Delivery Snippets: Hokkaido Ramen Santouka x Fish and Co x Sen-ryo

HOKKAIDO RAMEN SANTOUKA

Prior to tasting Hokkaido Ramen Santouka’s ramen-to-go-kits, Mendokoro Ramenba’s to-go kits completely won me over mainly because you’re spoiled with the top-tier quality you expect to get when dining at their restaurants (which still manage to draw crowds-even in the midst of the pandemic). I

’ve been a fan of Hokkaido Ramen Santouka ever since it opened its pioneer branch in Glorietta Mall. Its ramen bowls may not be as tasty as those served in Mendokoro and Nagi; but their chashu has consistently been stellar and its non-ramen side dishes are also worth mentioning (RIP, Salmon and Salmon Roe over Rice)

KARA MISO KIT (P420)

Unfortunately, it took a while for me to sample its kits since up until the writing of this blog, it still has yet to be onboarded to a delivery food service so booking a courier separately is the only way to get it, so I did find that minor inconvenience a bit bothersome. I ended up having to run errands in Trinoma so I swung by its Trinoma branch to take out these kits myself instead.

Prep-wise, it’s definitely one of the easiest and least likely to mess up as its broth is ready made already. Other restaurants’ kits would require you to add water separately so it’s not 100% foolproof. Once the broth starts coming to a boil, its distinct fragrant aroma will immediately whet your appetite.

The amount of satisfaction I got from slurping that first spoonful of fragrant and incredibly flavorful spicy miso broth was enough for me to hail it as my favorite ramen-to-go kit. Mendokoro Ramenba is still undisputedly my favorite ramen joint in the country; but the way Hokkaido Ramen Santouka packed its ramen-to-go kit to deliver the exact same quality as you’d get when dining in the actual restaurant was a tad bit better than how Mendokoro does theirs. A taste of their incredibly smoky chashu is a perfect testament to this!

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Date of Pick Up: March 13, 2021 (but available for Delivery via Third Party Service Providers)

FISH AND CO

My siblings and I grew up dining in Fish and Co, so it'll always have such a nostalgic feel for us. Unfortunately, the malls where Fish and Co can be found are spots I don’t really frequent anymore.

Fish and Co is actually on Grabfood - Long Distance Delivery, but their signature Fish and Chips and other deep-fried menu stalwarts aren’t really recommended to be delivered. However, since I was at Trinoma, I decided to just take home classic family favorites of ours, an order of their Best Fish and Chips in Town and their Fried Calamari.

BEST FISH AND CHIPS IN TOWN (P295/P485) and FRIED CALAMARI (P395/P495)

Despite a quick dash home, the Best Fish and Chips in Town immediately succumbed to an oily mess. I understand that this is something outside the control of the restaurant, but what I do find unforgiving about it is that its tartar sauce seemed to have lost its magic over the years. I recall that during my dine-in experiences, each table is given small cups of garlic and jalapeno to garnish its wonderfully creamy tartar sauce (with unlimited refills)! Unfortunately, the dip tasted flat and unenjoyable.

Fortunately, the Fried Calamari was still an absolute divine treat to devour. Despite not being eaten immediately, the squid pieces maintained the crispness of their batter and were perfectly seasoned that you don’t mind that the tartar sauce was subpar. I did find the serving size too small for the price we’ve paid it for. Its calamari has always been on the pricier side of the spectrum, but it feels like this batch was a bit unjustifiable already. I’m not cancelling Fish and Co just yet, but it’s probably best to just do dine-in instead of ordering it to-go or for delivery.

Fish and Co

Date of Pick Up: March 13, 2021 (but available for Delivery via Grabfood)

SEN-RYO

Ever since I started working in Ortigas, The Podium has proven to be one of the malls I frequent the most. As it expanded its mall space, it became the home of pioneer branches of multiple restaurant concepts such as Sen-Ryo. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really rushing to sample Sen-Ryo as it felt like a Japanese jack-of-all-trades restaurant which offers everything, but fails to specialize on something. However, since it became a merchant of Grabfood, I decided to give it a try during one of my work lunches.

WAGYU BEEF YAKIUDON (P670)

One of the most recommended item on its menu was the Wagyu Beef Yakiudon. It was definitely on the pricey side (especially since I can treat myself to a Torched Salmon Donburi from Your Local with its price tag), but I decided to give it a go. I was pretty psyched to have my first bite because as soon as I lifted the lid, I was treated to a beautifully plated yakiudon which came wit layers of fragrant sweet soy aroma. I loved how saucy it was that despite adequately covering each udon with its teriyaki-like sauce, there was enough sauce to slurp afterwards. It was quite enjoyable to eat; especially as it was generously topped with more beef slices than I expected. I loved the attention to the detail given to crafting the concept of the dish, from the caramelized onions that gave the bowl a hint of sweetness to the julienned carrots and bell peppers which gave a crunchy bite to each moutful. However, I was immensely doubtful if the beef was actually wagyu. It was a bit gummy and a bit tough than the wagyu I’m accustomed to. Like I said, they definitely overdelivered on quantity, but its steep price tag can only be justified if its beef was actually quality wagyu.

Sen-ryo

Date of Delivery: March 22, 2021 via Grabfood