The Armchair Critic

Last week, DH and I found ourselves chaperoning his parents to an affair at the Dusit Thani Hotel. Since we weren't officially in the guest list, we decided to grab some eats in nearby Glorietta.

Glorietta used to be the place I hang around during lunch break. Since I worked just across at the 6750 (that building along Ayala with the high-end shops and the Starbucks in the corner), it was very accessible. I know it was more cost-effective to just bring lunch to eat at the office pantry but by lunchtime, I usually had to be out of the office or go berserk. :-) Sometimes I ate alone, but more often, I ate with two other staff, who for their own personal reasons needed to be out of the office, too. We must have dined at all the eating places in Glorietta, from the ubiquitous Jollibee to Tony Roma's. Because there were so many choices, deciding what to eat wasn't much of a chore. But deciding where to eat was.

Anyway, I prevailed upon DH to have a quick meal at Sakura which is located at the second floor of Glorietta 4. Sakura (Japanese for cherry blossoms) is actually a Japanese Grocery and Restaurant. They set up tables and chairs outside their shop. Each as close as you can get dining al fresco inside an air-conditioned mall. It's not as crowded or chaotic as you might think, but chances are high someone you know or who knows you might pass by. So better take dainty bites with those chopsticks.

While Japanese restaurants in the Philippines usually have a reputation of being expensive, the food in Sakura is affordable. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that their prices didn't change much since I had my lunch breaks there.

We had my favorite dish, seafood teppandon. DH ordered the same. See those large chunks of tuna, shrimps, and squid? Yummy. Sakura does not scrimp on the ingredients though I could do with more rice.


DH decided to try something new so he ordered the Tuna Sashimi Salad. A tower of crispy noodles and vegetables with sashimi strips on the side. I don't often like my vegetables but I had to eat these under DH's watchful eye. It was no hardship, I assure you, because it was really good.


Sakura also has a branch in Mall of Asia.