[Review] Yabu, House of Katsu - My First Authentic Japanese Dining Experience

Okay, this is a honest long overdue review. I've already eaten in Yabu twice last month. This was recommended by my friend Daryll. The first time we went there was January 3 and the mall just opened so there wasn't people in the restaurant. It's my first time to eat Japanese food outside the fastfood ones like Tokyo Tokyo, Teriyaki Boy and Karate Kid.

When we arrived, I was honestly mesmerized with the interior. There are manga-like images on the wall. On the other side it was made of wood, which I came to know are wooden masu cups (used to drink Sake). Sadly I wasn't able to take a picture of those *shyness + lack of sleep*

First time that I saw a lot of Sake :P

We decided to seat around the back, beside the mirrored wall. There's a long communal table on our right. The waiter was very nice to answer our questions about the food.

Condiments on our table. The jar on the right is the tonkatsu sauce, the white tall bottle we use for the cabbage.

I ordered Chicken Katsu Set (Php 260), he ordered the Rosu Katsu Set (Php 265) and 2 A La Carte Scallops (Php 100 each).

Warm house tea while waiting :)

And here comes our order! I didn't expect it to be grand. I just thought it was just the katsu and miso soup. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking ;)

A la carte scallops and Roku Katsu set

Time to dissect my set one by one. First, the Chicken Katsu has two egg omelets, special sweet sauce and the katsu on top of hot Japanese rice. The chicken was very much juicy, even if you don't put tonkatsu sauce. I didn't find the need to add more sauce with the dish as it is more than enough.

The set comes with miso soup but it was only single serving. There's also an unlimited bowl of cabbage, which I recommend you eat with the sesame seed dressing.

Lastly, a small serving of Japanese pickles does a great job when you want to cleanse your palate before trying other food items. There's also some slices of pineapple and watermelon for dessert.

Before February came, after much insisting, we went back to eat again.

This time, we tried the Chicken Curry Katsu Set (Php 295). Basically the same as the last one but instead of two-egg omelet and special sweet sauce, you get katsu with curry on top of the Japanese rice. You can choose the degree of spiciness.

We asked for iced tea rather than hot tea this time around. Also we tried the minced sesame seed + tonkatsu sauce as dip for the tonkatsu, as recommended on the menu. I like it better than just the tonkatsu sauce itself.

Verdict: The food was great. Good for people with big appetite. The ambiance brings out the otaku in me. It's a little guilty pleasure for me, but very much worth it (especially when I'm super hungry). And yes, I'll come back for more =)

Note that the prices are exclusive of service charge and tax.

Yabu, House of Katsu
2nd Floor The Atrium, SM Megamall, EDSA corner Julia Vargas Avenue, Mandaluyong City
10 am - 10 pm