Watami

I guess I overestimated the capabilities of the restaurant this time.  I've passed the Watami outlet at the Shangri-la Mall a few times, and I have heard some of my friends talking about the place.  With the blurb "700 stores in Japan," I kinda figured that the place had exquisite cuisine.  Last weekend, I brought the family to dine there, but the end result was that the restaurant failed to make an impression on us all.

We started off with some salmon sashimi and gyoza.  Although the salmon was not bad, I felt that the gyoza was oily, and the wrapper was pretty gooey to chew on; I expected a crunchy bottom and steamed insides, but instead of the traditional half-moon, the shape of this gyoza was like that of a tuna turnover, which I think contributed to the funny texture of the wrapper.

The pork ramen was a fair rendition of the old favorite, the broth had flavor, the pork cutlet was tender and the egg was soft boiled just right.  The rice dishes though were clearly lacking in umami, and Monique was very quick to point this out.

We forked over some P500 per head, and this time we had no drinks (only tea and tap water), so expect to spend something like P800 per head if you add a vegetable dish, some dessert and drinks.  Portioning was quite controlled, and it seemed like we were on a taste test instead of having dinner.  One saving grace though--the staff is very well trained (I think the local franchisee is the Bistro Group), and they were very helpful with their fast service, and they were all smiles from the moment we entered, to the moment we left.