Tokyo is one of the places I have always dreamt of going to.  While that dream is still being realized, there is a little spot in the city of Makati that I can go to that sort of gives that feeling of Tokyo—well, I think it does, and it is appropriately called Little Tokyo.

Little Tokyo is a small compound that is a collective of Japanese restaurants.  And not just any Japanese-inspired or themed restaurants—authentic Japanese restaurants that’s normally frequented by Japanese.  Even speaking Japanese seems to be mandatory for servers in the area because of the number of Japanese patrons.  Aside from restaurants, there are also other Japanese stores in the area.

Our most recent visit to Little Tokyo was around noon in one of the restaurants called Nodasho (のだ庄).  Noon is a good time to visit to avoid crowds, but on the down side not all restaurants are open for lunch, and Nodasho just happens to be one of the few that are open at the time.  They have quite a huge selection of items in their menu that it can be overwhelming but to keep things simple I just opted for what they call a “lunch special.”  Our group got some sashimi, udon, tempura, and gyoza, among others.

I’m not a hardcore sashimi lover, but I love Nodasho’s generous cuts.  Some other restaurants slice their sashimi as thinly as possible to reduce cost, but Nodasho’s slices are thick—even a bit too thick for some.

For my “lunch special,” it had rice, beef, shredded cabbages, some veggies, three slices of tuna sashimi, and a small bowl of miso soup.  The beef is similar to that in gyudon, but their slices are thicker.  Because of its thicker than the usual cuts I was expecting it to give me a bit of a “fight” at chewing, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The beef is so tender you can bite it into pieces without so much effort—and it tastes really good too.

Dining Tip: You can ask for an extra serving of rice, FREE!  House tea is also available, free of charge, served in either hot or cold.

Overall, I find dining in Nodasho quite a pleasant experience.  The ambiance is truly Japanese, there’s a huge food selection and the taste is really good!  Prices are a bit higher than the average (menu prices do not include 12% service charge) but the portions are good and the food quality is high so it’s pretty reasonable.  Worth every penny is you ask me! 😀