Those who were lucky enough to travel to Japan should already be familiar with Yayoi as it is a famous restaurant that uses the Teishoku (set-menu) dining concept there. Since Filipinos are already used to set meals, Yayoi takes it up a notch with their ichiju-sansai which means one soup, three sides. It refers to a meal consisting of one cup of rice, one bowl of soup and three dishes (one main and two sides). They actually started 130 years ago with their first branch in Tokyo. Now, they have 300 outlets scattered over various countries like the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore. Now they open their first branch in the Philippines and we can't be more lucky than that.
Filipinos are no strangers to Japanese cuisine. Most Japanese restaurants specialize in one dish which could be ramen, gyoza or katsu. Yayoi offers all of that and a lot more as they have a wide variety of Japanese selections that will satisfy each type of foodie.
I was really overwhelmed by their ordering system. Aside from the physical menu, they also make use of an ipad menu where customers can just choose what they want to order then send it to the kitchen. They can even view how much longer they have to wait before their food gets served. It is indeed a nod to how technologically advanced Japanese people are. It is actually something I was expecting a restaurant to do so I am glad Yayoi finally implemented it.
I had to try the Teishoku concept myself so I had the Mix Toji Teishoku. It consisted of breaded pork loin, fried shrimp and sukiyaki beef simmered in special sauce and egg. I loved how there were so many food in front of me. My suggestion is that the Teishoku should have a drink included with it too for a complete meal experience. I loved all the meat included as I definitely give compliments to the chef. Believe it or not, the best part is actually the rice as it is Kinme rice. Yayoi uses purely select brands of Japanese brands of rice produced in various parts of the country. It is made with a cleaning method that maintains its original deliciousness and nutrients. I really wish they can make this rice unlimited because I loved it even if I'm not a rice person.
My favorite part of a meal is always the dessert and the fact that they have Matcha got me excited even more. Matcha Anmitsu consists of Green Tea ice cream with azuki beans and fruit cocktail along with black sugar syrup. It is indeed the perfect way to end a hearty meal at Yayoi.