Niji (*** of 4) $$

ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINES  Raw fish in general, and sushi in particular, make a lot of people squeamish.  It’s a shame.  A finely rolled maki or freshly sliced sashimi with wasabi and pickled ginger can tantalize the adventurous palate.

Niji, Angeles City, Philippines

Japanese entrepreneurs build new restaurants every day in the Philippines, it seems.  The most important ingredients to a good Japanese restaurant are fresh fish and good preparation.  Hanami does it right, for the most part.  Fresh fish goes into every one of their sushi rolls or onto their sashimi plates, and they can roll a mean maki.

When you enter, you’ll see a cascading fountain over glass.

Clean & simple style

  A nice touch.  Too bad Hanami, the Japanese restaurant just a bit further down the street, has the same decorative feature.  In fact, minus some structural variations, the two restaurants could be identical twins.  Or at least kissing cousins.  Minimalist wood and faux rice paper environment with simple wood tables are the formula, and, to be honest, it works.  Ok, the TV at the bar blaring the latest Filipino soap opera ruins the mood a bit, but the service staff are extremely attentive.

The sushi bar presentation at Hanami outclasses the Niji, with a longer counter complete with glass display, seating, and usually at least two uniformed sushi chefs.  Niji’s is more modest, nestled in the corner.  Nevertheless, they both prepare sushi and sashimi dishes in open view.  They have a back kitchen that handles the rest of the food prep–teppanyaki, yakatori, rice, and the like.

We’ve tried a number of the maki rolls, and they are better prepared than Hanami.  They’re tighter rolled and more compact, which makes eating them with the obligatory chopsticks easier.  Hanami tends to serve rolls that fall apart before they get to your mouth.

The yakiniku, or grilled meats, also satisfy.  Chicken, pork, and squid skewers run between P130 and P165.  They make great appetizers.  The teppanyaki dishes, designed to feed several people, are more pricey.  They’ll run you between P155 for simple beef and onions to P2000 for genuine Kolbe beef.  Personally, I don’t care for teppanyaki.  It’s an overly sauced rice topping (ok, that’s my opinion only), and you can theoretically feed an army with it, but it lacks finesse.  I never order it.

You can feed two people comfortably for around 600 pesos for a dinner.  My personal approach to Japanese restaurants is to order a couple yakiniku dishes as appetizers, and perhaps miso soup (made from soybean paste), but keep the menu in hand.  After drinking and conversing a bit, I’ll order a couple of maki rolls for me and my date.  That’s a filling meal, and with drinks, it should come in at the price mentioned above.

In all, this is my current favorite Japanese restaurant in Angeles City.  If you find a better place, let me know–I love Japanese food.       -copyright 2008 ACEats.com

CUISINE: Japanese | COST: $$ | RATING: *** (of4)

Shano’s Irish Pub (** of 4) $$

Shano’s reminds this author of Irish pubs in Bangkok:  great decor, acceptable pub grub, and Asian waitresses.  That’s generally a good thing because we like the Irish Pubs in Thailand. 

Shano's, Angeles City

The atmosphere of the place is striking.  You enter and feel the crisp air conditioning and see a long, cavernous bar, with a long Philippine mahogany bar ending at a gaming area that sports two pool tables and a dart board.  Polished wood is everywhere.  So are TV’s, showing satellite-delivered sports events.  It’s a great place to take in a football or rugby match.

Shano’s has revised their menu a number of times, I suppose as they’ve changed cooks.  That accounts for some of our rating, since the menu and quality have see-sawed quite a bit in recent months.  Looking at the current iteration, you’ll find a mixture of European pub grub combined with some good old American favorites.  Generally, we’ve found the food consistent and fresh.  It’s hard to order a bad dish, in fact.  We like the Cheese steak hoagie–it’s better than Sub Delicious’.  The Buffalo wings are also good.  Filipino foods seem to be more mediocre.

Friendly Shano's Waitresses

Prices have steadily climbed since their opening, unfortunately.  You’ll pay a surprising P255 for a three piece chicken basket, and a whopping P175 for clam chowder.  A bowl of chili, despite it’s humble ingredients of ground beef and beans, will set you back P185, though it’s pretty good.  Salad lovers will be disappointed at the P235 chef salad price.

The current winner on the menu is the Philly-style cheese-steak.  In my opinion, it’s their only standout item at the moment.  For P150 you can get crusty roll with chopped steak and gooey cheese.  However, you might want to avoid adding the optional french fries and coleslaw, because that will add an extra P100 to your bill.  Again, wacky, somewhat dyslexic pricing, in my opinion.

Given its location on the corner of A. Santos and Real Streets, its prices may be justified.  We wished there was more of a people watching area in the restaurant/bar, however.  In all, Shano’s is a great place to have good lunch, shoot some pool, and watch the latest sporting events.

Finally, Shano’s plays an active role in the local billiard leagues, sponsoring a number of teams.  During non-league days, you can enjoy a friendly game or three with your friends or with one of the waitresses.  They have some of the nicest tables in town.       -copyright 2008, ACEats.com

CUISINE:  American & Pub Grub | COST: $$ | RATING: ** (of 4)