A feast for all senses at Sugi

MANILA, Philippines - It is a fact often remarked upon by visitors that the Filipinos’ love of food borders on obsession. We are always eating. When we are not eating we are talking about food. We greet each other by saying “Hello, have you eaten?” No important event can take place without food, no deal reached without a shared meal to make it official. 

If there’s anything Pinoys love almost as much as eating, it’s being in the know. These two loves converge in Manila’s thriving restaurant culture. Now Citibank Dining Privileges lets you navigate the dining scene with ease: you can have the double satisfaction of having a great meal and being in the know.

Just about every week some new restaurant opens in Manila and becomes all the rage. Everybody goes there, and it’s written up in all the newspapers and blogs. Its “exquisite” interiors and ambience are praised, along with its “interesting” fusion of cuisines. Dining there almost becomes a social obligation — What, you haven’t eaten at the hot new place? We have to go there, taste their food, and pass judgment. 

For weeks, even months, that restaurant is at the center of Manila’s dining universe, and then one day the restaurateurs realize to their despair that no one eats there anymore. The novelty has passed, and it turns out that the novelty, not the food, was the main attraction. Without the shiny newness, there is nothing to sustain the business: the interiors become tiresome, you can’t eat ambience, and that trendy fusion cuisine is so last week. The restaurant is doomed to vanish and be forgotten. This is the sad fate of nine out of 10 red-hot dining outlets.

The thing about being “in the know” is that you only have to try a restaurant once to maintain your dining cred. Once you have tasted their food and expressed your opinion, there’s no reason to keep going back there; it’s on to the next discovery.

Unless you really like the food and you become a regular. Which brings us to Sugi and Citibank Dining Privileges.

For nearly 30 years diners in the know have been going regularly to Sugi Restaurant. They go for the excellent sushi and sashimi — so fresh it’s almost alive, tempura — crisp but not greasy, the gindara teriyaki that melts in your mouth, the tofu steak that makes you feel virtuous without sacrificing flavor, and the crazy roll, fulfillment of many sushi fantasies. 

There’s Wagyu beef in various incarnations: sukiyaki — thinly-sliced wagyu beef and vegetables cooked in sweet rice wine and soy sauce; shabu-shabu — boiled thinly-sliced Wagyu beef and vegetables; Ishiyaki Steak — Wagyu beef and vegetables grilled on hot stone right at your table; and Yakiniku Steak—slivers of Wagyu beef served with Chef’s special yakiniku sauce, cooked teppanyaki style. Those are the most popular items. We cannot blame you if you stop reading this right now and head on to Sugi.

Then there are the more “specialist” dishes known to the Japanese and to Japanophiles, such as ochazuke — small rice cakes and seaweed on rice with special soup and pickles, salmon or salted cod roe, over which you pour green tea. (There’s a Japanese film called The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice.)

There are other restaurants in Manila that serve these dishes, but it’s Sugi that people go to again and again, Sugi that remains the  favorite. How has Sugi managed to stay on top in this cruelly competitive field?

The secret of Sugi’s success is so obvious it’s not even a secret. You have to be very good at what you do, and you have to do it all the time. In bullet points: Quality — freshness and authenticity — and consistency. 

Whatever dish you crave at Sugi, you can be sure that every time you order it, it will taste the same that is, good. There’s nothing hit-or-miss about their food preparation — the kitchen has it down to a science. Under the exacting supervision of chefs Nakamura and Yamazaki, Sugi serves Japanese food that adheres to the dictum of its original chef and founder, Toshikazu Yoshida: “Food is not only eaten by the mouth, but also by the eyes, ears, nose, hands and heart.”

The food is authentic Japanese, as attested to by the constant presence of the restaurant’s Japanese regulars. They go for the oden or Japanese-style hodge podge, and the Nattou, fermented soybeans with fresh eggyolk, leeks, and mustard. There are no “fusion”  recipes in the core menu, although some dishes such as the bestselling Tori Kuwayaki (spicy deep-fried chicken legs with Sugi teriyaki sauce) have been slightly sweetened to adapt to the Filipino palate. 

It will take years of weekly trips to become familiar with all the items on the extensive menu. Fortunately there’s Citibank Dining Privileges. When you dine at Sugi Restaurant  with your Citibank Gold or Platinum card, you get an automatic 10-percent discount. All you have to do is show up at Sugi in Greenbelt or Greenhills, enjoy a great meal, and pay with your Citibank Gold or Platinum card.

For those who require constant novelty, Sugi’s chefs create special dishes every month, many of which  become menu regulars by popular demand. This month’s specials include Mix Foil Yaki — beef, chicken, oyster, shrimp, lapu-lapu and vegetables wrapped and grilled in an aluminum foil boat, and Karasu Karei Saute — sole on a bed of raddish with fried onions and asparagus, cooked teppanyaki style. Go ahead and try them along with your all-time Sugi favorites — it’s easy with Citibank Dining Privileges.

Service is never as simple as it sounds—it makes or breaks a restaurant. Sugi is known for its friendly and efficient service. Many of the staff have been with the restaurant for over 20 years — they know the regulars by name and the menu by heart, and can make informed suggestions when asked.

Sugi began its life as a tiny restaurant on M.H. del Pilar in Manila. Its founder, Toshi Yoshida, named it after a fragrant pine tree that can grow up to 200 feet. Among its regulars were two friends, Jess Cabarrus and Eddie Lim, businessmen who had both spent time in Japan. In the early 1980s, when Greenbelt, Makati was being developed, Cabarrus and Lim asked Mr. Toshi if he’d like to expand  the business by opening in the new shopping and dining complex. They were joined by a third partner, Consuelo Madrigal-Collantes. 

Sugi opened in Greenbelt arcade on February 2, 1983 and quickly drew a loyal following. A second Sugi opened in Greenhills, Ortigas, in 1992. Sugi Makati transferred to a larger space in Greenbelt 2 in 2002; this current site has a more contemporary design, with two Western Rooms on the lower level and three tatami rooms on the upper floor. Sugi is owned and operated by its original owners; its general manager is Ines Cabarrus.

As with all excellent restaurants with discriminating clients, Sugi has a reputation for being expensive. When you consider the prices in terms of quality, taste, and the size of the portions, they seem a lot more reasonable. If the cost is all that’s keeping you from eating at Sugi more often, Citibank Dining Privileges should turn you into a regular—or a more frequent regular — in no time.

Citi cardholders can savor their privileges literally with Citibank Dining Privileges, a borderless program that offers the best restaurant deals in the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. “Borderless” meaning that your locally-issued Citibank card is entitled to the discounts and freebies offered by restaurants in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. For instance, a tourist with a Citi card issued in Jakarta can avail of the 10-percent discount at Sugi in Greenbelt. Similarly, when you dine out in Bangkok, your Citi card gets the same discount extended to Citi cardholders in Thailand. Just look for the Citibank Dining Privileges logo.

Citibank Dining Privileges are available at more than 1,000 dining outlets in the Philippines, and more than 4,000 restaurants in Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. To prove that Citi credit cards are the preferred card for dining out, Citibank offers this guarantee: If another credit card offers something better than your Citi Card in any place that carries the Citi Dining Privileges sign, Citi will reimburse the difference. If your Citibank card reward is not the best deal in that restaurant, you get your money back.

Filipinos love to eat, and they love being in the know. Now they can satisfy both cravings with Citibank Dining Privileges. And that’s being in the know.