HAPADOG Japanese-Style Hotdogs

They are rocking Mercato Centrale’s Midnight Mercato with their Japanese-style Hotdogs, and now Hapadog’s first branch located in Sm North Edsa’s Sky Garden is making a wave. First time I visited their branch, I was already smitten not just by the minimalist yet classic look of their store but by the interesting line up in their menu.

Presented with tempting choices, we cannot decide as to what signature hotdogs we should choose. One of their friendly food attendants come in to the rescue by offering us their Hapa Meals which consist of Half Hapadog of our choice, Korokke Balls, and Lychee Iced Tea for only 115php. We saw on the table near us how big their hotdogs were, and so we decided that this Hapa Meals would be perfect for us.

Hapadog is one mean meaty hotdog nestled on a soft bun with caramelized onion, wasabi mayo, hapa sauce on top, sprinkled with nori flakes and spring onion. I was able to try 2 more variants but their Hapadog favors my palate. I love the garlicky flavor of the hotdog that blends well with the caramelized onion, plus the nori flakes and the wasabi mayo gives it a Japanese flavor kick that is delightful to the palate.


Hapadog (whole 155php / half a hapa 75php)

One of their best sellers, Temp-tation Dog tasted like tempura, only better. Meaty hotdog deep fried in a tempura batter with grated daikon, tempura sauce, and spring onion. It was an instant hit to our group.

Temp-tation Dog (whole 175php/ half a hapa 85php)

Korokke Dog is a combination of meaty hotdog, mashed potato, tonkatsu sauce, Japanese mayo, and nori flakes. This one was also good, the meaty taste of the hotdog was tempered by the taste of the mashed potato and it made it all the more filling to the tummy.

Korokke Dog (whole 165php / half a hapa 85php)

Korokke are lovely croquettes which got me munching on and on and on. Customers get to choose between beef or sea food croquettes, I haven’t tried the sea food but I adore the beef variant.

Korokke (Beef 65php / creamy seafood 95php)

Their Lychee Iced Tea was remarkably good. Not too sweet, and unlike other restaurants Lychee flavored drinks, this one got a real Lychee floating on it.

Lychee Iced Tea

Aside from their signature hotdogs and side dishes, they also offer Hapa Gyozas. We have tried their beef gyoza which was so good I actually craved for more. I love the sauce that comes with it but try it with the mayo that comes with the korokke balls, it was equally superb.

Beef Gyoza

We also got to sample their Prawn Gyoza and we loved it just the same. The prawn was so tasty and its flavor further illuminates as I dipped it into its sauce.

Prawn Gyoza

We were already full but their Hapa Rice was tempting enough so we tried their Donburi and we never regretted it. I love how the flavor of the ingredients blends well with the noodle, rice, and the breaded pork. Nice thing about their Hapa Rice is that you get to choose whether you want to have chicken, pork, beef, or sea food with a very slight difference in the price. Aside from Donburi, Japanese Curry and Cream Stew Hapa Rice are also available.

Donburi

Karen, one of the owners, took time to visit our group while we were dining to check if we are enjoying the food, and when we told her that we are celebrating a friend’s birthday, she was kind enough to treat each one of us with a shot of their magnificent drinks. The birthday celebrant got a flaming shot named Hot Fuji Apple Pie which smells like heaven hinting of cinnamon. It was such a wonderful treat.

The price leans on a higher point of the scale but considering Hapadog’s good food and awesome service, I think it’s worth all the money we have spent. I could rave how good their foods are, but what warms my heart the most was the awesome customer service they provided us.

Truth be told, I rarely go to SM North because of its proximity to where I reside, except for some visit to one of my favorite Filipino Restaurants, Recipes I normally would just eat out somewhere in Ortigas, Eastwood, and Makati. Now, I think I would be frequenting the area because Hapadog is one restaurant I would surely go back to.