I went to Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant at Diamond Hotel in Roxas, Manila on Father’s Day, June 18, 2011 with my family. When we got there, the waitresses didn’t greet us at the door so we just asked them where we can sit. The place was very nice and it was clean. The waitresses were well groomed and were happy to see us. We sat in the Yakiniku room, where tables had grills in the middle. It was quiet and they gave us a lot of time to think about our order. However, the waitress did not seem to know the menu entirely that they often refer to the kitchen, but try to answer our questions as quickly as possible. As I looked into the Teppanyaki rooms, the people were happily watching a chef cook their food.
When I first looked around I guessed that the food was going to be delicious because it’s a Japanese restaurant and I love Japanese food. I was right.
The appetizer is cold tuna. I ordered a Katsu Donburi. It has deep fried pork, melted cheese, egg, rice, vegetable and bell peppers. The side dishes are tofu, miso soup, and salty cucumber. The food looks a little boring because you can’t see all the ingredients. You could only see the melted cheese and bell pepper. But it’s actually delicious — the cheese is still bubbling. When i took my first bite, I found that the pork is juicy and the cheese is very hot. The cheese complements the pork and the rice is perfectly cooked. The pork is well seasoned and the flavors are balanced.
I like the decor because there are geisha dolls in front and the floor is marble. The problem is that the tables aren’t big enough for our group of 9 people. The tables are very heavy so we can’t bring them together so we had to eat separately. The chairs are comfortable. The toilets are clean and it’s not stinky and not slippery.
They have high chairs and small spoons for little kids. They did not give my little sister, Happy, a small glass. Anyway, you can ask for a straw. Kids were running in the hallway. But they should be careful because they might slip and fall on the small pool of water with little marbles. The menu is easy for kids like me to read because the font sizes are big. The food is too much for one child to finish. Overall, the place is kid friendly.
Here are my ratings:
1- mediocre
2- fairly satisfactory
3- good
4- great
5- excellent
Kid friendliness- 5
Food – 5
Place -5
Service – 5
Here are some of my brother and sisters ratings:
Kid Friendliness -5
Food
Tempura Soba – 5
Beef Teriyaki Donburi with rice- 4
Soup -5
Tofu- 4
Gentleman’s set -5
Service -5
Place
Ambience-5
Toilet – 4
Overall, Yurukuen gets 4 thumbs up from all 4 junior food critics.
Thank you for reading my blog . Bye!
Hi, the junior chef! I’m from bacolod and I’m friends with judge Jp anglo. I’m very impressed with your blog. You write so well and your articles are nice, well organized and well-thought out.
I’m also a finalist for the Philippine Blog awards, Visayas Category best food blog. Sadly I didn’t win but at least my blog won best blog for Bacolod city!
My friends and I do what you do, we rate restaurants in Bacolod city (for fun) and we recommend them to people. My goal is to spread the word and encourage people to try new restaurants and food! People in Bacolod are so fussy when it comes to food. They don’t want to try anything new unless someone recommends the restaurant to them.
I’ll add your blog to the list of my favorite blogs. Please keep on cooking and writing! It is so refreshing to read something written from a young and fresh perspective!
Sincerely, Martin
http://bacolodfoodhunters.wordpress.com
Dear Mr. Banana,
Thank you po for your great comments about my blog. I am very happy that someone else who reviews restaurants here in the Philippines also read my blog.
My family and I eat out a lot and we review the restaurants so people know if it’s good. I read your blog and I added it to my blog roll, along with my brother and sisters’ blogs.
Chef JP Anglo was one of the first few chefs who believed in me. I am happy that I met him. Please send my regards. I hope to meet you one day, maybe when I go to Bacolod. Thanks again!