I enjoyed the entire experience. It was unusual in my opinion that the restaurant was quiet around lunch time on a Saturday. I had the tempura & beef teriyaki donburi and island roll. I found it unique that the beef was served in a patty form but it tasted good either way.
Guilty Pleasures Seeker
+5
Out of all the Japanese restaurants in Power Plant Mall, this is the most traditional one. They have lunch set offers depending on the day. One ala carte dish I like here best is the Dragon Roll, make sure go try it when you dine here
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
If I could give 10-star rating, I would.
Zaifu is, for me, a no-frills authentic Japanese Restaurant. Their food reminds of home-cooked meals. It doesnt matter if they use simple and plain utensils, or their food lacks presentation, because the taste more than made up what was lacking in some aspect (or so what others thought 😁)
Here’s what we ordered:
Spicy Salmon Cheese Roll - fresh salmon and cheese rolled in rice and wrapped in nori wrapper. Simple but so fresh. Perfect appetizer. It really perked up our appetite.
Yasaiitame - perfectly cooked, sauteed vegetables (togue, cabbage, onions, kutchai). It balances the meatyness of the other food we ordered.
Gyoza - reminds me of home. Their gyoza tastes so comforting.
Seafood Ramen - the waitress was so nice to offer to split our ramen in two. It has squid rings, shrimps, clams, mussels and lots of chinese petchay. The clear soup really tastes msg-less, not salty but full of flavor.
Salmon teriyaki - fresh slice of salmon grilled with teriyaki sauce. Light but filling.
Mango shake tastes home-made, too.
Also worth mentioning is their freezer of Binggrae and Lotte foods ice cream bar. I tries Lotte foods Greek Yogurt bar (Php45). It’s a greek yogurt bar with a thin coating of white chocolate with blueberry swirls inside. Perfect for washing up the yummy dinner we just had.
I have been dining here since 2005. Food, service, and ambiance have always been a delight. Whether going solo, couple, or groups, all my experiences here are positive. It's authentic Japanese cuisine. The menu is extensive, and special requests may be accommodated. Serving time is reasonably quick. Pricing is typical for the area it's in, expect at least around Php600 per person. Ambiance is warm but the temperature is fairly cool thanks to the mall's airconditioning. Staff are friendly and are always ready.
Better to make a reservation, place gets crowded especially on a weekend. Service is a little slow due to dinner time and quite packed. Enjoyed the food, my Box Meal is complete.. Tonkatsu Box Set - P220.00, right cooking for the pork cutlet, and generous servings. Came with tasty potato salad, veggies and yummy miso soup.
Zaifu is a good Go-To restaurant in Powerplant. It has good value and they have lunch sets. What I love here is their beef teppanyaki. Be sure to get at least the australian beef since it is tender and very tasty. We also got their ebi tempura but while the prawn is good and sweet, I think they can still improve with the tempura batter. Overall, Zaifu is a good restaurant to get your Japanese fix.
Food - 3.5
Service - 4.0
Ambience - 3.5
I love their salmon. Also, their table and Japanese ambiance. The waiting time for food is not recommended if you're too hungry to wait. Overall, if you're a Japanese food lover this restaurant is a must-try.
Cheap Japanese food in Rockwell. If you don't come in expecting quality to rival the restos in Little Tokyo, you'll be fine. Their huge lunch/after lunch sets are great value for money. I won't recommend zaifu for sushi/sashimi but you can't go wrong ordering staples like shrimp tempura, okonomiyaki or the katsudon sets. House tea and miso soup hit the spot. My go to place for Japanese comfort food on a budget. My one gripe is they don't have sukiyaki.
I just learned that this resto has the same owners as isshin one of my favorite Japanese restos along Arnaiz Avenue in San Lorenzo village. I got myself tempura bento set asI gobbled it quickly It was a cure for my crazy headache especially coming from a crazy brain drainung seminar. It had enough flavors to be an authentic Japanese restaurant with the price that they backed it up. Added with a very hands on customer service, I would definitely be back here to try their other entrees.
Been going here since I was 5, Rockwell being my second home, feels like Zaifu is already my main restaurant at Rockwell, could literally eat here everyday, salmon sashimi every time and tempura and gyudon my main dishes to order.
October 25, 2016
Zaifu Japanese Restaurant - Powerplant Mall
Salmon Skin Maki - P240.00
Mix Sashimi - P290.00
Katsudon - P205.00
Ebi Tempura Set - P320.00
Dined here with my 2 siblings and my Dad. Salmon Skin Sashimi Maki is incrediblely good, crunchy yummy maki. You have to order this dish. The mix sashimi was fresh. It was not specifically writtten on the menu that the dish will not contain salmon, that was disappointing. Katsudon, good flavours and very filling. Ebi Tembura Set was complete and taste fantastic. Free hot/cold tea.
Service was prompt. Unfortunately, I feel that servers doesn't have proper service language etiquette.
Overall Dining Experience:
Food-4.5/5
Drinks- 4/5
Ambience- 4/5
Service- 3.5/5
Value for Money- 4/5
Made a quick visit here while waiting for a doctor's appointment.
The salmon teppanyaki with bean sprouts was good. Flavorful salmon slices with a good vinegar/soy dip and tasty bean sprouts
The ambiance was great.
Staffs were a bit slow but were accomodating and polite. They also forgot to serve my coffee that was included in my order.
The food tastes really good. I love it that they served us w/ the bento box. It felt like I was in Japan. Haha. 😊 The sukiyaki tasted heavenly.
Will definitely come back again next time.
Working at the Rockwell area might be quite high on the budget for meal allowance. But Zaifu has a reasonable lunch package from Mondays to Fridays. A bento box of rice, viand, veggie and miso soup.
I love how they presented the food especially the rolls and bentos. The taste was nice but I didn't find it very distinct from other Japanese restaurants.
I like how they arranged there seating where you get to eat like a traditional Japanese would. Although I did find the large Japanese doll creepy since the position it was placed in looked like it was staring at the customers. Especially, when they had to turn the lights of for Earth hour.
We panic when it's Japanese! Look at how much we've ordered for just the 3 of us! Zaifu has been known for their authentic Japanese dishes. Must try are: vegetable kakiage, sukiyaki and okonimiyaki. The other best sellers would be the normal salmon sushi, tempura, tuna salad, tuna crunch roll, chahan and yakisoba. My personal favorites which we weren't able to order are the unagi Don and shimi saba (raw mackerel). Ask for their complimentary hot green tea, very good for decreasing fullness.
We left crawling out of the tables!
One of the best Japanese Restaurant! Gyudon and Tempura is the best! Fast service and very affordable! I will keep coming back to this place!
What I loved here is their Salmon Creamcheese Maki. I love it almost melts in your mouth with that creamy cheese 😍
But I asked about their best seller ramen, and they recommended the Seafood Ramen, it wasn't disappointing but I was looking for the savory broth. Gyudon, was okay too.
Food: +++
(There are lots of food choices to pick from. I liked their gyudon and kani salad. I tried some of their ramens as well and though the broths were flavorful, I wasn't a fan of the noodles which were kinda too thick.)
Service: ++
(Attendants were courteous. Serving was neither fast nor slow.)
Atmosphere: ++++
(I liked the setting of their tables on the inner part of the restaurant. You have to remove your foot wears first then you can either "kneel/squat" on the pillows or you can let your feet free under the table. Japanese-y!)
Price: +++++
(Super cheap when compared to the other Japanese restaurants inside the Power Plant Mall.)
One of Rockwell Powerplant's oldest restaurants, Zaifu boasts for their delicious and affordable Japanese food choices. Visit during lunch time since they have lunch specials that are really cheap. Their gomoku ramen special has a bowl of ramen with menchi katsu, and gyoza.other recommended food are their futomakj gyudon, and tempura.
Had a business meeting with a good entrepreneurial friend and thought that we would have some Japanese food so we bumped into Zaifu just to try out.
We are both strong lovers of good Japanese food so we thought we would try this place out.
So we tried their Sake (Salmon) Sashimi,
Sake (Salmon) Sushi, Makimono Dragon Roll and of course cannot forgot the Miso Soup. Miso was ok a little on the water side, however the sashimi and makimono was good. As I am very peculiar about my Japanese foods and have tried many all over Asia-Pacific, I have some high standards to fill.
Decent Japanese food for a hefty price. Though I usually eat the lunch set, I've also tried the chirashi from this place. It was ok, nothing special and rice was a bit warm vs the right chirashi rice temp. Overall, could do better for the price we pay. (Except for the lunch set)
Very very good pricing and portioning! Truly has value for money. Food is tasty and consistent too! Love the miso ramen and the sashimi is fresh fresh fresh!
Used to always go here as a kid! I always love the dining area inside the restaurant where you go barefoot and sit on pillows!
Te food tastes great, and though not the best authentic Japanese food, it does satisfy my taste buds, especially their tempura. If you're on a budget, they have affordable lunch sets, too.
Ilove japanese cuisine alot! And i enjoyed california maki and tempura here @zaifu. The place though is small and a little crowded. Yet the staff were amazingly courteous and serves accurately. For the price of the food, i find it fair enough to its serving and tases. Surely, i will recommend this to friends, colleagues and family.
Zaifu is one the cheapest Japanese restaurants you'll find when you go to Rockwell and they've been there for several years now. They are still budget-friendly for those yuppies working nearby and craving good Japanese food. They now have a teppanyaki table for more dining choices. Try their Lunch Set for only P168.
When you're in the Rockwell area, craving for Japanese, and reluctant to shell out, try Zaifu.
These are one of the restaurants that I kind of grew up in. We would usually be a big group on Sundays so Zaifu allowed us kids to enjoy their tables and it also allowed the adults to worry less about the bill.
Compared to the other Japanese joints in Power Plant, Zaifu is probably the cheapest. They don't skimp on taste though. Every order still comes out good. An added bonus is the abundance of bento boxes or lunch deals that they have. I also particularly like dining here for the Yakult.
Recently, they have added teppanyaki tables after their expansion. I have yet to see if theirs would compare to Ogatsu Hime, Akira or Kimpura
Indeed, one of the classic Japanese Restaurants in Makati. It was Friday and we want some ramen for dinner. Since we're in Power plant, we had a chance to dine in here.
The verdict:
The place: at first i thought the place is small enough but its wide and i was surprise that they have low dining tables. I'd like to seat on the low dining setting however, when we arrived there, those areas are occupied.
The food: we ordered beef ramen and gyoza. To be honest, the beef ramen is just like a regular hot beef noodles served with half egg although the shredded beef is quite full. For its price, okay na.
The gyoza, it was fried well but no special sauce, just get your own soy sauce. I'd like to get maki and don buri meals next time! :-)
The price: budget friendly and they have promo for ramen at 20% discount i think for happy hours between 2-5pm ask the waiters if you want a bowl of ramen.
The service: very accommodating and kind. Also they always greet you with a smile! :-)
-xoxo
I'm a regular visitor of Zaifu. I've been going there for many years now. The food is very basic but I like the fact that they have a kids meal. This makes it convenient for me to order for my young daughters. I always love their Zaifu Gyoza. They also have very cheap set meals which they serve from 2:30pm - 5:30pm.
Zaifu, sounds like a cartoon character from the Avatar The last air bender series. I did not pick this place but my friend did. She likes Japanese food so it was her choice. This place has a below average score at Zomato but we tried it anyway. We ordered three dishes, a tempura, Yasai Itame for her and mine was... none other than Katsudon. . The stir fried veggies was the one that was served first. I was not sure about trying it but I did and to my surprise! I loved it. I really did like it a lot. I kept on eating it until my friend poured some chili sauce in it. I liked the taste. I wanted to eat more of it but since it was already spicy, I stopped. If it wasn't spicy I would have ate all of it.
Continue reading on my site below to see more about me and the food I eat:
PLACE: ★★
-They tried their best to give their customers an authentic Japanese dining experience by having tables that are similar to those you can find in Japan, those that are on the floor. Regular chairs and tables are also available. The resto is also easy to find.
SERVICE: ★★
-Good. They try their best to assist you if you have any queries regarding the menu.
PRICE: ★★
-Fair enough, relative to the serving size.. I think it is reasonable. At around P300 for a complete meal of bentobox, I think you're not at a loss.
FOOD: ★
-I had their ramen which comes with 3pcs gyoza, and compared to other ramens, it is a bit on the lower end of the scale. There's nothing special when it comes to the taste of the food. I guess if you really want a quick fix of Japanese food for lunch, then maybe you can have it here at Zaifu. It is not for any special dinner where you want the best value for your money.
Located at the basement of Rockwell Powerplant Mall, Zaifu serves Japanese food such as maki, ramen, tempura, donburi and sukiyaki in an ambiance somewhere between foodcourt and casual dining. It used to serve hot and delicious meals when if first opened but my experience lately is that quality has suffered a lot.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Fans of Isshin Ramen on Pasay Road know Zaifu to be its younger, "nouveau"-style Japanese sibling restaurant. It's been in Rockwell for as long as the mall has been in existence. Although time may seem to have left it behind, it remains an oldtimers' favorite, with expert patient staff on hand who'll guide you through the menu and help you consider alternatives when you are stumped for choice.
Admittedly on our visit last Sunday, which was Father's Day, they were probably a little off their game. My Hiyashi chukka ramen was properly cold, but the ramen - gasp - overcooked. It lacked in vegetables, but not in egg or sliced pork and spicy mustard, which rounded out its usual flavor. A more delicious seafood ramen came out of the kitchen, followed by an order of tuna maki and ebi tempura, which was a little overbattered and underseasoned.
It could've been a better meal, but the service is always good and always makes things better.
A good place to remember for good ramen bowls that cost closer to P200-300, as opposed to the designer ramens now pushing upward of P450.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes