Thursday, September 15, 2016

Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant Is Now Ready to Serve Manila


Wazzup Pilipinas!

There a new foodie place at the 3rd Floor, Bridgeway, Building B of SM Megamall. This new restaurant is said to be the first of its kind in the Philippines for being the very first Japanese Teishoku Restaurant in the country.

Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant is now ready to serve Filipinos on September 16, 2016 with their bestselling Japanese set meals that will surely spark the interest of foodies all over the country. On opening day, they are generously giving away FREE TEISHOKU (set meal) for the first 100 guests on September 16 at 10AM!

The two individuals namely Yvonne Yao and Jacqueline Gobing, responsible for bringing the concept restaurant in Manila, have plans to establish 15 branches within 5 years. In fact, they are about to open their second branch at SM Mall of Asia within just a few weeks from this day. With the 15 branches in mind, that's around 3 branches per year that they are hopeful to build soon.

Why not, with the sumptuous taste of their bestsellers and coupled with great marketing and promotional campaigns, there is no doubt that they will succeed with their plans.

But I believe that word of mouth will bring them success already especially when people get to read the feedback from the first customers, like me, who were satisfied with our dining experience with them.


YVonne Yao and Jacqueline Gobing of Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant
Chefs of Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant
Lloyd Lee and Shamcey Supsup Lee
The restaurant was filled with several celebrities including Binibining Pilipinas beauty queens led by Maxine Median, both past and present, celebrities like couples Roxy Barcelo and Wil Devaughn, beauty queen Shamcey Supsup and husband Lloyd Lee, MMA fighter Brandon "The Truth" Vera, and husband and wife Chefs Roland and Jackie Laudico, plus a lot more. I'm sure there will be more personalities attending the dinner event as well.

Chefs Jackie and Roland Laudico

Brandon "The Truth" Vera and wife
Binibining Pilipinas Beauty Queens and friend

Will Devaughn and Roxy Barcelo
Videos are also being uploaded at our official YouTube channel at http://www.YouTube.com/user/wazzuppilipinas

More photos will be available also at our official Facebook fan page at http://www.Facebook.com/wazzuppilipinas


Jacqueline Gobing invites you to visit Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant



Yvonne Yao invites you to visit Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant

I was able to try two dishes during the special VIP tasting event that happened on September 15, 2016. They had offered two dining time choices for their invited guests (either lunch or dinner time), and I chose lunch time since I rarely eat a heavy meal during night time.

The first dish was the Hitsumabushi or the Nagoya-style grilled eel over rice and served with a side of dashi broth. The slices of eel were similar to eating fish bellies but a lot softer and tastier. The great thing is that it's not salty as compared to some Japanese fish dishes to be too salty for Filipino taste.

Hitsumabushi (Php 650)
According to one of the Managing Directors, the only thing they customized are factors like saltiness so the dishes would suit the Pinoy taste. I must agree that I was fully satisfied with this particular dish for being just right to the taste buds.

Another interesting thing is that they provide a guide card that will inform you that you can eat the Hitsumabushi in three ways. First was eating it on its own, next is with the addition of condiments, and third is with the Ochazuke Dashi.

Sukiyaki Teishoku (Php 550)
My second dish was the Sukiyaki Teishoku, a beef hot-pot with assorted veggies that were stewed in sukiyaki sauce.

Again, this dish had just the right amount of spices to taste, and even though it is served in a seemingly big bowl, the portion is actually just enough for a satisfactory meal. The beef is tender and does not give you a hard time in chewing it. I loved the two kinds of noodles and also the mushrooms included. It might be a lot heavy if you also eat the rice that comes with it, so this dish actually can satisfy at least two people making it good enough for sharing with your special someone.

All five set meals available during the VIP tasting night
Though we were presented with 5 of their bestselling dishes as per global appreciation, we couldn't manage to try all of them so we had to settle with our first choices that we ordered on our own using their iPad-powered ordering system. 

Ohagi (Php 145)
For dessert, I had the Ohagi, steamed sticky rice ball smothered in sweet azuki beans. They also served a complimentary bowl of Edamame, lightly boiled salted soybeans, while we wait for our order to arrive. For drinks, they have colas and canned juices.

Edamame (Php 120)
Pineapple Juice (canned)

Yvonne Yao explains to the guests

The iPad ordering system
Yes! Each table has an iPad with a customized casing that you can use to order your preferred dishes. Though the menu presented to us was a special menu for the night with very limited choices, I can imagine the many choices that will be presented to the customers using their actual menu content.

You can pick your own choices from the iPad and your orders get sent to the kitchen immediately for preparation, and within a few minutes, your orders will be served. You can see the status of your order by looking at the moving icons opposite the list of your orders. The icon which shows a chef preparing something shows that the kitchen is already working on your order. When you see a bowl icon with some steam coming out from it, it signifies that your order should be coming out soon, or has already been served.

I will be surely coming back to try those dishes I wasn't able to taste. It's a huge disappointment for having not enough room in our tummy. Lol!

Below are zoomed in shots of the main dish of every set meal available during the VIP tasting night:

Saba Shio Teishoku (Php 425)

Mixed Toji Teishoku (Php 425)

Sukiyaki Teishoku (Php 550)

Hitsumabushi (Php 650)

Namban Teishoku (Php 395)
Below is their official press release:

Your cravings for authentic Japanese dishes are about to be satisfied as Japan’s hugely popular Teishoku (set-menu dining) restaurant chain, YAYOI opens its first branch in the country in SM Megamall this September.

Set meals are a big part of the Filipino dining experience—from cafeteria lunch menus to restaurant value meals. Japanese cuisine takes this practice up a notch with a traditional culinary term known as ichijū-sansai, which literally means “one soup, three sides.” This term refers to a meal consisting of rice and soup accompanied with three dishes (one main and two sides). Combining a variety of individual items and dishes for complete and well-balanced nutrition, it is still considered a basis for a healthy, well-balanced diet.

YAYOI takes inspiration from the wisdom of Japanese culinary tradition with its Teishoku-dining concept—serving home-style set meals, consisting of a main dish of meat or fish, miso soup, a steaming bowl of rice, and side dishes of vegetables and tsukemono (Japanese pickles). Established 130 years ago, it all began in the historic Meiji era that opened Japan’s doors to the west. The founder, Tamijiro Shio, had trained in France as a professional chef and returned to Tokyo to open the first YAYOI-KEN in 1886, serving superb East-meets-West Teishoku meals at 1 yen per set, attracting even the Prime Minister as a frequent customer. Today, YAYOI has over 300 outlets located all over Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and Australia. And now, Filipinos can have a taste of YAYOI, too!

YAYOI Philippines’ Managing Directors, Yvonne Yao and Jacqueline Gobing, tried YAYOI-KEN for the first time during a visit to Fukuoka and were inspired. “We loved it so much that we decided to bring it to the country,” says Ms. Yvonne. “We are proud to be the first Teishoku restaurant in the Philippines.”

While Filipinos are no strangers to Japanese fare, many restaurants specialize in one type of dish: a ramen bar, a katsu house, a sushi and tempura bar. YAYOI, on the other hand, offers a wide variety of food and beverages. “We have always been passionate about food, and we believe YAYOI offers authentic flavorful Japanese cuisine,” says Ms. Jacqueline. “We’re very excited about it.”

A fusion of two worlds is not only apparent in YAYOI’s food items, but also in the restaurant’s East-meets-West, traditional-meets-contemporary approach. Many elements are imported from Japan. The interiors are modern with unmistakably Japanese aesthetics. In addition to the usual physical menu, the ordering system makes use of an iPad menu where customers can tap and send their choices to the kitchen, and also monitor the status of their orders real-time. It is a first in the Philippines, and a nod to Japanese techy-ness.

At YAYOI, fans of Japanese cuisine can expect nothing less than an authentic dining experience that takes you back to Japan, one Teishoku tray at a time.

YAYOI is located at the 3rd Floor, Bridgeway, Building B of SM Megamall. Visit their website at www.yayoi.com.ph and follow them on Facebook - YAYOI Philippines and Instagram - @YAYOIPH.

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