There were three young men playing in front of the restaurant when I arrived. They were wearing different casual attires so one may not immediately conclude that they are restaurant staff.
When they saw me looking inside the restaurant, they all stopped what they were doing, lined up in front of me with their backs to the entrance and said their piece almost simultaneously.
"Kain po kayo, ma'am?" Do you want to eat, ma'am?
"Pasok po kayo, ma'am." Get inside, ma'am.
"Try niyo po dito, ma'am." Try dining in here, ma'am.
One of them even bowed at me while waving his hand showing the entrance. I laughed.
"Wow, grand entrance!" I said as I moved forward and past by them. They all tailed me into the restaurant.
There was not a dining soul inside. It is pass seven in the evening on a Monday night and this is near residential area so it is not a surprise if there are no diners. Most people would have rushed home by this time.
One of them asked where I want to sit while the two quickly went to the counter to get the menu. I pointed to the table at the corner to the right as I started towards it.
Right when I sat down, the two who went to get the menu were already all over me. They have different menu with themselves. They laid both on the table while asking me.
"Wala po kayong kasama, ma'am?" Don't you have a companion, ma'am?
The other one was more straight forward.
"Bakit wala po kayong kasama? Why don't you have a company?
"Because I am alone." I answered laughing at them.
They both kept quiet and stood like playful soldiers waiting for their orders. No indication of intention to leave. I laughed again.
"Wow, pressure! Can you guys please let me be and I will just call when I made my choice?"
"Ah sige po, ma'am." Ah, okay ma'am.
I was switching from one menu to another and looking at either the don or ramen. The rice bowl won.
I looked at the counter and one of the crew was attentive enough to notice me. He immediately came forward.
I thought I already knew the answer but for some reasons, I still asked.
"The chicken oyakodon is not spicy, right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Not spicy?" I reiterated my question. This time he hesitated and excused himself. He went to the counter and asked someone I could not see. He came back.
"There, ma'am. It is confirned that there is no spicy among the rice bowl options."
That was very good. I ordered for it. Shortly after, the misu soup, a glass of water amd a plate with soup spoon and utensils were served. Good! I don't need to worry about chop sticks.
As I was waiting for my bowl, a group of ladies arrived. Just like how I was treated earlier, two guys towered over them and not planning to leave. I smiled.
"These guys are bored and got nothing to do," I thought.
Few more minutes and my bowl was finally served. This time with a pair of chop sticks. As usual, I did not touch the sticks.
The rice bowl looked so tempting. Here's to my oyakodon. Wonder what it is?
Oyakodon (親子丼), literally "parent-and-child donburi", is a donburi, or Japanese rice bowl dish, in which chicken, egg, sliced scallion (or sometimes regular onions), and other ingredients are all simmered together in a kind of soup which is made with soy sauce and stock, and then served on top of a large bowl of rice. The name of the dish is a poetic reflection of the fact that both chicken and egg are used in the dish.
I am not sure what that parent-and-child refers to but I guess the chicken and egg.
The chicken meat was so tender and perfect. The veggies were not fully cooked and I loved it being crunchy.
When I got into the rice under the meat and veggies, I had to pause because it was too hot. Apparently, it just came out of the microwave oven. It was a good thing that they did not put the whole bowl including the chicken and veggies in the microwave oven. Otherwise, the taste and texture could have changed.
I thought of experimenting and looked for the condiments lined up on the right side of the table. I can not immediately figure which of the containers with black liquid has soy sauce or fish sauce. I looked at the counter and a crew was very quick to come forward without me saying anything.
I looked at the two containers and on that second look, content of one looks darker. Ah, that's the soy sauce. I still asked the crew just to have a conversation since he came to me. He confirmed and offer if I want a saucer. I said, "yes please".
He came back with the saucer and asked if I want calamansi.
"Ah, toyomansi!" I thought. Toyomansi is a contracted term for toyo (soy sauce) and calamansi which is literally calamansi juice.
"Ah, cool. Yes, calamansi please."
He left and came back again with half calamansi.
That was very cool of these crew. They are not just so attentive but also have the sense of very good customer service by offering more.
By the way, my experimented toyomansi was perfect with the chicken!
While I was finishing my meal, a crew passed by and I asked about their bilao (giant plate made of bamboo) offers on the menu under the table cover. He explained the combination of maki and sushi per bilao and also mentioned that they have ten percent discount. The discount is not indicated on the menu but he mentioned it. That's another great customer service.
I was not inclined to buy any bilao package at that point but I thought of our potluck in the office ftom time to time. Maybe I can get my share in this restaurant next time. I got the contact details and asked their operating hours. He said they open at ten in the morning and closes at either ten or ten thirty at night.
The ordering is for pick-up only so our potluck should better be on Thursday or Friday when I go to work at around noon time. Otherwise, there is no chance that I can pick an order up for the potluck.
I asked for my bill and the crew came back very quickly again. I left my payment on the wooden dish and he left to get my change. When he came back, he was already carrying his stuff to clean the table. With all their funny yet cute and very quick services, that was something that I did not appreciate much - cleaning the table when the diner is still seated. It may be just my instinct talking but I felt like I was being rushed to go. On the other hand, my alter-ego was telling me that they are not rushing me to go. They are just so active ad got nothing else to do so they are excited for the opportunity. I stood, thank the crew and started to leave. He cheefully answered.
"Thank you, ma'am. Balik po kayo." That is "please come visit us again."
"Yeah, it will be good to be back," I thought on my way to the door.
Restaurant Information
Shokudo Donburi
8288 Dr Arcadio Santos Ave, San Antonio, Parañaque, 1715 Metro Manila, Philippines
Taste of Japan through Filipino service
This post participated in the Tasteem contest Made in Japan