MANILA, Philippines - The oft-postponed dinner was set at Santouka at the Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan City, the favorite Japanese restaurant of sweethearts James Yap and Michela Cazzola, Your Conversationalist, Dr. Welson Yap, Welson’s son and James’ friend and business partner] Jeffrey Yap and his girlfriend Pritz Chua, Santouka owner-manager Jerry Uy and Wilson Lee Flores).
Unmade-up and wearing an off-shoulder black blouse, Michela ordered Shio Toruniku Set (top) and James, also in black, Ramen with Toasted Pork Cheeks (below). Same for their friends. Even if there were other clients around, Michela and James were at ease, unperturbed by the curious glances at them, feeling and acting as normal as everybody else. No star complex at all.
Santouka Greenhills, the third outlet, is only more than a year old. The two others are in Ayala Center, Makati City; and at the SM Mall Of Asia (MOA).
‘Santouka originated in Hokkaido, Japan,’ volunteered Jerry. ‘The founder-chairman of the original Santouka in Hokkaido is a big fan of the famous Japanese haiku poet Taneda Santouka so he named his restaurant after him. My siblings and I first came upon Santouka in Vancouver, so we decided to put up one in the Philippines. Our family loves eating.’
The food at all three Santoukas in the Philippines taste just as deliciously as that in outlets in Thailand, Malaysia, Toronto, Hong Kong and anywhere else in the world.
‘It’s standardized,’ stressed Jerry who’s a good friend of James and Michela, and Jeffrey. ‘The quality is the same anywhere.’
Aside from James and Michela, Santouka regulars include Marc Nelson, Isabelle Daza, Anne Curtis, Solenn Heussaff, Sen. JV Ejercito and Vice Pres. Jojo Binay.
(For a taste of Santouka’s mouth-watering dishes, call 728-1381/845-0696 or 0917-847-6087, Ayala Center; 804-3224/986-0229 or 0915-805-5838, MOA; and 781-9704 or 0915-771-2735, Promenade Greenhills.)