With Red Planet Manila Malate Mabini as my home base (a great-value option for tourists and for someone like me on a budget), Malate Church and the Remedios area were just a stone’s throw away, making it perfect for a food crawl.
If Malate in the 1990s spelled low-key, cozy, bohemian, and far removed from the sleek bustle of Makati, Remedios today takes on a new persona: Korea Town, a moniker it adopted in 2010.
Naturally, on my first night, my goal was to find a good Korean dining spot—something an online search, strangely enough, could not provide. I ended up letting my feet and my eyes do the finding.
Zhu Ba Jie Premium Malate (2799 Adriatco Street Malate. For operating hours call 0917 539 1981)
Standing right at the corner of Adriatico, Zhu Ba Jie quickly caught my attention with its brightly lit signage and drew me in. (If memory serves, Korean Palace—the OG and pioneer Korean resto—used to occupy the site.)
Zhu Ba Jie, I later learned, is actually a chain of Korean restaurants with several branches, including ones in Makati and Clark. Since I arrived early, I was the only customer at first, until a group of young Koreans settled at the table next to mine—which I took as a good sign.
Not wanting to complicate things, I went for one of their meal sets: pork kimchi stew, which came with a cup of rice and banchan. It hit the spot and was just what I needed—spicy broth, tender pork, and what I believe were tofu and vegetables.
A bottle of soju would’ve made a good companion drink, but I opted out. Instead, I availed myself of the free soft-serve ice cream to cool down my palate.
Royal Sakura Japanese Restaurant (534 Remedios Street Malate. For operating hours call 0906 552 4498)
I’ve long been meaning to try Royal Sakura since I first heard of it, except that I’m hardly ever in the area. So when the opportunity arose, I immediately grabbed the chance. And I must say, Royal Sakura (I’d consider it a hole-in-the-wall, really, with minimalist interiors) is Manila’s best-kept secret as far as Japanese cuisine is concerned. (nope, not gatekeeping here)
Arriving at lunch, with the Japanese proprietor making his presence felt, I went straight to the sushi bar—where the sushi chefs were in full view, parading their skills—and ordered the Sakura Kaisen Don Set. It consists of special assorted sashimi over rice, with miso soup, chawan mushi (steamed egg custard), kiriboshi daikon (radish), and a salad on the side.
While I usually proceed with trepidation when ordering sashimi at a new place, I must say that each piece was fresh and the servings generous. The chawan mushi—silky and hot—complemented my order perfectly. For my drink, I went with a fresh calamansi soda.
I was so pleased with my meal that I made sure to return for lunch on my last day, when I partook of their soba lunch set.
Cafe Adriatico (1970 M. Adriatico, Remedios Circle, Malate. 0917 8085184)
It would be a shame to be in the Remedios area of Malate and not dine at that venerable institution that is Cafe Adriatico.
Much like the aging mansion of the Marasigans in Nick Joaquin’s “Portrait of the Artist as Filipino”—which refused to go and took the Second World War to decimate—Cafe Adriatico stands proudly, a link to a different time amid a Malate that is changing, albeit not for the better.
The interiors remain a cozy refuge as ever, and the food just as good, although price points have certainly gone up. I had one of their signature dishes—beef salpicao rice—though steak a la pobre would have been a good option too, capping my meal with a café latte.
May Cafe Adriatico—and its sister outlet, Bistro Remedios down the road—never change, or better yet, never go away, urban decline be damned.
Features Reporter
