Jumbo Japs: Jap food in monolithic doses

Japanese restaurants can be so ritualistically stiff. The interiors, the dishes, the ambience could be as funky as Ernie Baron teaching viewers about tectonic plates. So, if you’re someone striving to experience dining in all its James Brown glory – funky facades, funky food, funky atmosphere, approvingly funkadelic in all aspects – you’d tend to indulge your eyes and palates somewhere else. A Japanese restaurant which opened last January on Jupiter Street in Makati is all set to change the paradigm that Jap restos are staid, rigid and boring beyond belief. Even its name sounds funky as JB’s high hats and soulful horns: Jumbo Japs.

Michael Dargani (who owns and manages Jumbo Japs together with his wife Nameeta) says the name simply represents what the restaurant is all about.

"We came up with Jumbo Japs because our servings of Japanese dishes are larger than usual," he says. This is what makes Jumbo Japs different from the 10,000 eateries that purvey sushi, teriyaki, tempura and other obligatory Japanese whatevers.

First, one has to admire the boxy Zen-inspired interiors, the bright orange and yellow walls, as well as the stoneware, crockery, scrolls, fabrics and Ikebana vases on display. "Many Japanese restaurants have beautiful interiors but they tend to look intimidating," observes Nameeta. "Our interiors are warmer, friendlier and more modern."

Then, one has to believe the hype. Other Japanese restaurants offer servings (small, measly, meager) that could satisfy Mahal and, sadly, Mahal only. Jumbo Japs, on the other hand, will be able to please the palates and appease the appetites of the more voracious ones – this writer’s uncle and his black hole stomach, this writer’s neighbor who loves firecracker-to-the-tongue wasabi, and even the source of this writer’s stupefaction (the Valentino of tacky tabloids, Mr. Jimboy Salazar himself). Well, practically everyone for that matter.

Jumbo Japs’ servings are huge. A case in point: If you order the prawn tempura, you’d get really brawny prawns (long and meaty ones – the Lou Ferrigno and Dikembe Mutombo of the crustacean world, so to speak); and not the skinny, puny shrimps wombed in a lot of batter served in other establishments.

"We do have the largest prawn tempura in town, and you can’t call them ‘shreeemps,’ " cracks Dargani in a high-pitched voice, "they’re more like prooowwns."

And they’re really tasty and filling. Another dish to enjoy is the tofu agedashi (fried tofu served on a bed of agedashi sauce). Jumbo Japs also offers kyuri kani salad (crabstick and cucumber salad served with mayo and topped with fish roe) and sake (delicious salmon); chicken and mushroom teppanyaki; grilled items like yakitori, gindara and teriyaki; and an extensive variety of sushi, sashimi and maki. These include non-traditional ones like seared tuna sashimi as well as the Jumbo Japs Special – two large rice rolls stuffed with prawns, Japanese mayo, spring onions and very flavorful fish roe. Indeed, more is the operative word of this restaurant – more as well as scrumptious.

I really dig the sizzling beef teppanyaki, one of Jumbo Jap’s bestsellers. The beef is tender enough and the sauce tasty enough to go really well with sticky Japanese rice. The same with the spicy tekka maki special, a hot number that leaves a nasty kick to the tongue.

(Speaking of hot … The more adventurous ones can put dabs of tongarashi, a mixture of seven Japanese herbs, on their dishes. In some restaurants, one has to pay extra for this potent chili powder, but in Jumbo Japs you can use this funky, colorful powder all you want for free.)

By the way, the dishes in Jumbo Japs are not just for meat-loving Vikings. Vegetarians can try the veggie dumplings and the tofu steak. If you think tofu is bland, wait till you taste the shiitake mushrooms and asparagus that come with the steak. Special veggie dishes bear special V-marks on the Jumbo Japs menu.

"I told Michael we should make this place vegetarian-friendly," says Nameeta, a vegetarian. "I didn’t want them to encounter the same problem I faced when dining out. We wanted to offer the health-conscious ones enough options. Besides, Japanese dishes such as sushi are extremely healthy and fat-free."

The restaurant is also giving diners a chance to shop for Japanese artworks. The proceeds of the exhibit organized by Connie Micor goes to the Anawin Center of Mary Mediatrix whose objective is to teach values to street kids.

According to Dargani, running a restaurant is not just about raking in the big bucks. "It’s also about sharing something of value to us," he concludes, whether it is serving generous portions of delectable Jap dishes at pocket-friendly prices or helping the less fortunate.

And for the Darganis, that is one funky way to make a living.

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For franchising inquiries, call Henry Villamor or Sheryn Fuentebella at 899-0135 or 899-6147, or contact Michael Dargani via 0917-534-5266.