TOMO Japanese Dining — Restaurant in Quezon City

Decided to try out this Japanese restau that's always packed every time i passed by! I'm surprised by the fact that there are 70+ pax reserved for tonight!! 🤯🤯 good thing they have saved a couple of slots for walk-ins!

🫖 that mini teapot is actually a soy sauce container 😂 good thing i checked it before pouring! Could have fooled us for service tea! Haha!

☕️ Matcha Latte — I've never been a fan of matcha, apart from Genki Sushi's matcha tea (service tea) that I've tried years ago. And this drink just surprised me! 🤯 loved how it tastes 😋 though very matcha-y but not the very grassy type. It's creamy with a hint of sweetness!

🦪 Oyster Teppanyaki — mum picked this dish, and it's absolutely worth it!! I would have simply ordered that and pair it with rice 🤤🤤

🐟🦑 Ume Sashimi — Tuna, Squid, Uni, Maya Maya, Salay Salay

🍤 Ebi Tempura — a must order item when dining in Japanese restau! 😍😍😍

🍄🐟🍝 Kinoko Salmon Wafuu Pasta — creamy pasta with salmon, enoki mushroom, shimeji mushroom, and shiitake(?) mushroom. Just WOW!! 🤯😋🤤

🐟🥔🥦 Lapu Lapu Hasamiyaki — fish is very tender, hashbrown (i thought it was a fish slice too! 😂), shiitake mushroom, and a kind of veggie

🍤🧀🍚 Ebi Cheese Yakimeshi — shrimp fried rice topped and baked with cheese. Soo sooo gooood 😋

🍰 Frozen Brazo — i never understood why my mum loves ordering this.. now i know! 🤯😋

🍵🍨🫘 Green Tea Ice Cream with Shiratama — that ice cream is superb! I think it's matcha, but i liked it! It's paired with red bean paste and small mochi balls that are covered in crushed peanuts

Everything here was soo goood!! Definitely...

We were supposed to have lunch at Oedo, but it was closed. So we visited this nearby place. Short feedback:

Food - this is our first time here, so we can't make a reliable assessment of the menu. But I believe a Japanese eating place can be reasonably judged by the quality of its raw fish. And I think their Chirashidon is nearly as good as Izakaya Kikufuji's. Though wifey said their Gyudon is not as tasty. Sukiyaki is good, but Kimono Ken's is better. Serving is slightly smaller than Kikufuji's, but still plenty for the average eater.

Cost - considerably pricier than Kikufuji.

Place - the restaurant looks great! Clean, spacious, and has a 2nd floor dining area served by a wide flight of stairs that's easy to walk up to. Very convenient for the elderly. Parking might be a bit problematic unless you don't mind street parking.

Location - Tomo is situated conveniently along Sto Domingo Avenue in Quezon City, a stone's throw away from Sto Domingo Church. Perfect for family Sunday lunch.

Verdict: if you like Japanese food, you live in the QC area, and you don't feel like driving all the way to Makati to visit Izakaya Kikifuji, Manmaru or Nihonbashitei, Tomo is a good...

We had a frustrating experience at Tomo today and will not be going back.

Food: exceedingly average. We had the beef curry, tempura, unagi-don, sukiyaki, and agedashi tofu. The sukiyaki was the best one among them and had big cuts of mushroom and onions. The agedashi tofu was cut into too large pieces and did not have a good balance between tofu skin, tofu and sauce.

Service: poor. The food took too long to serve; the other tables who came after us received their food before we did, and we suspect that our order wasn’t placed the first time. We were also brought two dishes that we did not order. And the agedashi tofu and iced tea, which presumably should have arrived first, were the last to arrive. And they did not even offer to compensate us for their poor service with complimentary dessert or a discount!

Ambiance: the place is newly opened and still clean, but the ambiance was ruined by noisy tables near us and by frequent interruptions from the security guard asking whether we were the owners of vehicles that were double-parked and blocking other guests.

Value for money: we spent about 1000 per person, which was not worth it...