I recently celebrated my birthday and I have to say I'm overwhelmed with how many people I spent it with this year. I usually withdraw somewhere to be by myself or with closest friends and family. For some reason I always crave for the sun and sand on my special day... which makes me wonder if maybe I was born at noontime when the sun is hottest. This year I got to celebrate four times with different sets of friends, which is nothing short of awesome.
I invited my college friends to a birthday dinner at Red Kimono in the Fort. I originally wanted to try Just Thai because I love Thai food, but I couldn't find reviews about it on the net. Several people recommended Red Kimono, and since Japanese food is always safe, I went for it at the last minute.
On the way to Fort that night, a staff of the restaurant texted me to ask about the status of my reservation because we were running late. I was impressed with this gesture because I remember a similar scenario where I was stuck in traffic and was so late for my reservation that I was worried they would give our table away. I had to call the place to make sure they hold it for us. The restaurant was Myron's Place.
The first thing to arrive at the table was Koi's order of Tamago Sushi (no picture). The egg was cold, sweet and creamy. The pieces were bigger than what I normally get served so plus points about that.
Next, our Maki Sampler comprised of Crunchy Tuna, Crunchy Ebi, Red Scorpion, Red Monster and Salmon and Cream Cheese Maki.
I didn't get to taste each assortment but everything that landed on my dipping plate was good.
According to my friends the Salmon and Cream Cheese Maki tasted weird but in a good way. Someone commented that Red Kimono seems like the more expensive version of Omakase. I like Omakase better for several reasons: they make their maki creations sound exciting in the menu, the makis are bigger and they have a special sauce (even though I don't like it). Red Kimono is the winner in terms of customer service though.
Someone also ordered Pork Ribs Teriyaki (no picture). The pork was tender, and with the sweet salty teriyaki sauce, it would've been great with steamed rice but nobody wanted rice that night although we all attacked the potato hay.
Mak came late so we gave him the last piece of the maki. Starving from his long trip from Batangas, he ordered Miso Soup, Tonkatsu and Iced Tea (no picture). The tonkatsu seemed good as my friends kept helping themselves with it even though we'd already eaten. It came with a curry sauce that had some carrot and potato chunks. I heard him say that the curry tasted weird but maybe he just isn't used to Japanese curry.
I was going to buy desert for everyone, but nobody seemed to want any. Moments later, I found out why: they had a surprise cake for me! It was so sneakily planned that I had no clue about it even when they've apparently botched things several times already. The Mango Bravo cake from Conti's was amazing and delicious... just my type of cake: fruity and spongy (and with mango!!!) :)
It was one of most unforgettable birthdays. Although some things could've made it perfect, I'm grateful for the blessing of friends and another year in this world. Read more
