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10 Things Happening on a Solitary Luncheon at YU-YU TEI JAPANESE RESTAURANT in Cebu City, Philippines

If you have been reading this blog, you may have known by now that I love Japanese food because of sashimi, sushi, and miso soup!  The location of Yu-Yu Tei Japanese Restaurant is a plus since it was very accessible to the previous company I had worked with back in Cebu City, Philippines.  


I certainly am a fan, my forever food and travel buddy too, of Yu-Yu Tei for a number of reasons.  For one, because it is a Japanese restaurant and we love Japanese food!  Their foods tasted authentic Japanese and the prices were affordable. And lastly as mentioned earlier, the location was very accessible from where I used to work.  Though if we intend to dine there on weekends, the location of the restaurant was still a plus with great parking spaces, with slots that were few steps away from the doorstep of the restaurant.


As you can see the photo above, you may conclude that the foods I ordered were good for one person only.  Yes, you're right!  It was lunchtime on a weekday/workday when I decided to capture my dining experience at Yu-Yu Tei despite the numerous instances of having dined at their restaurant.  

One good thing with Yu-Yu Tei Japanese Restaurant was the promotional lunch set they offer for a certain period of time.  I always go for their lunch sets to maximize my money.  Regular LUNCH SETS costs Php 290.00 but I guess (correct me Yu-Yu Tei if I am mistaken) this costs only Php 240.00 or Php 250.00 pesos during that time.

I am sharing with you now in details, the 10 things happening on a solitary luncheon at Yu-Yu Tei Japanese Restaurant:

1. The lady waitress, clad in Japanese traditional garb, greeted me in Japenese (which I could not remember the exact words).

2. Since the space of the ground floor inside the restaurant was limited, the lady waitress in a way assisted me in selecting my preferred seat.  I usually opt for the seats near the wall to give me a good view of the television hanged on the opposite wall.  Since I dined solo, I opted for a two-seater spot.  They would either select channels with Tagalog noontime shows or movies from HBO or Cinemax.

3.  After having seated and grasped for some breath, the lady waitress handed me the menu.

4.  As a customer, I browsed over the pages of their almost worn-out bounded menu.  I knew what I wanted to order but I forgot that time that it was called LUNCH SET.

5. The lady waitress patiently waited and helped me with my order: it was called Lunch Set.  And I selected the Chicken Teriyaki Gyoza (3  pcs) Set.  Drinks are not included though.

6. While waiting for the foods to be served, the lady waitress came back to my table bringing a piece of rolled cloth towel wetted with cold water and placed on top of a bamboo stand.  At first, I did not know what it was for since other restaurants do not offer such "props" on the table.  And I just researched for this post what that wet towel is officially called in Japanese - Oshibori, see below excerpt from wikipedia.com, and now I know!

An oshibori or hot towel in English is a wet hand towel offered to customers in places such as restaurants or bars in China and Japan and in some Chinese and many Japanese restaurants worldwide. Oshibori are used to clean one's hands before eating and have long been a common sight in China and Japan. Cold oshibori are used in summer and hot oshibori in winter.

7. After the Oshibori, the waitress was back again bringing a small bowl of appetizer, though I forgot to take a picture of it as I was too hungry to remember that I needed to capture it too.  I did not know the name of the appetizer that she served but they differ at times though.  One important thing I remembered, it tasted good.

8. The lady waitress then asked me for my preferred drinks, since I was on a budget, I went for the cold service water because it's free!


Maybe for the bad lighting and the poor resolution of my cell phone camera, the supposedly clear, colorless water, appeared slightly yellow.  But in reality, the water was crystal clear.

9.  It paid off to be patient.  After a few more minutes my foods were served.  TABEMASU! (Chow time!)

First off, the MISO SOUP!  I love the taste of their miso soup, the flavor is perfect and the texture imparted by the tofu and the wakame seaweed pushes you to ask for more (though that did not happen because I am too shy to do it and the soup serving is not unlimited).


Did you know how Miso Soup is made?  See below information I got via the Wikipedia:

Miso soup (味噌汁? misoshiru) is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a stock called "dashi" into which softened miso paste is mixed. Many ingredients are added depending on regional and seasonal recipes, and personal preference.

The most common dashi soup stocks for miso soup are made of niboshi (dried baby sardines), kombu (dried kelp), katsuobushi (thin shavings of dried and smoked bonito, aka skipjack tuna), or hoshi-shiitake (dried shiitake). The kombu can also be used in combination with katsuobushi or hoshi-shiitake. The kelp and/or shiitake dashi serve as a vegetarian soup stock.

The choice of miso paste for the miso soup defines a great deal of its character and flavor. Miso pastes (a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and the fungus Aspergillus oryzae, known in Japanese as kōjikin (麹菌?), and sometimes rice, barley, or other ingredients) can be categorized into red (akamiso), white (shiromiso), or mixed (awase). 

According to Japanese custom, the solid ingredients are chosen to reflect the seasons and to provide contrasts of color, texture, and flavor. Thus negi and tofu, a strongly flavored ingredient mixed with a delicately flavored ingredient, are often combined. Ingredients that float, such as wakame seaweed, and ingredients that sink, such as potatoes, are also combined.

A MISO SOUP A DAY CUTS BREAST CANCER AWAY.
 In 2003, researchers at Japan's National Cancer Centre suggested that "eating three or more bowls of the Japanese delicacy Miso soup every day could cut women's risk of developing breast cancer".[3] Miso soups also tend to be low in calories, but are filling because of the high protein content.


Second food, the staple dish: STEAMED WHITE JAPANESE RICE. I love every munch of it, sticky, fresh from the rice cooker and perfect for Chopsticks!



Third & Fourth - the Main dishes: CHICKEN TERIYAKI and GYOZA.  
Both tasted sumptuous as expected and the serving size can even be consumed by two.


Fast Fact about CHICKEN TERIYAKI.  It is simply, chicken cooked with teriyaki sauce.

What is TERIYAKI? - via Wikipedia
Teriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled with a glaze of soy saucemirin, and sugar


Fast Fact about GYOZA:
Gyoza (餃子, gyōza) are dumplings filled with ground meat and vegetables and wrapped in a thin dough. Also known as pot stickers, gyoza originated in China (where they are called jiaozi), but have become a very popular dish in Japan. The typical gyoza filling consists of ground pork, nira chives, green onion, cabbage, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil, but some creative gyoza shops have also come up with a range of other fillings.


There are several types of cooking Gyoza, but Yu-Yu Tei's version is called in Japanese YAKI GYOZA or in English Pan Fried Gyoza.



My Ratings:
Restaurant Concept = 10 of 10 
( I love Japanese cuisine)
Menu Options = 8 of 10 
Food Serving Size = 9 of 10
Lunch Set Concept = 10 of 10
Overall Food Taste = 10 of 10
 Lay-Out and Interior Designing = 8 of 10
Size of Restaurant = 7 of 10
Counter Lay-Out = 7 of 10
Restaurant Lighting = 10 of 10 
(natural daylight was abundant on the ground floor) 
Ambiance = 8 of 10
Services of Staff = 10 of 10 
Money Value = 10 of 10 

OVERALL RATING = 89.2% Recommended
mainly because I love Japanese foods and their food taste is superb!


10.  After paying (they accept cash and card) for the sumptuous, hearty meal, my last memory upon exiting the restaurant was another one-liner greeting by the lady waitresses, another Japanese word which I am still not confident whether it was a SUMIMASEN or SAYONARA?  To verify my doubts, you can go check out the restaurant, try their delectable bestsellers for a start. And then, drop me a message to confirm or argue with my memory about those departure greetings.  


YU-YU TEI JAPANESE RESTAURANT is located at Unit 3 The Gallery Building,  Golam Drive, Pope John Paul II Avenue, Cebu City, Philippines.


Photos were taken using Samsung S Duos cell phone.


Eat good food, every day!
Yu- Yu- Tei Japanese Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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