A fusion of the West and the Land of the Rising Sun, Tokyo Café offers a dining experience that lets you experience both East and West as one. Together with my college buddy, and armed with only curiosity and our fresh paychecks in our hands, we went on to try Tokyo Café—not as acknowledged food reviewers, but as regular diners.
Tokyo Café is reviewed based on quality of food, ambiance, service, and value for money.
Quality of Food ✰✰✰✰
Since Tokyo Café does not offer set meals, we decided to be adventurous and order dishes that equate to a full-course meal.
We ordered Tokyo Caesar Salad (PhP 138) made from fresh romaine lettuce drizzled with light tangy mayonnaise topped with crisp bacon bits, croutons, and parmesan cheese; Tokyo Boneless Chicken (PhP 175) peppered with various herbs and spices served with a special zesty gravy; Café Frote (PhP 105) with iced coffee as a base, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with chocolate syrup; Mocha Smoogee (PhP 126), a cold chocolate and espresso drink perfectly blended; and Tiramisu (PhP 145) touched with the blend of coffee liquor between layers of espresso-soaked lady fingers and mascarpone cheese.
Tokyo Caesar Salad (PhP 138)
Tokyo Café’s Creamy Carbonara (PhP 215)
As a personal favorite, Tokyo Café’s Creamy Carbonara (PhP 215) with mozzarella cheese, bacon, and mushrooms captured my heart in an instant. The sauce played up the perfect balance between flavor and smoothness that is neither too overwhelming nor too bland. “The perfect carbonara,” my friend said.
Simple yet delicious—the dishes of Tokyo Café do not come off as too intimidating. The simplicity and lightness of the taste linger in your taste buds, leaving you grasping for more.
Café Frote (PhP 105) | Mocha Smoogee (PhP 126)
Place and Ambiance ✰✰✰
Tokyo Café SM North EDSA: The Block branch scores an average on this one. During dinner rush, the place becomes a bit too cramped which impedes the free flow of waiters and customers when walking around. The branch could have been more spacious such as that in SM Megamall, where even if the place is a full house, walking around is still a breeze.
On a positive note, the place is well ventilated and the place is promptly kept clean both before and after a customer dines. The interior design and the music selection of Japanese mellow pop tunes also deserve recognition as these transport you to modern-day Japan.
Tokyo Boneless Chicken (PhP 175)
Tiramisu (PhP 145)
Service ✰✰✰✰✰
“Irrashaimasen!” the staff greets us with big smiles radiating from their faces. Truly living up to the restaurant’s principles, the staff religiously attends to the needs of the customers in accordance with Japanese culture. Aside from the occasional greetings in the Japanese language, waiters religiously do regular rounds in the area, which allow them to see who needs to be attended to–whether for additional orders, follow-ups, or billings—and stat!
Value for money ✰✰✰✰
The Japanese-Western fusion restaurant steadily lies in that fine line that separates overpricing and being too economical. For as low as P500 per person, a full meal is already laid out in front of you, leaving you fully satiated, both in the stomach and the heart.
For the dishes’ ingredients, taste, and type of service that is almost close to a high-class resto, Tokyo Café offers excellent value for your money.
16 over 20. 80%. 4 stars.
An epitome of East meets West, Tokyo Café offers familiarity to the taste buds, yet leaves a sumptuous sensation. It offers a variety of dishes that do not solely cater to food connoisseurs but also to the entire family, including the picky tots.
Tokyo Café is ready to capture the hearts and stomachs of those who wish to have a taste of the familiar and the comfortable— whether a food connoisseur or just a regular food lover—with a unique touch that is delightfully delicious.
Glorious face of stuffed and satisfied!
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Tokyo Café has branches in SM North EDSA: The Block, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, and McKinley Piazza and still continues to expand to various malls in the Metro. For the menu, log on to Tokyocafe.com.ph.
The review dated on August 2011 and was published in the December 2011 issue of Health & Lifestyle Magazine.
Thursday, 05-10-2012 on 00:39 with 12 Comments by Aencille For art's sake, Geekiness, Stuffs with 460 words
Due to the intense hype on Marvel’s recent movie, The Avengers, I originally planned to write an obligatory review of it. However, assuming that 90 percent of my readers have seen the movie and in which most have the same verdict of AMAZEBALLS, I decided to skip it and go for something else instead.
Today, I’ve set aside my writer persona and I introduce to you a different side of me. My inner artist.
Inspiration struck me so strong that after seeing a lot of kick-ass illustrations overflowing the internet, I just had to feature this. With this, I decided to ride the bandwagon and try out if I still have the knack for sketching and illustrating.
Here’s a random sketch I drew during my free time at work. Maybe I absentmindedly used Scarlett Johansson as a bit of a reference.
My rendition of Agent Romanova aka Black Widow. Inspired by the Marvel Bishoujo Statues.
The making. O hallo, Agent!
Coloring it presently at Adobe PS3. Here’s the progress. I might post the finished one on my next post.
On a Non-Avenger-related drawing, here’s X-men’s X-23. For those who do not know her, she’s the clone of Wolverine. A girl-version of him.
At present, the insane learning curve is ahead of me and trying the realistic style from my safe zone of anime and manga style is quite the challenge. Also, you can see that I prefer to draw sexy ladies over buff men. However, please do expect more art featuring manly men in the future.
Feel free to comment or leave a constructive criticism. Visit my DeviantArt for more of my works in the past.
Monday, 04-23-2012 on 09:43 with 19 Comments by Aencille Events!, Fun Fun Fun! with 666 words
Labeled as the geek, my readers may be surprised that I actually have a thing for girly things. But for the first time in forever, I feature my girly side.
Make-up touch my face during cosplays and events, but on rare occasions where the moon hides away the shade of the sun, I feel getting glammed up.
I’m a fan of Etude House, a Korean make-up brand, and up to the last minute, I was lucky enough to get an invite for the Etude House Playhouse 2012 at SM North EDSA: The Block to feature here at Geeky Fridays. It’s all thanks to Faith dela Cruz. We met only at the actual event. She’s really nice and I believe I found a new friend! I should have taken our photo together.
Thank you to Faith dela Cruz for the awesome sauce invite!
Upon arriving, The Block’s activity area was splashed with shades of pink here and there and was made to look like a life-sized doll house. 30 minutes before the program proper started, I was able to scout the area and took photos here and there.
With the ticket, a guest is entitled to play games and various activities to win prizes.
The Etude House staff calls their guests “Prince” or “Princess”. I was a bit bashful every time they call me ‘Princess’ and I don’t find myself anywhere near the ‘Princess’ standard. But hey, it’s their form of courtesy and it’s worth the praise.
It’s me with the mascots
This mime looks like he’s already in love with Mr. Panda Handcream!
I wrote on their wall!
Some of the Speakers of Day 1: Kim Boram, Etude Global Specialist on Skin Care; and Levenson Rodriguez, Personality and Fashion Consultant from the Fashion Academy Manila on Visual Poise.
Interactive and engaging, the speakers prove themselves praiseworthy as they shared secrets and tips on how to look and feel good such as fashion, skin care, and proper poise. I wasn’t able to sit in front of the stage during the lectures, but the speakers did an excellent job of letting the guests hear and understand their insights.
Pink beetle car with lashes.
Me, awkwardly striking a pose for the Etude House Photobooth.
Freebies!
Etude House also has their new products such as the SHINee Collection, Skin Malgeum, and Juicy Pop Tube, but I absolutely love the Milk Talk Body Wash above all. From the time I opened the bottle, it smelled like strawberries and cream, I felt like drinking it. 
My skin usually gets irritated from body washes, but this one’s probably an exemption. It’s mild and works wonders to my skin. Rate: Recommended!
Fun, well-organized, I would like to stretch my praises to the organizers and Etude House!
Thursday, 04-19-2012 on 10:58 with 17 Comments by Aencille Events!, Fun Fun Fun! with 567 words
Last Saturday, we ran for our lives.
In Santa Rosa, Laguna, me and my officemates braved the heat of the blazing sun, crawled the earth, stormed the tall grasses, and escaped the undead, all in an intense, heart-pounding 5K run named Outbreak Manila.
We are granted liberty with our escape techniques, but we were prohibited to use weapons that will hurt the zombies. As said in their site, “their zombies have feelings, too.” We were given three flags that will be considered as our lives. The goal: Reach the finish line alive.
Here’s an idea of what the trail looked like. Photo by Jose Martin Punzalan.
Runners are encouraged to wear costumes. One guy was wearing a Ridiculously Photogenic Guy mask while one lady was wearing a Sunflower costume, which I assume were found absolutely attractive (and delicious) by the zombies.
I was supposed to run in full cosplay gear plus wig, but I decided to go wise and went for the practical running gear. I wouldn’t want to look like a pretty, colorful, walking bait for other participants to run for their lives.
And your zombies come in various origins, sizes, and even personalities. Imagine: a bride, a katipunero, a goth chick, a former beauty queen, and Michael Jackson—zombified, chasing after you. Some zombies are aggressive, but some are just silly.
A zombie threatening runners after the gunstart. Photo by Jose Martin Punzalan
Here’s an epic moment:
A zombie dude was a few inches away from me already. Desperate to save my 2 remaining lives, I told the zombie in a groggy voice, “Kuya, ‘wag mo ko kainin. Kauri niyo ko…” (Don’t eat me. I’m one of you…” He answered, “Ah okay. Sige Ate, daan ka na.” (Oh okay. Go ahead.)
Despite the absolutely exhausting run from the zombies, we all made it through the finish line alive unharmed, with at least one life remaining, and fulfilled.
The overall event was well-organized, and just plain awesome. Event safety was praiseworthy as the security team does not only comprise of cops, but members of the first-aid sensitive, battle ready army. I’m not familiar with the name of the organizers, but truly, kudos to them and everyone who made the event possible.
The Mogu-Mogu mascot joining the run, too? Nah. Photo by Jose Martin Punzalan
I’ll definitely take this guy home and eat it for dessert all week. Photo by Jose Martin Punzalan
For my first fun run, it was a blast. With that success, I’m sure there will be another Outbreak. I might join again, but this time, as a zombie. Geisha zombie, anyone?
Photo by Jose Martin Punzalan
Days have passed since the run, but my muscles and joints are still aching like fuuuu.
“It’s gonna be fun, they said. You won’t get hurt, they said.”