Ooma — Restaurant in Mandaluyong

Prolly one of the best Japanese restaurants we've been to in a while.

First of all, the service was impeccable. The staff was all smiles, very welcoming, and really had a good vibe about them. Like they enjoy what they do. They were very polite, explained how to eat some of the dishes for maximum yums, and refilled the water glasses without prompt. Just this alone makes me want to go back for more.

But the food was great too, which brings me to my second of all lol. We had the Mushroom Chips, which tastes so good it makes me wonder if I should feel guilty kasi very similar yung experience sa chicharon. We also had the amazing Soft Shell Crab Taco Maki and the Crowd Favorites (sort of like a sampler of maki) which almost brought me to tears kasi ang sarap! The tori karaage was so flavorful muntik na naman ako maiyak. And since feeling ko we wouldn't get full, we also got the Katsudon and some drinks.

I was wrong. The Crow Favorites + karaage together were enough to fill us up. And this was a happy-busog kind of experience because every single dish was so good.

We had to take some of the food home kasi nga ang dami pala.

The bill ended up to be around 2000php and it was all worth it. Honestly akala mas malaki pa yung aabutin ng bill sa dami at sa sarap ng kinain namin.

Please try this place out if you...

My partner and I ate there earlier at around 11am, just before peak hours.

The gyoza was above average when it comes to flavor. The blanket of cheese was a unique touch to the traditional gyoza, however, the cheese was a bit over torched.

We really enjoyed the mushroom chips with the wasabi aioli. Even though the mushrooms were deep-fried, the natural juiciness and flavor of the mushroom were retained.

Soft shell crab taco-maki was amazing. I like their "soft taco" approach with the nori sheet.

The akaburi mix was by far the best part of our lunch. It showed that Ooma's strength lies in their unique fusion rolls. Each variation had its own identity. You wouldn't experience the same flavors you'd expect in other maki-focused restaurants.

The seared pork loin was not as stellar. The flavor fell short in comparison to the items that we had on the menu.

The other best part was the customer service given by the staff, namely Baron and Tin. They always made sure that our food was served in a timely manner and that we were having a great dining experience. Kudos to them.

The only feedback that we have is that the complimentary rice that was given to us was clearly not authentic Japanese white rice. It was noticeably out of place during the whole Japanese...

It was my first time dining at Ooma Megamall.

To be honest, it was disappointing. For the price point, both Yayoi and Yabu offer far better taste and portion sizes.

Food Tried:

Pork Tonkatsu (₱545, no rice): The flavor was bland and the serving size was dismal—the cutlet was thin and small. I hate to compare this to Tokyo Tokyo, but there you can get two tonkatsu for ₱270–₱400. At Yabu, the meat is thicker, bigger, and sliced more generously.

Chicken Teriyaki (₱415, no rice): The portion was far too thin for the price, which made it quite underwhelming.

Tori Udon (₱470): Tasted more like chicken alfredo. The noodles seemed to be instant.

Ebi and Kani Aburi Maki: This one was actually good.

Service: I’d also like to point out something about the service. Please remind the crew to refrain from openly complaining about wanting to go home early. Of course, it’s human to complain—we all get tired and want to go home. But there’s a time and place for that, and it shouldn’t be in front of customers. For example, when I asked one staff member for an iced tea refill, he said “Extend na naman tayo” as he was finishing up. Remarks like this leave a negative impression on the overall...