Mitsuyado Sei-Men House of Tsukemen at Jupiter St. Makati City

I think by now it's no secret that I have deep affinity for restaurants that does not just dish out great food but has beautiful interiors as well.  Entire dining experience for me includes taking and feeling in the aesthetics of the place I am dining in.  While there are hole-in-the-wall and some downright humble eateries that I love, admittedly, nothing beats the feeling of enjoying your food in an environment pleasing to the eye.  No, I am not snob, I guess it just have something to do with the architectural background in my family.

Here in Manila, there are a lot of restaurants that made me fall head over heels with their interiors alone. And lucky me because almost all of them delivers when it comes to great tasting dishes. One of them is Mitsuyado Sei-Men, House of Tsukemen located at Jupiter St in Makati City.

Hailing from the land of the rising sun, Mitsuyado Sei-Men was brought here in the Philippines by the UCC Group as an addition to the growing ramen scene here in Manila.  I first heard about Mitsuyado from a traveler friend who fell madly in love with tsukemen during his stint in Japan. The word "tsukemen" means dipping noodle which is an innovative way to enjoy your usual noodle by dipping it into a broth. When I heard that Mitsuyado is already here in Manila, I know have to try it, pronto.

Setting foot at Mitsuyado Sei-Men feels like being transported into streets of old world Japan.  Every corner is peppered with Japanese decorations including vintage posters and Japanese lanterns. There are some makeshift areas resembling that of small store and there's also a functional noodle cart where customers could dine in should they wish to.

The place was really impressive and equally impressive were the food that was served to us which fellow foodies and I devoured happily. As much as we want to join other foodies on the long table, my date that night (read: one of my favorite foodie partner Paolo of The Paolo Project Blog) decided to transfer to another table because the foodies' table was already flooded with so many food that our generous share of the feast could no longer fit.

The Paolo Project and YedyLicious humble table

Our Mitsuyado Sei-Men feast started with servings of Gyoza (Php180).  I do not claim any expertise but I could say that in my book, Mitsuyado's Gyoza are the most perfectly cooked and definitely the best tasting gyoza I have ever had in a long time.  The way it was seared produced beautiful hue of golden brown that was not just pleasing to the eye but to the palate as well. I love the fact that the wrapper was so thin and the minced pork inside was very flavorful and juicy.

 I am not big on beers but the combination of gyoza and Hitachino Nest Beer was too hard to resist.

Tempura and Karaage came next to further whet our raging appetites.  I love the crisp texture of the tempura and I appreciate that the batter has a distinct flavor in itself. The karaage on the other hand was equally flavorful, I love the crunch in every bite.

Tempura (Php280)

Karaage (Php190)

Beautiful Japanese lanterns add character to the interior, I love it!

The appetizers were already filling on its own but raging appetites started to kicked in when the food attendants served us the main stars of the feast.  Choosing your feast at Mitsuyado entails different choices and decisions as to how you customize your tsukemen experience.  You get to choose between different quantities and how warm or chilled you want your noodles to be. You also have different options for soup where you would be dipping your noodles.

Being a cheese lover that I am, I chose Double Cheese Tsukemen. Al dente noodles dusted with parmesan cheese and served with rich cheese sauce. Served alongside the flavorful tonkotsu sauce, the way this noodle should be eaten entails pouring the cheese sauce to the noodles, mixing it, and dipping it into the soup.
 

Marutoku

For a more gratifying experience, you can opt to have an order of Marutoku which is a side order of char sui pork, egg, and vegetables or you can just opt for a siding of char sui pork. Either ways, adding siding proves to add a rather grand experience to your meal. 

Char Sui

Like what I have mentioned, firmness of the noodles can be customized base on the diner's preferences. Cold noodle means al dente, warm means medium al dente, and hot is for regular al dente. I prefer cold because I love the bite of the al dente noodles. The cheese sauce for me was just okay. If you want to achieve certain richness in your noodles then I suggest you go for the cheese sauce. Otherwise, it's still good even without it.

I find the tonkotsu sauce really flavorful. It hinted of savory flavor with a touch of citrus. I love the fact that it has bits of seafood and pork that made it all the more satisfying.

I also got to try Paolo's order, Cheese Curry which I deem equally satisfying in terms of flavor. The soup is way richer compare to tonkutsu and although they are on the opposite side of the spectrum, I cannot really decide which one is my favorite.

For desserts we had Sumiyaki Coffee Jelly and Cream Anmitsu. Since they are sister company with UCC, it was expected that the coffee jelly was the bomb and I am glad that they've met that expectation.  The cream anmitsu on the otherhand was a sweet treat filled with fruits, red beans, and vanilla ice cream. Both were pleasurable to the palate and a great way to end a satisfying feast at Mitsuyado Sei-Men.

My tsuku-men experience at Mitsuyado was a pleasurable one. rarely do I find myself enjoying noodles unless it's artisinal ramen but this innovative way to enjoy the usual proved to be worth it. Needless to say, i fell in love with the ambiance at Mitsuyado but it's their tsukemen which I get to love all the more.

Prices are reasonable considering it is a specialty restaurant that offers something you cannot just find anywhere else. I've only visited the place twice after the feast that transpired with the foodies and I must say that the service was notable as well. There can be a little waiting time especially when the store is packed with diners but with the goodness of tsukemen they are serving, waiting time can be worth it.

Mitsuyado Sei-Men
#22 Jupiter Street, Barangay Bel Air,
Makati City, Philippines
Telephone: +632 511 1390
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Mitsuyado.seimen