My Japanized palate to celebrate my __ birthday!

What does January 23, 2012 mean? Well, for our Chinese brothers or our Tsinoy kababayans it is the start of the 15 day New Year Celebration as they welcome the year of the Water Dragon. For non Chekwa folks, it means a glorious non-working holiday. Yahooo! No usual Monday EDSA madness!! And for me, an ordinary me, it means it's my birthday. Oh yes, believe me I am nearing the end of the calendar, papunta na ng BINGO numbers hahaha!

So how did I spend my birthday? Well let me start first by saying a big thanks to PNoy who declared this day a holiday. I was initially planning to take a birthday leave so I can celebrate it without thinking about work. Once a year lang naman e.

Birthday lunch was something new. We just had to try Little Tokyo in Makati. Little Tokyo is a compound in Makati made up of 13 Japanese restaurants. These restaurants are authentic Jap restos that are owned by Jap people and kitchen-managed by a Jap chef served to everyone who wants a taste of good ol' JapJap food.

Although most of the restaurants have their own entryway, you can go through this pseudo wooden bridge that welcomes you to Little Tokyo! It's right beside the Hot Pot Jap Style Restaurant.

Welcome to Little Tokyo! *sabay bow*

Since we went there for lunch, there were just a few folks in the area. The area looked sad but I know that during night time, the compound is definitely alive!

The compound share a common garden with tables set up all over.

center of the garden

Among the 13 restaurants, we chose to eat at Hana. The word "Hana" means flower in Japanese (Kana is another similar name, also in Japanese). Why did we choose Hana? Because Bugoy heard about its authentic tokoyaki and wanted to try it so off we went!

tako,takota...tako, takota. TAKOYAKI!!!

When it comes to Jap food. hindi ko uurungan ang Sashimi!!! pwera lang sa wasabi paste. So I really requested to order it. This is the Maguro Tuna (Php280). Maguro Tuna (mah-goo-roh) is a Japanese term for bluefin tuna which is one of the most eaten in sashimi dishes.

First bite and first reaction: "aahh fresh. sarap!!
Second reaction: "gusto ko pa!! *sabay second helping*
Third reaction: *maanghang na ha!!* (blame wasabi)

But, no kidding. It really melts in your mouth!

As the fish is the quintessential ingredient sought after by sushi/sashimi lovers, it is of utmost importance that the meat is fresh (eg. no blotchy dark spots, no funny smell and as with most tuna cuts, it's bright pink -- although some meats are redder and that's ok. Some other types of tuna are even naturally colored brown!).

Define FRESH!!

We also got this interesting dish called Tako Karaage (Php 120). It's a dish made of deep fried octopus strips. Actually, bite size pieces sya. But not that bite friendly, matigas. I don't know if deep fried octopus is meant to be like that. ikaw na ba naman, i-deep fry di ka titigas?? BUT... surprisingly, when you eat it with lemon plus dip it in salt, black sesame seeds it tastes good.

We also got the Crab Chahan (Php 180), a fluffy stir fry of rice, carrot, bell peppers, egg and crab.

My eternal favorite that needs no introduction! California Maki (Php 200 for 6 pieces) 

So over all, we did enjoy our JapJap experience. The food was great and at an affordable price compared to those Jap restos in the mall. The place/dining area, well, since we ate at lunch time, the al fresco dining concept wasn't maximized. I'm sure the place would be lovelier at night and more alive. We'll surely be back to try JapJap dinner there soon.

After this blarb of food photos, Kung Hei Fat Choi (Cantonese) to you. Kiong Hee Huat Tsai (if you prefer Hokkien) to you dear reader! But whatever Chinese dialect you speak; a happy birthday makes sense to me today. A new year indeed! What better way to celebrate than through food! Yes? :)

How about you, how did you spend the Chinese new year?