I passed by this tea house on my way during an afternoon walk. All the blinds were drawn because at pass four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was still hot. It was tempting to get in knowing that the inside is very cozy and air-conditioned. However, that will defeat my purpose so I moved on.
On my way back, I can not help to keep glancing at the tea house. The sun was starting to set but it was still fairly hot as the glass walls are directly being hit by sun rays. All blinds were still drawn. For some reasons, it looks more inviting this time.
To satisfy my interest, I crossed the street and got inside. It was fairly full and busy even at the order counter. I fell in line and waited for my turn. While waiting, I was busy trying to catch a good shot of the menu beside the POS machine.
When I was finally in front of the cashier, I have already decided on what to order. Chicken yakitori. Let's have early dinner, I thought.
She took my order and while she was punching on the POS machine, I continued taking photos of the menu. She noticed it and handed me a brochure which is literally a small version of their menu. It is well done like a holiday greeting card with good paper material.
While handling the brochure to me she said, "Ma'am, you can take one with you. We are also available now through Grab Food and Food Panda."
Those are two popular food delivery companies in the country with mobile apps for the service. As the food delivery sevice business is just starting to boom, I wonder how far these deliveries have reach other areas of the country.
"Really? That's cool. Thank you," I answered to the cashier and took a seat with my back to the counter.
I thought I started to get bored waiting for my order so I turned to look at the cashier. It was right in time that a lady was approaching with a plate. She was approaching the table behind me, looked at the cashier and asked, "Here?"
The cashier shook her head and pointed at me. The lady advanced to my table and served the plate which was well arranged and presented.
I did not actually know what yakitori was. I just wanted to give it a try when I ordered it so I searched for it when I got seated.
Yakitori Japanese: 焼き鳥) is a Japanese type of skewered chicken. Its preparation involves skewering the meat with kushi (串), a type of skewer typically made of steel, bamboo, or similar materials. Afterwards, they are grilled over a charcoal fire. During or after cooking, the meat is typically seasoned with tare sauce or salt.[1] The term is sometimes used informally for kushiyaki (grilled and skewered foods) in general.
In short, yakitori is Japanese version of chicken barbecue! So what makes it different from other barbecues out there? I think it is the tare sauce that makes it Japanese.
Tare (垂れ, [taɾe]) is a general term in Japanese cuisine for dipping sauces often used in grilling (yakitori and yakiniku, especially as teriyaki sauce) as well as with sushi, nabemono and gyoza.
The sauce is best described as sweetened, thickened soy sauce for grilling and flavored soy sauce with dashi, vinegar, etc., for nabemono and nattō such as ponzu but every chef has their own variation.[1]
Indeed, the sauuse made the difference. I can taste the sweetness aside from the typical salty and sour sauces. It was actually surprising to know that sugar , salt and soy sause will make a really good blend.
The tea house was almost full when I arrived. Those who were already there before I did seem no plan of leaving even when I can see that they are done with their orders like this lady on the table in front of me. She occupied a table for four and spread her stuff across. With that triangle on her bag, I thought she was an engineering or architecture student trying to rush for her drawing plate for tomorrow. Monday!
From the looks of it, she seem to be here for a long time. The others on two more tables behind me looked the same of not having any plan to leave yet. I wonder if what they bought was worth the time that they keep the tables occupied instead of others taking over. And yes, there were actually those who came by the door, looked around and leaved because there was no available table.
I was starting to leave when I looked down and found this power supply outlet right beside the table post by the glass wall.
Oh, they provided the tools needed for people to also work while dining in. Apparently, they mimic the strategy of Starbucks coffee shop.
That is so cool. Tje only problem is, the place is not near school or office areas. It is near residential areas. Somehow, it looks inviting to many.
bon appeTEA
San Antonio Avenue
San Antonio Valley 1
1700 Parañaque City
Metro Manila
Philippines
Restaurant Information
bon appeTEA
1700 San Antonio Ave, Parañaque, 1700 Metro Manila, Philippines
This post participated in the Tasteem contest Made in Japan
