By Tam Natividad / Special to the BusinessMirror
FAITHFUL to the Japanese way of cooking, Sekitori Authentic Japanese Restaurant, the second in the Philippines, is now offering to Filipinos what its owner calls “the true flavors of Japanese food.” With fresh ingredients, an inviting and playful ambiance, and food that transports guests to “The Land of the Rising Sun,” the restaurant is all about legitimizing the Japanese dining experience.
The original restaurant is found in Little Tokyo in Makati City, along Chino Roces Avenue It opened 12 years ago, originally run by the mother of Masakazu Seto, president and owner of Sekitori. Mrs. Seto has since retired.
The second restaurant, a high-end version of the original, is located on Hanston Square along San Miguel Avenue in Pasig City. It opened in January.
Interestingly, the restaurant’s name, “Sekitori,” is Japanese for a professional sumo wrestler who gets paid for competing in the sport. He has risen above the amateur level. Seto chose the name with the hope that chances for the restaurant’s success are limitless, parallel to a sumo wrestler’s most hopeful stage in his career.
Seto said, as a grand master or Yokozuna, the next natural step is only to retire, but a Sekitori still has room for improvement, always a bright future ahead, just as what Seto aspires his bourgeoning restaurant to be. Someday, he hopes to operate a Japanese garden restaurant.
“The concept is to serve the client excellent food prepared in a beautiful setting, get him filled up and make him smile,” Seto said. He spoke with BusinessMiror with the aid of a translator.
Growing up with a background in sumo wrestling which he learned as a teenager, the traditional Japanese sport translates in Seto’s restaurant not only through its aesthetic décor, but also through the dishes they serve.
On the restaurant’s façade, a towering bigger-than-life figure of a sumo wrestler welcomes the customers in. Inside, waiters courteously lead guests to their wooden tables and chairs, where they can view photographs of sumo wrestlers and marvel at the giant figure that welcomed them. Among the champions photographed was an uncle of Mazakazu.
On the second floor are private rooms with tatami tables, which could be reserved for intimate gatherings. Often, this space is where groups of Japanese dine and drink for the evening. The dishes come in “sumo-sized” servings. The Chanko Nabe hot pot is one particular dish Sekitori serves that sumo wrestlers traditionally eat daily for lunch. With pork, chicken and an assortment of vegetables prepared for five hours in a simmering hot soup accompanied by homemade noodles, this meal is Sekitori’s specialty. It is good for sharing and warm on the belly, especially with the rainy season already under way, Seto said.
Their specialties include Irodori Sakizuke Nana-shu Mori. Sakizuke meaning appetizer, this platter is a sampler of seven of Sekitori’s appetizers. They also serve Spicy Salmon, an astonishingly delicious salad whose star flavor is the salmon. Also a specialty is Uni Iri Chawang Mushi, a soup dish featuring a generous serving of fresh sea-urchin meat.
The dishes arrive arranged to impress. Flowers are placed, tiny Japanese umbrellas, everything down to the pattern, in which the vegetables are carved add to the experience of the meal.
Their sashimi assortment, for one, is served on a wooden-boat arrangement complete with miniature fish nets and little sticks, its contents of fresh fish literally brought straight from the sea to customers’ plates. Not only its presentation, but also the taste is verifiably Japanese.
To achieve this, Sekitori imports their meats, fish and other ingredients either biweekly or once a month straight from markets from all over Japan.
The new Sekitori has two chefs who individually prepare orders. One has traveled all around the world teaching Japanese cuisine wherever he goes. The other is a master of the Kyoto style of cooking. Together, they make dishes that follow the traditional Japanese style of cooking, even when using local ingredients, such as lapu-lapu.
The clientele also recognizes this authenticity, as half of those who dine are Japanese; the other half are other foreigners and Filipinos.
Dishes served in Sekitori range from P300 to over P1,000. For a full dinner with alcoholic beverages, as per the popular Japanese way, customers should expect to spend an average of about P1,000 per head.
Sekitori opens during lunch from 12 noon to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza