There is this Japanese food restaurant in front of my dorm that I fell in love with the moment my stomach nearly burst from all the Maki, ice cream and the Red Iced Tea that I gorged on one afternoon when PECO (the electric company of Iloilo City) killed the lights in my street. I hankered for ice cream on that hot, stressful day, and I decided to see if there was ice cream in the place. Incidentally, the resto is named, well, Maki.
When you get to the place, it’s really light and a sense of peace and that Zen-ish connection with your environment permeates your being. Well, I don’t know about you, but my senses tend to dominate me at times. Especially in a place as beautiful as this.
Here is my favorite dish. I’ve always loved California Maki, but here, they make it divine!
And here is what has now become my favorite drink: Red Iced Tea. That’s my mom’s hand dipping into the anchovies they serve while you wait for your food. I liked the ones I tasted the first time I went there better than this one: they seemed to be fried in sugar and sprinkled with sesame seeds. These ones were soaked in soy sauce with sugar and sesame seeds.
And here is my favorite waiter, Neil. 🙂 I told him he was cute the first time I was there. I’m not bi, but I’ve always found pink people cute. :p
Some of the Koreans who frequent Maki:
And my favorite, in terms of the decor: one of the beautiful lighting ornaments:
A word of warning. If you’re terribly hungry or thirsty, be prepared to ask the waiters to give you your drinks and the complimentary anchovies. The wait for the food takes some time, but not enough to warrant a BF (see White Chicks :D). :p
The service is good enough but needs work on the speed and responsiveness. If not for Neil, I’d be BFfing all over the place. :p
The price is reasonable for a relatively upscale resto. California and most other Maki’s are priced at Php 150 per 8 pieces or Php 75 per four. Ice cream desserts are at Php 70 (Green Tea Ice Cream) to Php 85 (Fried Vanilla Ice Cream), and the refillable Red and Green Tea drinks are at Php 55. Main courses are at Php 100-Php 300.
If you want to know what Green Tea Ice Cream tastes like, it’s like sherbet. Light on the tongue and very refreshing. The Fried Vanilla Ice Cream is a big blob of Vanilla ice cream nestled on what looks like a big wonton wrapper and topped with melted chocolate and a wafer roll on the side. Too bad I don’t have pictures of the desserts yet. I neglected to take one of the Fried Vanilla Ice Cream.
Maki is located on Diversion Road, a.k.a Benigno Aquino Drive or SM City street, at the entrance of Smallville, the party strip of Iloilo. If you happen to be here, do give me a call. I’d love to have free California Maki anyday. 🙂
