The Scenic Route: The New Kamameshi House

Have you ever driven or passed by one place and thought, “Hey I should try to go that place out some time,” but in reality you never really do it and end up missing the chance to go beyond what is on your planner? This restaurant might be one of those places, located near Osmeña Highway: the New Kamameshi House from afar doesn’t look too new. The place strikes you as one of those Japanese restaurants that your friends don’t usually go to, but then when you see it, the people with cars eat up one lane of Zobel Roxas street.

From DLSU, there are a number of ways to get there, you can take the Dulo-La Paz jeep located near St. Scholastica’s College and go down just in front of the place when you see it on the right side of the road. You could also take a taxi if the situation calls for it since the jeep doesn’t leave until the vehicle is filled up, though the most economical way of getting there is actually walking to the place which when you think about it is not very far at all.

You did not expect to that this strange looking place be so clean even though the streets that surround it you could consider cramped and dirty. The place from the outside you could relate to a normal sized fellow in between two sumo wrestlers. It looks small although it does have two floors of space. On a regular Friday night the place is usually packed with people so the best time to sample their dishes would probably be during lunch time, because around dinner time, people from their respective lines of work would try to find a place with decent Japanese food and some alcoholic beverages or tea.

The staff greet you in Japanese, and they even dress Japanese – of course that would be the theme of the restaurant. They have those low seating chairs in front of their sushi bar, maybe for those who like seeing their food being made in front of them. The seats were, in a way, like from a legitimate Japanese restaurant. Somehow reminds you of those gangster flicks where the people go in a random restaurant and look for trouble. The place kind of feels like that, because you could see people in business suits talking about politics and whatnot, in their expensive cars stopping over for some lunch.

You would get a sense then that the food is not really that friendly for the student budget of maybe around 300 pesos for starters. Nothing special about the staff here, they aren’t as gimmicky like other restaurants wherein they act as the entertainment in addition to serving your food. No, they mean serious business here and sometimes that gives you the assurance that the place serves really good food and doesn’t try to distract you with whatever dance they come up with.

The Tori Kamameshi, one of their specialties in the restaurant is well below 200 pesos, gives you a hefty serving for one person. Kamameshi basically is rice, served with a topping of your choice. Well then, if the topping isn’t enough you can always go for some trusty Pork Gyoza for ulam. Yes the restaurant treats you with that sense of authenticity with their ambiance while you wait patiently for your food, maybe even ask for their house tea while you are at it. Just remember though the Tori Kamameshi is probably one of their cheaper dishes – price ranges in the restaurant are from 250 to over 1000 pesos.

Though it brings you down with the heavy price, the food is well worth it. The flavor of the Kamameshi would probably bring you to days of the times you went for some fried rice but the strong point of this dish is that you get it steamed and is served in what looks like your own personalized rice cooker. Of course this would be all new to the ones whose idea of Japanese food is what fits in the wallet. This restaurant you might want to visit when you need that fix for some good Japanese food that is prepared in the way it’s supposed to.

In the end, you would be thankful that you actually took the time to visit a place that is not as common as those places at the mall. Being in the New Kamameshi House makes you feel like you have your own den amongst being near one of the busiest roads in Metro Manila. Definitely something to try out now that Christmas break is near.