What’s New At Kushikatsu Daruma (August 24, 2017)

For those who are looking for a new light hearted place to relax at, come on down to Uptown Mall BGC to Kushikatsu Daruma! As for the very lengthy restaurant name that is already a tongue twister on its own, kushikatsu is actually a Japanese delicacy referring to deep-fried skewered meat and

vegetables. Kushikatsu Daruma is an iconic restaurant in the famous Dotonburi area of

Osaka that serves the best kushikatsu in Japan. 

The brand came to Manila in March this year, and since then, it’s been a bastion of family fun and comfort after a long and tiring day. Kushikatsu Daruma carries a more pub/tavern equity in Japan, but here, it’s more restaurant-ey to me. But regardless of whether people think it’s a tavern with good food, or a restaurant with good drinks, it’s a place full of hearty foods and great drinks, all to comfort tired and weary souls. 

The team was excited to invite members of the press and media on a laid back Thursday afternoon to highlight their rice bowls and reveal their Happy Hour promotions. From Mondays through Fridays at 4PM to 9PM, Kushikatsu Daruma is offering their San Miguel Light and San Miguel Pale Pilsen beers at just P50 (from P65), while their Chu Hais are Buy 1 Take 1, so two will only cost P280! Favorites include Lychee, Kiwi, and Mango Blackberry.

And this is how it looks! To me, it’s got a very modern and whimsical vibe. It’s homey and cozy in this place, despite being so well lit. 

And you will see it everywhere in this restaurant! NOOOOO DOUBLE DIPPIIIIINGGGGG!!!!!! The thing is, in Japan, (presumably because rent is sooo expensive), it is not unusual to make strangers sit together in the same table to be efficient. In another practice of efficiency, instead of serving a small tub of sauce per person, they serve just 1 big tub of sauce per table. As such, in the situation where strangers are seated together with just 1 tub of sauce, no double dipping just has to be enforced.

Amusingly, these lanterns are inside. If I’m not mistaken, they’re supposed to be outside, because the lanterns are saying “Commerce Ongoing” or  basically, that the store is open. Oh well, it’s cute anyways hahaha.

This one, of course, is the shrimp. Thanks to the tail so I know hahaha. And can I just say I dipped like my life depended on it? Since no double dipping is enforced, I bathed the kushikatsu in the sauce and spun the stick several times to be sure hahaha.

For the rice bowl, I chose Oyakodon because thus far, before this visit, I have never had good Oyakodon anywhere yet. The way that I understand it, Oyakodon should feature an egg that’s custardy and borderline runny. It’s not supposed to be like the scrambled egg or fried egg that is usually the custom in the Philippines. Thankfully, the egg on this one is custard-ey! And the portions are healthily filling.