At Sambo, you see what the Villavicencio kids learned from Vicvic

‘We inherited our dad Vicvic Villavicencio’s sense of humor, his passion for good food, and commitment to service,’ say Villavicencio children Pia, twins Cara and Mara, and Bokie.

MANILA, Philippines - A figure of the fire deity Sambo Kojin, his six arms wielding some implements, like a bow and an arrow, gingerly stands guard at the entrance to this Japanese yakiniku Korean barbecue resto named after him (or her, as Sambo Kojin represents both male and female). Armed only with our insatiable appetites, we’re whisked to our table with a built-in grill. Yes, in this resto, you can be your own chef (even if you’re not licensed to grill) or you can implore Sambo Kojin to send an assistant (that is, one of the resto’s staff) to please, for heaven’s sake, do the cooking for you!

But won’t my hair smell of food?

Thankfully, absolutely not! At Sambo Kojin, smoke doesn’t get in your eyes — or on your hair and clothes.

“We use a smokeless grill,” says Bokie Villavicencio. “During family gatherings, we had a portable stove, with a grill on top of it, but there was too much smoke! My father (buffet king Vicvic Villavicencio of the Triple V chain of restaurants) did a lot of electrical and engineering work to pull off this smokeless grill. Each one of these tables needs a gas line, an electric line, and an exhaust line. Before, we didn’t feel it was a viable restaurant because who wants to go to a place where you come out smelling of the food you ate?”

Bokie adds, “We did it first in Eastwood, where we had the basic menu first — yakiniku (grilled meat), sushi, kamameshi (Japanese rice dish). At Sambo, everyone’s cooking, that’s the general idea.”

This new branch at the Atrium, Level 3, SM Megamall, boasts over a hundred smokeless grills that ensure a thousand and one grilled thrills for diners. From the outside, the place doesn’t look that big, but you’ll be surprised to know that it’s all of 1,200 sq. m.!

But of course, if you’d rather chill than grill, you can have cooked food brought to your table by your own chef who can even peel your shrimps for you!

“Service has always been part of our company’s philosophy,” asserts Mara Villavicencio with a big smile.

But fear not if you don’t know how to cook. “What we did at Sambo is we have a lot of sauces because not everybody is a good cook,” says Mara. “Bokie created a lot of sauces — sweet, sour, teriyaki, etc. — so you can just cook anything, add the sauce, and everything will taste good.”

To which Bokie adds, “We didn’t want it to come out like a DIY kind of yakiniku because a lot of times, in those places, you get a bad experience if you don’t know how to make a sauce. So, we wanted to make it as easy, not as daunting, for the person who doesn’t cook. But some people can really get creative. I once saw some people trying to cook fried rice. There’s nothing in our rules that says you can’t. Here, you’re only limited by your imagination.”

The dad of all Japanese/Korean buffets

Part of the Triple V chain that includes Dads World Buffet, Saisaki, Kamayan, Sambo Kojin is inarguably the dad of all Japanese/Korean buffets. Think 200 food items, including sooo-many sushis, all-you-can-create yakiniku dishes, and a whole line of desserts (more on this a sweet bit later).

Sambo Kojin heats up the buffet dining scene by combining the best of Japanese and Korean cuisines (think katsu and furai, bibimbap and chapchae). While you can keep coming back for the good old faves (some of us are really creatures of habit), there’s always something new to look forward to. The new offerings include: aburi sushi that’s partially grilled/seared (topside) and partially raw; buta kakuni (slow-roasted pork belly with pickled carrots, radish, scallion, sesame sauce); cheese gyoza with scallion and togarashi (red chili pepper) topped with cheese; tori karaage (crispy chicken thigh with sweet potato strips, scallion, sesame seeds); tuna karaage (crispy tuna belly with sweet potato strips, togarashi, seaweeds); corn & oyster kakeage (deep-fried fresh oysters, Japanese corn with kimchi mayo dressing); uni udon (fresh uni, shrimp, fresh mushroom, nori, scallion, uni cream sauce, udon noodles); Sambo Kojin chajan (meat, shrimp, mixed vegetables, egg Japanese rice); tori udon (chicken breast, garlic cream, vegetables, nori, oyster sauce, udon noodles); chicken steak (chicken legs fillet, sauteed mushroom, white truffle oil, corn kernels, baby potatoes, pickled dressing, butter); mabo tofu (panko crusted soft tofu, vegetables, and gochujang cream); ramen original (Japanese noodle soup with pork, egg, mushroom); ramen spicy (nice and hot Japanese noodle soup).

Sambo is also bringing back the kamameshi rice, a good old favorite.

Sambo’s kitchen is outside, in full view of the diners, and everything is cooked there so you get your food hot and fresh. Everything starts with fresh and top-of-the-line ingredients. Only top-grade US marbled and tender beef and the freshest seafoods are used.

Eating — a lot! — has always been a part of the Villlavicencios’ lifestyle. “We eat maybe seven times a day. Dad would even wake us up at night and bring us food,” chorus twins Mara Villavicencio and Cara Villavicencio Espinosa, who look trim and slim despite all that binging. “That’s why we’ve started exercising.”

“Mara walks in her room to complete the required 10,000 steps per day,” discloses Cara with a laugh.

“Aside from fondness for food, I think what I got from my dad is his sense of humor,” shares Mara. “People don’t know that my dad is actually sobrang kwela.”

“In this business, you can’t be serious all the time,” says Cara. “My dad is actually a very accommodating guy. He taught us at a very young age how to interact and talk with people.”

“I’m good at numbers like my dad,” says Bokie. “But in terms of attitude, we’re not alike, I’m more like my mom (Maridel Villavicencio).”

Dessert storm & other treats

To cater to Pinoys’ sweet cravings, Sambo Kojin serves a whole line of sweet treats. “Our vanilla ice cream is especially made for us, you won’t find it anywhere else,” Cara tempts our sweet tooth. “We have our own yogurt, gelato, soft-serve ice cream. Then there are our best-selling cakes, which are baked in our small but very efficient kitchen. If you’re a whole party, you can get a whole cake and put it on your table. We have key lime pies, S’mores, crepes, waffles.”

More treats await Sambo Kojin diners. Beat the Beat the Clock promo, Monday to Friday, where diners pay only P499 for lunch and P649 for dinner (regular price is P749) when they finish their Sambo Kojin feast before 12:30 p.m. for lunch and 7 p.m. for dinner. Promo runs until November 31, 2015.

Sambo Kojin puts the happy to birthdays with its free birthday buffet promo, where the celebrant gets a free buffet when he/she dines in any of the participating restaurants with one full paying adult on his/her actual birthday, or two paying adults three days before and three days after that. What’s more, the free birthday buffet may be claimed up to 14 times, lunch and dinner, within the said seven days. Celebrants simply need to present any valid document with proof of date of birth along with a photo ID.

Of course, Sambo Kojin did not forget Grandpa and Grandma, who get a treat with its special senior discount promo. Diners aged 60-69 get 20 percent discount while those aged 70 and above enjoy 50 percent discount when they dine at Sambo Kojin.

With the Villavicencios’ never-ending burning passion for good food and innovation, Sambo Kojin must be doubly pleased!

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For updates and promos, like www.facebook.com/SamboKojin and @sambokojin on Instagram. Sambo Kojin is located at EDSA Greenhills, Mandaluyong City, 726-4466 and 726-4520; Eastwood Citywalk, Quezon City, 421-0145 to 46; West Avenue, Quezon City, 372-8846 or 921-2873; SM Southmall Food Street, 511-7843 or 511-7853; and SM Megamall, Level 3 Atrium, 696-1291 to 9 or 0998-9971290.