Kitsho Japanese Restaurant And Sake Bar

Located at the Ground floor of Hotel Jen Manila is Kitsho, one of the finest Japanese restaurants in the country. During our staycation, we had the pleasure of trying out their Weekend Ala Carte Buffet! .          With Chef Masahiro Mizumoto at the helm of the kitchen, Kitsho is famous for his mouth-watering, authentic Japanese dishes.

Spoil yourself over Japanese dishes at Kitsho Restaurant & Sake Bar for only P1,395. Yes, for that amount you can get unlimited servings of your favorite tempura, sushi, sashimi and many more. The Executive Chef is a pure Japanese so expect only the best and authentic Japanese Cuisines that you truly deserve.

Kitsho came from the japanese word 微笑 (Ki-sho) which literally means smile. The owner aims to make you smile after you're buffet experience with them and they did not dissapoint. Kitsho serves a weekend lunch buffet for ₱1,395, guaranteed fresh as their owner/chef runs to the wet market every morning to choose from his supplier the best catch of the day. Guests can order a select few dishes made to order like the sukiyaki and gyudon.

Although there are a select few japanese dishes to choose from there are a certain few I like that are worth coming back to over and over. Particularly the Uni or the edible part of the urchin, the tuna sashimi, the salmon sashimi and beef sukiyaki from their buffet row. From the made to order I specially liked their tempura, mapo tofu, beef teppan. We also got to try their chicken teriyaki, unagi, meat croquette, tuna teppan and shrimp teppan. For desserts we had their wasabi, matcha and black sesame hand made ice cream(only available on dinner buffet but chef had given us the opportunity to try them). Chef says the ingredients of the flavors of the ice cream came from japan.

I specially loved their gyudon, tempura, sashimi, beef teppan, and mapo tofu. Their tempura was something to behold and could be a contender on one of the best tempuras in the metro. Breading was fine and crispy. You wont have the umay factor except for absorbing too much oil from the breading but my fellow foodie and I had lots before we reach our oil threshold. The beef teppan was anther favorite, beef cubes tenderly cooked with leftover garlick soy sauce. The sashimi were fresh and thickly sliced and the uni was stored in a ref and you have to request it when they ran out at the bar. The mapo tofu was delicious, the tofu doesn't break easily and the sauce was savory.

Although not part of the ala carte buffet we had a chance to try the unagi was a bit of a dissapointment it was slimey, didnt taste fresh and small serving for the price. It needs improvement with the cooking too as I got a feeling it was half cooked. Their shrimp teppan was okay, it had butter spicy sauce that was good with rice. The tuna teppan was a bit dry but it satisfied my appetite, if you dip it in soy sauce and calamansi it would be better.

Their dessert was stupendous, authentic japanese ice cream that's never been better. Similar to the creaminess of cow cow it gives wasabi, black sesame and matcha flavors. Don't be afraid with the wasabi and black sesame good as it's weirdly good a better combination than strawberry fries.

Food 4/5- Limited choice but lots of good foods to repeat on.

Ambiance 4/5- ambiance is a bit of a authentic japanese restaurant even the mood. I loved their music as it's relaxing while you eat.

Price 3/5- The price is a bit steep for the buffet but it's worthwhile for the tempura

Service 3.5/5- The servers were knowledgeable but i feel they're not used to big groups like ours specially our ala carte orders were a bit late.

Kitsho serves a weekend lunch buffet for ₱1,395. Aside from their fresh and appetizing sushi and sashimi, guests can also request a variety of other dishes to add to their meal. Some of the dishes that I enjoyed include:

Gyoza
The classic crescent moon-shaped Japanese dumplings. While other versions may have a stronger, earthy taste thanks to the vegetables, Kitsho’s version is mild and has a distinct meaty flavor.

Beef Sukiyaki
Guests get a small bowl of sliced beef and vegetables in a hot, rich, beefy broth. The meat is tender while the veggies still have a bit of crunch to them for contrast.

Beef Teppan
These tender beef cubes are covered in a garlicky soy sauce. This is perfect with a bowl of hot, steaming rice. Make sure to drip some of that sauce onto the rice for maximum flavor.

Unagi
Finally got to try the traditional Japanese eel dish. The eel drips with a mild sauce of soy and ginger. The meat itself is flaky and buttery, which lends to a pleasant experience overall.

Chicken Teriyaki
The chicken is chopped into bite-sized chunks for ease of eating. The teriyaki sauce is also mild but it does have a delightful nutty flavor that emerges once in a while.

Tuna Teppan
The usually strong flavor of grilled tuna is dampened by the garlicky, peppery sauce. This helps make the dish one of my favorites of the visit.

This simple but classy Japanese Restaurant in Hotel Jen is one of the Metro's best kept dining secrets. Despite various promotions by influential foodie sites (SPOT) and bloggers, the customer inflow is still pretty weak. What this restaurant places above others is that they offer a weekend lunch buffet for around 1000 pesos. The place itself is smart and business casual with spacious, comfortable booths and wooden tables with private VIP rooms available. To start things out, this isn't your typical buffet where the entire spread is laid out before you. Only the sashimi, sushi, salads, rice and desserts are on display. The rest of the dishes (seafood, meat, vegetables and noodles) are made-to-order in small portions. Perfect for couples or smaller groups who wanting to try out specific dishes. Arriving on a Sunday lunch, it is surprising and sad that there are only three tables booked. Quite a contrast compared to the relatively filled Latitude Sunday brunch next door. Here's what we had:

SASHIMI AND SUSHI - Standard nigiri sushi and sashimi on offer. Salmon sashimi is very fresh (bright orange) and the spicy tuna fried maki is heaven! The combination of the spicy and creamy tuna goes well with the crunchy sushi rice. The scallop sashimi is what stood out the most. These slimy goodies literally melt in your mouth. All served cold (not at room temperature) which is a huge plus in this type of cuisine.

RICE - Standard Japanese rice choices of Gohan (plain) and Chahan (fried). These are simply comforting, I love Japanese rice.

TUNA AND BEEF TEPPAN - The tuna is cooked in a garlic-based soy sauce which means it still flavorful despite the fish being a bit dry. The beef on the other hand, is very tender and buttery! The juice that comes with it goes extremely well with plain rice. Say more?

PRAWN TEMPURA - Crisp and lightly battered, these are your standard tempura pieces that come with a delectable radish-based sauce.

EBI CHILI - Iron Chef Chen Kenichi's signature dish makes its way on the menu, and we were not disappointed. The sweet and hot (but not spicy) sauce that go with the crispy fried shrimp pieces are addictive to the palate.

MAPO TOFU - The tofu is very soft but the thick Mapo gravy base makes it very well eaten with rice. One of the best versions of Mapo tofu I've ever eaten.

KARAAGE - These fried chicken pieces took for a while being served, which means that these are freshly cooked indeed. At first what it may seem as chicken popcorn is actually a very flavorful serving with the crispiness really present. Thumbs up!

KIMITSU(?) - It's essentially a katsudon without the rice. I find this dish okay. The pork cutlet goes well the sweet sauce and egg bouncy.

YAKISOBA - Pretty much like our pancit canton except for a sweet sauce base. I also find this okay.

SUKIYAKI - We're getting to the good stuff. Kitsho's version of sukiyaki is incredibly fresh since it is cooked right in front of you with a soup base that leans on the fermented sweet side. It's surprisingly delicious!

MEAT CROQUETTE - At first we thought this is made from just ground meat but we were wrong. It is actually a Japanese korokke. Mashed potato is mixed with ground meat and deep fried to very hot. (It almost scalded my mouth) It comes with the standard katsu sauce for good measure. We love this dish.

OYSTER FRY - Do we need to say more? These huge pieces of oyster are deep fried and served also katsu-style. The oysters alone are not too smelly and have an ocean scent. This place is worth visiting for this dish alone!

DESSERTS - Only a few. Fruit slices and some cheesecake and sansrival squares. These are okay. The ones in Latitude are way better.

SERVICE - Service here is very professional and attentive. The waiters have a good knowledge of the food served and are happy to recommend to the diners.

Kitsho is still of the radar for many foodies out there. (Probably attributed to its location in Pasay where many foodies would seek heaven in the trendier Makati, BGC, Ortigas and Quezon City) but I would highly recommend this place for Japanese food fanatics looking for a very relaxing and fresh meal.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Intimate dates, business meetings and fancy food tripping.

RECOMMENDED AGAINST: Rowdy families (making noise here is incredibly awkward despite being in VIP rooms) and diners on the run (service here is intentionally relaxed).