03 MARCH 2019

24
LIFESTYLE
Dinah S. Ventura, Editor
Sunday, 3 March 2019
Daily Tribune
Two
Asian
of
different types
BBQ
Unli-Korean BBQ is everywhere and the lines
are longer than ever
DIGEST
Pamela Cortez
ASSORTED sticks from Spicy BBQ Room.
By Pauline L. Songco
JAPAN’S
SWEET
BUN
NOW IN MANILA
It is best served with the shop’s signature gelato ice cream flavors
and rusk — a form of biscuit — as its filling
Filipinos still like to munch on the classic
merienda combination of monay and sorbetes
(bun and ice cream). But did you know that
the Japanese have their own version? One of
Asia’s trendiest dessert places finally opened
its first branch in Manila, sweet surprise
especially for lovers of all things Japan.
Melonpan Ice, a dessert shop that sells
sweet buns made from fluffy dough, opened
its flagship store at the Eastwood City Walk
2 in Quezon City earlier this month. Its
owner, Shiro Mirakami, started off just by
selling bread in a truck in Kanazawa City
in Japan.
Soon enough, it became a hit among high
school students in town. “One day, a girl
recommended to Shiro to put ice cream in
the middle. And that’s where it all began,”
Reagan Dykimching, Melonpan Ice Philippines
partner, told Daily Tribune. Word spread, and
Melonpan became the most popular dessert
in Japan.
Freshly-baked and crispy sweet, the bread
used in Melonpan resembles a melon, hence its
name. It is best served with the shop’s signature
gelato ice cream flavors and rusk, a form of
biscuit, as its filling. It is an ice cream sandwich
with a distinctly Japanese twist.
Melonpan Ice currently offers
a full range of signature
items which include
Melonpan Ice in vanilla,
chocolate, strawberry
and matcha flavors,
as well as the mini
version, Minipan Ice.
These sweet
desserts may be
ordered per piece
or in boxes of five while the rusk can be ordered
solo in either regular or large. For those who
enjoy their desserts with a beverage, the shop
also offers iced or hot coffee in black or white
flavor.
Melonpan Ice also offers savory meals such
as Kani Tamago Melonpan, Chicken Teriyaki
Melonpan and Pork Chashu Melonpan. The
menu lineup will also carry Rusk Hachimitsu
(honey), Matcha Melonpan, Choco Chip
Melonpan and the Almond Crunch Melonpan
this year.
“Besides creating the store, we are
expanding to more locations. We are eyeing
two or more locations within this year,
probably opening a fourth branch by the end
of 2020,” Dykimching added.
If you’re eager to sample this authentic
Japanese treat for the first time, a quick visit
to Melonpan Ice’s first branch in the country
will surely provide you with a sweet and
satisfying taste of Japanese culture.
“Right now we have a partnership with
Grab and Booky to make the product more
accessible. And then lastly we will be
expanding the menu. Right now it is strictly
dessert but we will be launching the savory
line so you can enjoy Melonpan for breakfast,
lunch or dinner,” Dykimching concluded.
Melonpan Ice currently
has 50 branches in Japan
and is present in over
eight countries.
Korean BBQ has dominated
the Manila food scene
in an unprecedented way.
Samgyupsalamat pioneered
this cultish movement with its
“unlimited” offering, forcing
other Korean restaurants to
change their strategy or risk
being left in the dust.
Now, unli-Korean BBQ is
everywhere and the lines are
longer than ever.
While yakiniku and Thai
BBQ are also prevalent in
the city, there’s another style
that is secretly spreading
good meats but is generally
overlooked.
Chinese BBQ is one of my
favorite things to enjoy, and
with the influx of Chinese
nationals and workers (which
I’m still divided on), there
have been more of these
restaurants popping up.
To talk about these phenomenons, I visited
two popular establishments to find out just what
it is about them that makes them worth a visit.
Romantic Baboy
The other popular counterpart to Samgyupsalamat
is the hilariously named Romantic Baboy which
already has around 20 outlets all over Metro Manila
after opening in 2018.
It’s pretty typical, with eight meats to choose
from, and a new addition that has also been taking
Korean food in Manila by storm — cheese.
I will always prefer the unmarinated meats just
because they lend themselves well to different
flavors like kimchi and the variation of dipping
sauces so each bite is always different.
It’s pretty typical, with eight meats to
choose from, and a new addition that has
also been taking Korean food in Manila by
storm — cheese.
Thinly sliced beef brisket known as woo samgyup
is a favorite, or plain samgyupsal, a thicker cut of
pork belly.
What sets Romantic Baboy apart is their moksal
or pork neck which is typically more expensive,
but is still unlimited here. It’s fatty and incredibly
full of pork flavor.
By the way, never expect good service at
these unlimited Korean restaurants, just because
they’re always full of people and staff will be too
busy to fill your order on time.
Spicy BBQ Room
The Chinese BBQ I’ll be talking about here is
different from the Cantonese style we’re used to
— I don’t mean roast duck, soy chicken or charsiu.
I’m talking about the type that hails from
Xinjiang and the Hunan province, which is
incredibly spicy and full of cumin and other herbs
and spices.
These come to your table on tiny metal skewers,
and are coated in spices which are delicious and
numb your tongue.
They serve up everything from lamb, to fatty
BEEF Samgyup.
GRILLED oysters.
SPICY eggplant.
beef, to squid, all with the same intense rub that
will leave you reaching for bowls and bowls of rice.
They even have oysters at this nondescript location
along Bagtikan street in Makati, filled with piquant
garlic.
You can also order dishes that are all packed
with heat, from eggplant to whole fish with
Szechuan peppercorns.
MATCHA Melonpan.
THESE come to your table on tiny metal skewers and are coated in spices which are delicious and numb your tongue.