The Geeky Momm: Food musings

Showing posts with label Food musings. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Ikkousha Ramen Cebu

With ramen houses sprouting here and there in Cebu, only the ones that serve authentic tongkotsu broth are the best. And as a certified ramen freak, I am forever on the lookout of the best authentic ramen that each place has to offer.

Tonkotsu Standard. The egg is just there because my hubby shared his ajitama (soft boiled egg) with me.

Ikkousha Ramen is one of the ramen gems in Cebu with its first branch in JY Square, Lahug. It is an acclaimed international ramen restaurant with branches worldwide. Originally from Fukuoka, Japan, it is the place where tongkotsu broth making as well as the masters of this craft are originated or so I am told. Ikkousha also means "one happy place" which reflect their motto, "to bring happiness to the people".

Ikkousha’s secret to its broth are the different pork bones used , the broth is simmered over a low heat for over 12 hours to create that signature creamy texture. This method of slow-cooking draws rich, skin-smoothing collagen into the delicious broth. Yes ladies, eating ramen regularly makes your skin young looking. :)

Ramen orders start from Php 290 for the Tongkotsu Shio, a light version of the tongkotsu based ramen and Php 320 to Php 470 for the other ramen variants. Check out the menu below.

Ordering is personalized and made easy with their order sheets. Not everyone likes green onions or black fungus in their ramen so you can personally cross them out on the list. It'll save you from forever picking it from your soup next time.

Instructions on how to use the Order Sheet.

I usually order the most basic ramen and gradually build up to the next best order on my future visits. That way I can choose my favorite staples in each ramen place.

This. Is. Soooooo. Good.
Rich. Tasty. Thick. Sticky.

Gyoza. My essential ramen partner.

Condiments are my favorite thing in a ramen house. For me, it's like a trip to the candy store except that its just condiments. I get the thrill if mixing spices and see what it taste like. Weird me.

Theres the gyoza sauce, katare sauce, black pepper, sesame seeds, pickled ginger and some fresh mined garlic... yeah, I almost finished the whole jar. hehehe.

They also have a loyalty card that earns you an ajitama, gyoza/karaage and free ramen when you reach a certain amount of stamps on the card.

The Ikkousha Ramen Cebu Loyalty Card

Their recent promo is the Gyoza Ticket where you can get Gyoza for Php 1.00 only.

Gyoza festival!!!!!!

Ikkousha Ramen Cebu is located at the ground floor of JY Square Mall in Lahug.

They have access doors inside and outside of the mall near the back parking.
You can call them at (032) 514 5927.
Check their Facebook Page >> IkkoushaCebu

Ribpublic Diner opens at SM City Cebu

Get their incredibly satisfying ribs and more as Ribpublic Diner launches it's second store at SM City Cebu, 3rd Floor Main Wing (beside IMAX Theatre) this coming August 20, 2016!.

Tune in to Y101 fm Cebu for a chance to win Php 500.00 gift certificates everyday from August 16 to August 20!🤗

Another favourite is the Pork Belly.

Finger lickin' Spicy Chicken Wings...oh, so good!

A huge slab could be shared for two.

Follow them at Facebook and Instagram

Say It with a Cake

With deadlines to meet, kids' school needs to assist and an important surprise birthday event coming up, I totally forgot to order the birthday cake ahead of time. I only had seven days to go and the clueless out-of-town celebrant was already in our house. I had to be discreet with my daily itinerary.

I have known Sam Colinares when she was still a nursing student. But her cake baking and decorating talent got the better of her. She now runs a virtual shop named "Say It with a Cake" at Instagram. Since 2013, she has been specialising in custom made cakes and cupcakes at reasonable rates. You can get a fondant cake for as low as P850 but in quality cake flavours such as carrot cake, butter pound cake, red velvet, chocolate and more.

Photo credit from Barbeth Pabriga Lobitaña

Anyway, back to my story, I wanted to settle my birthday cake dilemma right away and she was quick to respond to my call. I required the following specs:

I want it simple and elegant
It has to be red, ecru and gold, no blacks
Theme is lace and roses
I wanted a small main fondant cake in carrot and four dozen fondant cupcakes in red velvet.

It was actually a hassle free transaction. We only met once for the downpayment, I sent her the screenshot of the birthday banner and googled pegs thru Messenger and let her do the conjuring. Hehehe.

Seven days later, she delivered these delectable cake and cuppies to the venue on time:

She nailed the look that I wanted.

Beautifully and elegantly boxed and ready to give away.

She filled the red velvet with the cream cheese frosting and topped it with the fondant. The kids particularly loved this one because not only the cake was yummy and not overly sweet, the filling was also super creamy unlike the commercial ones with extenders.

Simple and elegant. Just the way I wanted it.

The main carrot cake was also moist and delectable. I wasn't able to take photos but the cake size was 8" x 4". It was dense and heavy with all the carrots, fruits and nuts.

Overall, since I know my guests' taste preference, they raved about how the cakes were moist, scrumptious and not overly sweet.

Her other creations can be found at Instagram and Facebook

She makes macarons, biscuits, cake pops and cookies as well.

You may contact her at: Instagram and Facebook

Ramen Nagi | Universal Ramen

Ramen girl strikes again. This time, I'm taking my next ramen adventure in Makati where I was treated for lunch. Hunting for a place to eat in Greenbelt is not easy. There are myriad of food choices to choose from and being a foodie, you don't know where to start. But seeing this huge red wall emblazoned with four kinds of larger than life bowls of ramen made us decide that this place is it.

History of Ramen Nagi

In September 2004, a small ramen shop opened its doors in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Initially open only on Tuesdays and offering a different limited ramen flavor every week, Ramen Nagi soon began to see long queues and quickly became one of the most talked-about spots in the area.

Founder and chef, Ikuta Satoshi, devoted all his time in his ramen creations, with the ambitious goal of bridging Japanese culture with the rest of the world through Ramen Nagi. He believed Nagi was not only ramen, but also a medium to share his sense of warmth to his customers as each bowl reflected his sincere love for ramen and commitment to quality,

Ramen Nagi's first official store launched later in June 2006 in Shibuya, Tokyo. Here, Ikuta continued to display immense creativity and introduced his revolutionary “365 Days, 365 Flavors” campaign. Finally coming to an end in March 2009, over a thousand ramen flavors were created during this time frame.

Ramen Nagi Universal Noodle now operates 7 stores in Tokyo, 4 stores in Taiwan, and 1 store in both Indonesia and the Philippines while continuing to expand overseas.

Ramen Nagi Key Milestones

2006

Rookie of the Year Award by TOKYO*1 Week Magazine

Ramen King Award by Tokyo Walker Magazine

2007

Champion - TOKYO*1 Week Magazine Annual Tonkotsu Ramen Competition

2010 & 2011

Voted Best Japanese Eatery for two consecutive years - Hong Kong Open Rice Website

2011

Voted 7th Best Ramen in Japan by TOKYO*1 Week Magazine

2013

Voted Best Ramen and CHAMPION for Tokyo Ramen of the Year Award

Source: http://www.n-nagi.com.tw/EN/History.aspx

As you can see, Ramen Nagi is one of the popular award winning ramen chain in Japan. And it's no surprise that fellow "ramenatics" can be found inside slurping their way to their hearts content. Their menu simply consists of four basic types of ramen:

http://www.n-nagi.com.tw/EN/Product.aspx

Original King (Butao)

Luscious signature tonkotsu pork-broth.
Award-winning tonkotsu pork-broth prepared in the traditional method, mouth-wateringly rich, fresh, and aromatic; special handcrafted noodles and classic Nagi pork chashu.

http://www.n-nagi.com.tw/EN/Product.aspx

Red King (Akao)

The ultimate in savory spiciness.
A striking blend of garlic, chili oil, and cayenne pepper in a velvety broth; topped by a tempting ball of miso-infused minced pork and select Nagi cayenne, with tender chashu.

http://www.n-nagi.com.tw/EN/Product.aspx

Black King (Kuroo)

Sumptuous jet-black aroma and flavor.
Fragrant blackened garlic and calamari ink in a silky broth with succulent chashu; finished with a ball of minced pork, black sesame, and Nagi spices that is irresistibly complex.

http://www.n-nagi.com.tw/EN/Product.aspx

Green King (Midorio)

Nagi's fusion of gourmet cultures.
A marriage of fresh basil and olive oil with delectable tonkotsu broth in a truly unique combination lavishly garnished with grated parmesan cheese and richly marbled chashu.

The waitress gave us an Omototenashi Sheet for us to customize our order. It's like a test paper with multiple choice answers. Exciting. Since we were a big fan go black garlic, we decided to get the Black King (Kuroo) with all the chef's recommendations in normal preparation except for the seasoning. It had to be light since I take my sodium in small amounts.

We were given a paper bib with this dish so our pristine white shirts didn't get any black spots from slurping the broth.

You will be reminded that they have this no take-out policy since ramen tastes good when it's freshly prepared from the kitchen. Bringing it home affect the noodle quality. And indeed it's true. This ramen has lots of things going on inside. It has my favorite black garlic, squid ink, chashu, ball of minced pork, black sesame, and I believe it was some calamari rings. It has a complex taste yet it melds together perfectly. The ink provided a bit of sweetness that we use to describe when eating adobong pusit. And for P410.00 you get a huge bowl good for two. Three if you have some gohan and other side dishes ordered.

For the side dishes, we got our staple ramen partner, the Gyoza. It's delicately seasoned, cooked just right. But I find the filling rather too solid or firm for my taste. I like my Gyoza to have a balance of the meat-bokchoy-green onions mixture. This one has too much meat. But it's good though. I still like the Gyoza at Naruto Tukumen Ramen back in Cebu.

This one is my new favorite, the Curry Spring Roll. It's a mild curry seasoned crunchy spring roll with ground pork, squash and vermicelli. A must try.

Condiments include some fresh garlic (you will need to use a garlic press), chili powder, sesame seed mill, vinegar, pepper and seasoned chili bean sprouts (not in photo).