The New Kamameshi House: Timeless Japanese cuisine

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the recent explosion of ramen chains, sushi buffets and Japanese whiskey bars across the metro, Japanese cuisine has been a Manila staple for almost half a century.

Among the timeless Japanese restaurants in the Philippines is Kamameshi House on Zobel Roxas Street, a small, two-story family restaurant known for serving traditional Japanese cuisine as early as 1981.

Now recognized as the New Kamameshi House of Japanese Cuisine, it is still run by the majority of the family, and prides itself on serving only the most authentic and excellently prepared Japanese dishes, thanks to skillfully trained chefs and staff.

The chefs, who are each required to undergo specialized training in preparing Japanese dishes, use only the freshest imported Japanese ingredients to maintain the restaurant’s superior standards. Still, the prices range from P100 to P500+ for most dishes.

Gold, not old

From the outside, the New Kamameshi House would be easy to miss if it weren’t for its signs. Literally a two-story house partly converted into a restaurant, the main branch on Zobel Roxas Street has been its permanent location since its establishment in 1981, frequented by loyal customers from as far away as Alabang.

Upon entering the restaurant, guests are immediately greeted by a warmly lit Japanese-style sushi bar with sushi experts behind the counter ready to prepare any request. One can easily spot fresh tuna, hamachi (yellow tail), salmon, unagi (eel) and several other kinds of fresh raw seafood on display.

The warm lighting is consistent in the intimate dining area, with family tables separated by dividers adorned with Japanese floral patterns. The second floor, however, is more spacious and suited to fit bigger families or groups and even in-house functions.

Aside from the authentic Japanese décor, the New Kamameshi House also understands that excellent Japanese cuisine requires extensive proficiency in preparation and cooking.

Japanese national Josefina “Masako” or “Nina” Sasaki-Fernandez was able to train at the Torigin, a well-known Japanese restaurant in Tokyo that specialized in kamameshi and yakitori, before bringing back her expertise to the Philippines. Still currently the overall quality control consultant of the New Kamameshi House, Fernandez oversees the level of quality of specialties like kamameshi or “kettle rice,” a traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in a kama or iron pot.

The tori kamameshi (chicken rice) has always been one of the favorites. Served steaming in the iron pot, the kettle-cooked rice is topped with diced chicken and flavored with the restaurant’s special sauce. Unique to the New Kamameshi House, it’s so simple yet bursting with intricate flavors. Surprisingly, the best part is the slightly burned rice at the bottom of the pot, which adds a slight crunch while enhancing the dish’s flavor even more.

Other kamameshi variants include the kani kamameshi (crab rice) and gomoku kamameshi, a mixed-rice version with carrots, mushrooms, shrimp and chicken.

Meanwhile, yakimono, assorted skewered food grilled over an open fire, is another one of the New Kamameshi House’s specialties, especially the yakitori, or grilled chicken cubes.

An order of Kamameshi House’s Assorted Yakimono includes yakitori, hasami (grilled chicken with onion leeks), tebasaki (chicken wings), uzura tamago (quail eggs), motsu (chicken liver) and sunagimo (chicken gizzard).

Drizzled in a special sauce, the yakimono retains a mouth-watering natural smoky flavor that goes perfectly with all their kamameshi dishes.

Aside from chicken, the teppan beef (sautéed rib eye cut into cubes) is another specialty Japanese meat dish that is excellently prepared. Served still steaming on an iron plate, the beef is at its most tender, a savory juicy experience in one’s mouth, served with a generous helping of bean sprouts.

The New Kamameshi House also serves its own version of yosenabe (Japanese hot pot) with a combination of fish fillet, prawns tofu and glass noodles in a special broth, and sukiyaki.

The ebi tempura was a delightful treat compared to other mediocre tempura variants across Manila. The crisp breaded outer shell of the shrimp is soft and a crunchy golden brown while the shrimp itself was exceptionally fresh.

Boasting the same golden-brown doneness is the yakitofu (panko-crusted bean curd), with the bean curd retaining its jelly-like texture despite being deep-fried.

Fans of raw Japanese-style cuisine would want to try New Kamameshi House’s spicy tuna or spicy salmon sashimi. Along with the chefs’ expertise in Japanese cuisine, the freshness of the ingredients really shines in both these dishes, bringing out the very best flavors tuna and salmon can offer.

Other than their sashimi, the restaurant also has a wide selection of matchless sushi. The Crazy Roll, a customer favorite, is a standard maki roll stuffed with salmon, hamachi, chopped cucumber, unagi and masago (fish eggs), and then deep-fried with tempura batter.

The Kamameshi Roll, on the other hand, is an unagi roll with tempura piercing the middle of the sushi, while the Rainbow Roll is a mixed sushi roll with ebiko (shrimp) on top.

The New Kamameshi House has withstood the test of time and still remains one of the few most prestigious Japanese restaurants in the metro. In addition to the original Makati location are branches at Quezon Memorial Circle in Diliman and another in Daly City, California, USA.

The restaurant even does outside catering, bringing authentic Japanese cuisine straight to their customers’ various events. Other than package sets, the New Kamameshi House also gives diners the option of making their own menu — one with all of their favorite Japanese dishes or tailor-made for their budget.

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The New Kamameshi House is located at 5787 Zobel Roxas St., Brgy. Palanan, Makati City and at Quezon Memorial Circle, Elliptical Road, East Ave., Diliman, Quezon City.

For reservations, catering services and other inquiries, contact 0917-898-8184 and 0917-812-4335, landline at 834-2695/525-6284 (Makati City branch) and 924-3404/982-3460 (Quezon City branch) or email kamameshi@ymail.com. Like and message the New Kamameshi House on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/KamemshiHousePH/, and Instagram, @KamameshiHouse.