Aside from the fact that I haven’t baked in two weeks (!!!), I’m too tired to check on my backlogs and write a recipe post, so I decided to just write a ‘What I’ve Been Eating Lately’ post. I noticed a little pattern with the restaurants we’ve been eating in lately; a pattern that I am actually quite pleased with. Japanese food is in my top three favourite cuisines and is assuredly one of my food weaknesses. Any time I get to eat it you can rest assured I will have a smile on my face when I leave the restaurant. These past two weeks of eating out has seen me indulging in all manner of Japanese food to my heart’s content, and yet I am always craving for more.

The only thing I regret is being too lazy to bring my big camera yet again. So please bear with my not-so-great iPhone photos for now.

My cousin-in-law celebrated her birthday early this year and she invited us to this famous buffet restaurant called Sambokojin, which specializes in Japanese and Korean selections. I’m not a buffet person and can’t handle stuffing myself with a lot of food so I have never been here but I’ve been hearing quite a bit about it.



A favourite of the patrons of Sambokojin is the fact that they can have their own Yakiniku right on their tables. There is a number of marinated meats they can choose from, and if you ask me, the grilling on your own bit is part of the fun in eating here.



One of our favourites were the ones rolled around mushrooms, as well as the chicken pieces marinated in this Korean sweet and spicy sauce.



However the main attraction here is undoubtedly the sushi bar, which always has a line and is refilled every 5 minutes or so.



I attacked this area first because I have BIG LOVE for Japanese rolls and sashimi. They had all sorts of creatively made rolls in generous, humongous portions, and my plate was filled in no time. I picked the ones that looked really yummy and different, and what I liked about the rolls is that they don’t scrimp on the good stuff. They had special rolls wrapped in raw salmon, topped with differently-coloured caviar, and the cuter rolls had some slices on fruits on top. Everything I ate was so so good.



Not pictured is one area where cooked Korean dishes and fried Japanese dishes are set out on display. You can also have the chefs prepare sukiyaki or some other noodles for you. I got some gyoza (a favourite!), tempura and Korean-style tofu for my second round, as well as this interesting raw salmon-wrapped kiwi-topped roll and an octopus sushi. Salmon sashimi is always welcome on my plate!



At the dessert area, there were cute cakes galore. I absolutely adored this glass sculpture where their spoon desserts are placed.



What I had for dessert was ice cream (they served Big Scoop brand) with some yummy cream puffs thrown into the mix. I also couldn’t resist a plate of my favourite fruits drizzled with melted hot chocolate.



We were pretty happy with the food. My brother even gave his signature happy tummy happy dance! We were surprised to see the whopping number of people lined up outside to be seated as we were about to leave, so I would suggest you go early if you don’t want to wait. My cousins reserved our table and arrived as early as 11AM just to make sure we could be seated.

Sambokojin West Avenue

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Any time I get a sushi craving I always run over to Omakase, which I believe is the place to have some of the more creative rolls in town. Their flavours are so well thought out, add to it their special mayonnaise-soy sauce and the rolls turn into a party for the tastebuds. We visited their Il Terazzo branch this time around and I found it to be a bit dim compared to their Greenhills branch, which is the one we frequent.



Omakase is a pretty busy restaurant in most of the days we visit it, and I can totally understand why. The Jurassic Maki is always a favourite of ours. We also love their Spicy Tuna Salad (second only to my favourite Sugi’s but that’s a restaurant for another day).



They do have other dishes if you’re not in the mood for sushi, like the Bacon-wrapped Tofu Dish which always seems to find its way to our table. My Dad likes to order a Teppan dish whether it be pork or chicken, and this time it was salmon.



We tried this marinated oyster dish which tasted so tangy with their dip. The name of the dish escapes me though my brothers loved this a lot. But a staple for us when we visit here is the Soft-shell Crab Tempura; a crab that is fried to perfection with its shell on, dipped into Omakase’s vinaigrette and eaten whole. Yummeh!



I think a lot of people go to Omakase too when they get a Japanese food craving they want satisfied but aren’t in the mood for anything fancy or want to keep to their budgets. I’ve never visited Omakase and gone home without my cravings satisfied.

Omakase Il Terrazzo