Maginhawa Chronicles: Caution Hot! Spicy Noodle House

A taste of the world in one place. 

You may have missed half of your college life in UP if you haven't been to Maginhawa, Quezon City, where it offers a variety of Filipino, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and even Persian cuisine. And so, my good friend Kat and I have decided that we would explore every corner of Maginhawa before we graduate from UP. 

Kat recommended that we start with Caution Hot! Spicy Noodle House in Teachers' Village, because they offer authentic spicy Chinese noodles which comes in different flavors and degree of hotness.

The menu is very simplified and easy to understand: you will first choose your toppings--all-veggie, pork, beef or seafood. Then you get to choose your broth: Szechuan, which is a southwestern Chinese spicy broth made with Szechuan peppercorn and chili pepper; Asam Laksa, which is a Penang-style sour and spicy fish-paste broth; and Classic, which is a non-spicy savory pork bone broth.

For the next step, you get to choose what type of noodles you would like to match with your toppings and broth: either Wheat Noodles, which are firm regular-sized noodles or Egg Noo

dles, which are thin wheat-and-egg noodles with the vibrant flavor of egg.

Finally, you can choose the degree of hotness for your spicy noodles: it was amusing that they likened it with the "degree burn". For starters, you can choose first-degree burn and for those who are in for a challenge of their palette, there is the Ultimate Burn.

Kat and I ordered Pork-Asam Laksa-Wheat Noodles with a first degree burn spicy noodles. I am not a very big fan of spicy food, but I enjoyed eating the noodles, which was garnished with onions cucumber strips, pineapple bits, greens and boiled egg. You could see the level of hotness of the noodles by just looking at its bright red-colored soup. The pork was tender and juicy at the same time and the pineapple bits neutralized the spiciness of the noodles. 

For my "fire extinguisher", I ordered Soya (P45/ P70-unlimited). It was refreshing and it really calmed down my burning mouth that I almost sip my Soya every after I ate the noodles. I just couldn't imagine if we ordered the Ultimate Burn level of spiciness of the Chinese noodles.

We also ordered Kuchay-Pork Dumplings (5 pcs-P60/ 10pcs- P110), which are made of minced Chinese chives and pork. It is quite different from the regular dumplings because there were more Chineses chives mixed with the pork in the dumpling. 

Finally, to cool down our burning faces from the Spicy noodles, we ordered their signature dessert Bao Bing (P95), which is a classic Chinese shaved ice dessert, topped with fig and grass jelly, fruits like lychee, drizzled with condensed milk, and topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was truly a refreshing way to end the meal. I particularly enjoyed the fig and grass jelly along with the lychee fruit bits which gave the right sweetness of the dessert. And the shaved ice was truly authentic.

Caution Hot! Spicy Noodle House is a must-try especially to those who loves spicy food and noodles. I will definitely come back for more and try their other noodle combos. 

You may like their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/cautionhotmnl?fref=ts.

Eat like a samurai at Sumosam!

すもサムで　とても おいしい日本料理を食べましょう！

(Let’s taste the best of Japanese cuisine at Sumosam!)

Sumosam's Samurai's Choice Bento Box!

Craving authentic Japanese food? Sashimi, tonkotsu ramen, gyoza, tempura, bento box—you name it, Sumosam, with its 10^th branch opening at Gilmore, Greenhills Town Center, will offer you more than just the classical Japanese cuisine in the Philippines.

Red iced tea

Assorted sashimi

I just attended the Sumosam Bloggers’ Event last January 21 and I was lucky enough not just to meet five of the six master chefs behind Sumosam (and yes, including actor turned restaurateur Marvin Agustin!), but also experience first-hand Sumosam’s newest Yokozuna Bento—the Samurai's Choice Bento Box!

Truly food for a samurai—their new Samurai's Choice (P488) is a breath-taking fusion of Philippine, American and Japanese gastronomy—complete with chicken teriyaki, beef misono (made from US beef knuckle), dory teppan, tuna and salmon sashimi, kani stick, yasai itame (stir-fried vegetables) authentic gohan (rice) with black sesame seeds, bean sprout (toge) and dilis with a unique kick in taste. It was a nice dining experience with the very Japanese touch of the ambiance painstakingly and uniquely designed by one of the owners of Sumosam and Johnny Chow as well, Mr. Ricardo Laudico.

Taking a linguistics and Japanese language course at UP Diliman, I was truly overwhelmed to experience authentic Japanese cuisine while appreciating my course all the more. The bento box was surprisingly big indeed, perfect for those with a big appetite--a complete meal of beef, chicken, vegetables, fish and the genuine sticky Japanese rice different from the ones we try to but poorly make at home.

Hosted by GMA News anchor and reporter Ivan Mayrina, the event started with the food tasting followed by a message by Marvin Agustin with the story behind Sumosam. One can truly see the amazing entrepreneurship skills of the actor and his perseverance in establishing a Japanese restaurant he believed was not overly dominating the industry at that time. It was an amusing story that Marvin and his fellow restaurateurs Raymund Magdaluyo and Ricardo Laudico didn't know anything about Japanese cuisine at first and had to visit the Land of the Rising Sun not to just get the idea but also to perfect the authentic taste of the dishes.

Marvin also executed a sushi-demo showcasing his amazing talent in making his favourite sushi rolls—Dynamite Roll and Las Vegas Roll.

Sumosam also offers other Yokozuna Bento available from 11am to 2pm at Sumosam Gilmore:

• Osaka Tempura Bento (P438): tempura madness with Ebi, Kisu and Dory Tempura, Vegie Kakiage, Tuna Sashimi, Gohan, Dilis and Bean Sprout
• Tsukiji Tonkatsu and Salmon (P408): Tonkatsu, Grilled Salmon, Salmon and Tuna Sashimi, Gohan, Dilis and Bean Sprout
• Chicken Teriyaki Bento (P308): Chicken Teriyaki, Tuna Sashimi, Gohan, Dilis and Bean Sprout
• Katsudon Bento (P298): Katsudon (pork tenderloin), Tuna Sashimi, Gohan, Dilis and Bean Sprout

Other branches of Sumosam include:

• Cebu: G/F The Terraces, Ayala Center, Cebu 
• Tel No. 401-0643
  Operating Hours: 11am to 11pm
• Nuvali: Space 13, Solenad 2, Nuvali Sta. Rosa, Laguna City
• Tel No. (049) 303- 2600
  Operating Hours: 11am to 11pm
  
  
• Davao: 3rd level, Abreeza Mall, Davao City
• Tel No. 321-6972
  Operating Hours: 10am to 10pm
  
  
• Rockwell: 2nd level, Archeology Wing, Powerplant Rockwell Drive, Makati
• Tel No. 729-6292 / 895-7532
  Operating Hours: 11am to 11pm
  
  
• Trinoma: Level 4, Trinoma EDSA Corner, North Ave., QC
• Tel No.901-3262
  Operating Hours: 11am to 11pm
  
  
• Marquee: Level 2, Marquee Mall, Angeles City, Pampanga
• Tel No. (045) 304-0847
  Operating Hours: 11am to 11pm
  
  
• Greenbelt3: 3rd level, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati
• Tel No. 903-0847
  Operating Hours: 11am to 12mn
  
  
• ABS-CBN: G/F ELJC Bldg., Mother Ignacia St., QC
• Tel No. 929-7355
  Operating Hours: 10am to 3am
  
  
• Shangri-la Plaza: 6th level, The Ledge Shangri-la Plaza, Shaw Blvd. cor EDSA, Mandaluyong City
• Tel No. 910-0388 / 637-5704
  Operating Hours: 11am to 11pm

You can also visit their website at www. sumosamfoods.com. They also accept catering, functions and private events. Check out their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ilovesumosam

I'm sure my and your Japanese friends will enjoy dining at Sumosam and will make you say いただきます! (Itadakimasu!)

Thank you very much to Ms. Annesy Del Mundo!

Sumosam!