The new wing of Greenhills Promenade attracts mall-goers with their new Dolby Atmos cinemas and a set of restaurants that are starting to create their names in the restaurant scene. Some of the noticeable old-timers in the restaurant industry are Tong Yang, Wee Nam Kee and Pancake House. As a foodie, I never underestimate the newbies in this industry. In fact, I am always eager to get their menu and check the line of dishes they could offer. Yumi, one of the new restaurants in Promenade is already making its name known for its casual and modern Japanese dining that isn’t unreachable for your dining budget.
Located right beside the movie house gates, seems like an expensive and prime spot for a restaurant. Yumi isn’t right away noticeable as its exact location is above its sister restaurant, Munchtown. You can take either the stairs or the elevator to go right up straight to Yumi. The elevator button has the Yumi logo on it to avoid confusion.
The Food:
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| Free Appetizer |
The small portion of this sushi-like kani salad with spring onions, mangoes and Japanese dressing gave me an impression how small Yumi’s serving portions are. It’s so refreshing that I want to get more but quite disappointing because of its baby size. Until I found out that this is only a complimentary appetizer. Oopsy doodles! My bad for judging the plate right away. Hehe.
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| Unagi Foie Gras Sushi (Php 350) Rate: 4/5 |
The real first plate, Unagi Foie Gras Sushi, impressed me right away. Yumi’s creativity showed as they mixed the sweet and smoky unagi with a fatty duck liver favorite, which we call Foie Gras. O and I loved how it captured the modern flavor yet remaining the touch of Japanese ingredients and way of cooking.
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| Maguro Sashimi in Chilled Light Shoyu Sauce Rate: 5/5 |
Another superstar that came out was this bowl of Maguro Sashimi in Chilled Light Shoyu Sauce. This is my favorite! The sashimi junkie in me appreciated how the chef tweaked the simple plate of tuna sashimi by adding flavor using light shoyu sauce. There is no need for Kikoman for this tuna, that I can assure.
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| Chirashi Moriawase Rate: 4/5 |
The colorful vinegar rice bowl of sake, maguro, saba, unagi, uni, ebi, tako and tamago. If there’s something to love about Chirashi Moriawase, I’d pertain it to their vinegar rice. My intentions was plainly tying each of these toppings without rice. I felt the people around me forcing me to try the vinegar rice, so I did. I have to say, their vinegar rice makes this bowl extra special. Fresh sashimi with vinegar rice was an absolute pleasure.
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| Chirashi Ikura Tokuji Rate: 4/5 |
10g salmon roe, uni, 20g ebiko, 1pc kani, 1/4 tamago, 20g ika and of course, the special vinegar rice. I had similar relationship to how I love Chirashi Moriawase. I guess the only difference were the toppings included. I’d go for more tuna and salmon sahimi. Thus, my vote points to Chirashi Moriawase than Chirashi Ikura Tokuji.
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| Mix Vegetables with Yumi Sauce Rate: 4/5 |
Yumi keeps a healthy selection by offering Mix Vegetables with Yumi Sauce. One factor that makes vegetables special is Yumi’s very own sauce, which goes with basically anything you could dip at Yumi. The special creamy sauce Yumi created blends in with any of those veggies on the plate. Broccoli and tomatoes were my top choices. Instead of enjoying a bowl of salad, you get this plate of veggies instead.
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| Tempura Moriawase Silver Rate: 4/5 |
What everyone expects is that crispy texture on the outside with fresh taste of prawns in every bite. Yumi got that. They know what you guys want. I don’t think they have fallen short on their Tempura, especially their corns battered and coated with tempura skin.
It’s difficult to compare Yumi’s tempura selections as they create a new way of eating your tempura. Gone are the days of using the authentic old school tempura sauce. Yumi puts in a different kick by adding their Tempura Rock Salt and Green Tea salt to their own Tempura sauce with a squeeze of fresh lemon. The bias green tea maniac in me finds it hard to accept it’s a tie between Tempura salt and Green Tea salt.
Yakitori Sticks stole my attention for a while…
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| Hatsu / Grilled Chicken Heart Rate: 3/5 |
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| Kawa / Grilled Chicken Skin (Php Rate: 3/5 |
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| Sunagimo / Grilled Chicken Gizzard Rate: 3/5 |
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| Torimotsu Teriyaki / Grilled Chicken Liver Rate: 3/5 |
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| Grilled Eggplant Rate: 3/5 |
In general, the sticks were too sweet for me. I don’t recommend Yumi for their Yakitori sticks alone. Not that it’s below average, but I think there isn’t anything special to rave about these sticks. It could be a good selection if you try to mix with other dishes as well. Just take note of the dishes I mentioned earlier. 🙂
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| Genghis Khan Rate: 4/5 |
Thinly sliced and shredded beef teppan that absorbed all flavors surrounding it. Simple and lovely teppan! If my mom was there during my visit to Yumi, this could be one of her top choices to order.
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| Sake Teppan Rate: 4/5 |
The last savory plate that completed my Yumi experience was Sake Teppan, featuring my favorite fish, Norwegian salmon. Didn’t go far from how Genghis Khan teppan was prepared. The difference lies on the texture and juiciness of its meat. Even if my tummy was packed full, I still had room to consider eating more of this Sake Teppan. It’s very simple, the type of dish Filipino mass will appreciate.
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| Muscovado Vanilla Creme Brulee Rate: 4/5 |
Choosing muscovado as sugar shows how Yumi gives importance to health aside from satisfaction of taste. It had the right amount of sweetness, topped with orange slices and thinly crisp of muscovado sugar.
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| Crispy Banana with Jackfruit & Ice Cream Rate: 3/5 |
My heart for green tea flavored desserts will never stop. Well, for now. Crispy banana with jackfruit or what Filipinos are familiar with – turon – balances its sweetness with an ice cream flavor that isn’t competing with its sweetness level. I didn’t find it amazing but just average for a dessert.
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| Green Tea Tempura Ice Cream Rate: 4/5 |
I’d go for Green Tea Tempura Ice Cream over Crispy Banana with Jackfruit & Ice Cream. Each bite is complete with ingredients that can clean all the Japanese savory flavors from the start of the meal. I just have to warn you to be fast in taking a photo before its green tea ice cream melts down the plate.
The Ambiance:
Geisha wall decorations for a more Japanese look.
Yumi’s prime location in Promenade doesn’t refrain frequent movie goers to eat Japanese food at a reasonable price. Get your cameras ready, I bet you’ll instagram your food photos at Yumi.
I don’t kiss Yumi goodbye but a kiss of See You Soon!
If you plan to watch at the new Dolby Atmos cinema theater, set your budget for Yumi as well.
Go on and try Yumi for a yummy Japanese dining!
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Pray, Eat and Love.
Cheers,
The Food Scout
Location: Unit 202, Mezzanine Level, Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center, Ortigas, Ave., Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines
Operating Hours: 11:00am-10:00pm
Contact: (+632) 785-6932
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YumiJapanese
Budget: PHP500++
Rate:
| Food | 9/10 |
| Ambiance | 8/10 |
| Service | 8/10 |
| Cost | 8/10 |
| Overall | 8.25/10 |
The foods and service in Yumi tonight was TERRIBLE..a BIG disappointment!!
We were a party of 5, the second table at 8p.m.. We ordered several dishes (pls refer to our bill dated 12/17, around 9.30pm. I wrote..”service was lousy”). Most of the food came afrer the usual 15-20minute wait.
The tempura was brown. The mushroom tough. After waiting for 40minutes for the crablets, and after being assured three times that it was coming, we were told that the oil was dark, that it would take another 15 minutes to cook a new one. We agreed. When the crablets came, it was tasteless and soggy inside. I should have written lousy food!
TERRIBLE SERVICE. At MID DINNER, we had to ASK for the crab appetizer. Took so long to be served water. Our guest had to ask 2 waiters and 1 waitress before she was served. Reason for late food service was they had many diners.
It was a big let. Food used to be good. And btw..it was the birthday of our grandson. (Mrs. Tita Reverente 09178554939)