Jipan : Japanese Bakery and Coffee Shop

Jipan: Japanese Bakery and Coffee Shop Location :Upper Ground Floor A, SM Megamall, Ortigas Tel # : Cuisine : Japanese Menu Price Range : Php 60-280 Service Charge: none Rating : ★★★

So, I seem to be more hyped writing on-site, as here's another food trip by yours truly.

I was attending some...eherm "business" in Megamall and I was tied until lunch, so now armed with my canon ixy 910is, the green apple quicknotes and my pilot pen. The tard and I went to find someplace to eat that I can review also (to my persuasion).

After some deliberation we ended up in Jipan. A small, Japanese Cafe smacked in some alley at the upper ground floor of Megamall Building A.

It was a small, simple yet cheerful place, to the left of the store is a shelf full of baked goods (Mom buys their bread when she heads to Glorietta) and the right was a scatter of tables and chairs.

The waitress handed out the menus, and we each picked our poison.

FAITO!

Japanese Green Tea
Price : Php 0
Rating : ★★★★

They served us Japanese Green Tea with our meals, and I have to say I was impressed that it was authentic. It had that deep, barley flavor that I love and it was soothing to the throat. This round is definitely a win.

*ding* next round

Katsu Curry (Kare) Rice
Price : Php 240
Rating : ★★★

Served with a side of salad, this meal is pretty cheap for it's quantity. The salad arrived firstly (which is indeed how they should serve soup and appetizers), and it was a simple bowl of cucumbers, shredded cabbage, fresh corn kernels with a dollop of japanese mayo. There wasn't really much to say about it. Just that the corn kernels were crunchy, the cucumbers crisp, and the cabbage fresh. What I'm after is the curry, since I was deeply disappointed in a recent curry trip that I will not disclose where at this particular moment.

The curry dish arrived shortly. It was the usual breaded pork slices (although the batter was quite dark) and beef cutlets with the no-frills potato and carrot sidings layered in a pool of curry sauce on top of a hot plate of rice. This one was definitely better than the curry I last tasted, although there will be better curries elsewhere, this would definitely pass for real Japanese curry since the mix was simple and there were no other elements that disturbed the actual taste and flavor of curry.

Sukiyaki Set Meal
Price : Php 200
Rating : ★★★

All for 200 pesos. I gave it an extra star for the price. Clear beef broth w/ greens, carrots, tofu and slices of beef with lots of cellophane noodles or most commonly known as sotanghon. The soup had the right taste, of sweet that wasn't overpowering with a bit of saltiness to it. The veggies were crisp and the carrots were tender, but the tofu tasted a bit ... eggy (is that even a word?), the amounts of beef was surprisingly generous, but make sure to slurp all the noodles quickly or it will absorb all the soup and you wind up with a lot of fat noodles on your bowl.

The rice that accompanied the dish was soft but not warm enough for my likings.

Another curious thing, this meal is served with miso soup. (I ignored the soup thinking it was for the Katsu Curry Rice, turns out the poor lonely soup was a part of my meal). The soup was good. But the same problem lies with the tofu. Which was (still) eggy-tasting.

The meal is good for one very, VERY hungry person (which didn't fit my description), so I would definitely suggest it good for sharing (for 2). Just add another extra rice (or maybe not) and you're all set.

Considering no VAT and Service Charge, the place is cheap and way more authentic than a lot of Japanese establishments.

© 2007 wastefulspace
12-10-2007