiri as some of its purveyors. However, what made me excited about this whole wing was Japan Fudo Street, a Japanese food hall in itself, situated at the far end of this Japanese food wing.
TAKOYAKI (P225)
This food hall evokes the vibe of Asian food night markets with stalls lined up next to each other; and with communal dining spaces for hungry patrons. However, it offers a single menu for all its concepts, and a full-service sit down dining experience.
Its menu is jampacked with endless choices for sashimi, sushi, tempura, teppanyaki, ramen, and yakitori; so to simplify matters, we just decided to get at least one item for each menu section.
UNI (P220)
We started with an order of their Sashimi Platter and an ala carte order of their Uni. I was really happy with how vibrant the colors of the sashimi slices were; unfortunately, they did not taste fresh at all. After a bite of their salmon sashimi, I opted to skip on the entire platter (save for the uni) for fear of having stomach problems afterwards. On the other hand, the Uni was splendid. We didn’t really mind that we unintentionally ordered it twice since the uni was fresh and a delight to eat.
CHICKEN THIGH (P60/stick) and BEEF CUBES (P180/stick)
Over to the yakitori selection, we each opted for a skewer of Chicken Thigh and Beef Cubes. The chicken thigh pieces were in want of a dip to pair with it; but the beef cubes were perfectly juicy.
ORIGINAL GYOZA (P160)
Our family’s a huge fan of dumplings so we quickly gobbled up two orders of the Original Gyoza. Theirs come at a reasonable price considering that each potsticker was stuffed with juicy meat and boasted of crisp edges. On the other hand, the Takoyaki was disappointing. Not only did the dish come at a steeper price, but the famous Japanese street food was also served cold, hard, and bland. Biting through it was a chore as it seemed that the overly battered takoyaki was mostly stuffed with fillers instead of octopus pieces. It’s still best to get your takoyaki fix over at Kraken Takoyaki.
TOFU STEAK (P210)
I had mixed feelings about the Tofu Steak. Although the silky tofu discs came with perfectly crisp batter, the sauce-to-tofu ratio was simply not enough. Sure, they topped the tofu with a handful of marinated ground pork and sliced mushrooms; but these weren't enough to save the dish from being bland.
The same can be said for its Yakisoba (P255). It seemed to have all the ingredients needed to make this famous Japanese comfort food; but it simply failed to be executed well. Again, the dish grossly lacked in sauce which made the noodles taste lifeless.
EBI TEMPURA (P385)
Despite a string of misses, there are still a number of gems to watch out for in Japan Fudo Street. Their take on the Seafood Kakiage (P270) may be underwhelming; but their Ebi Tempura was quite impressive. The perfect amount of light and crisp batter surround the shrimp, giving it that characteristic crunch we’re all looking forward to experience whenever we eat tempura.
Overall, I find the concept behind Japan Fudo Street genius as it offers a wide selection of Japanese favorites at reasonable prices. However, the food’s too mediocre to merit a second visit.
Japan Fudo Street
4F Ayala Malls Vertis North, Triangle Exchange, North Avenue, QC
Date of Visit: May 14, 2018 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua, Jem Chua, and Steph Marquez
