This Restaurant in Pasig Brings Extra Oomph to Classic Japanese Cuisine

Yugen
G/F, The Crescent Condominium, 29 San Miguel Ave, Ortigas Center, Pasig
Contact Number:  0917-115-0353
Instagram: instagram.com/yugen.restaurant/
Open Mondays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

(SPOT.ph) To a lot of us, Japanese food has become a comfort staple. With the rise of establishments serving the cuisine in the Metro, we often find ourselves craving ramen, sushi, or whatever Japanese fare we fancy as a way of treating ourselves or even as self-care. Many Japanese restaurants specialize in one aspect of the cuisine, such that they'd only serve ramen or only sushi and so on. But what if, like us, you have times when you are craving multiple Japanese food items all at once? What do you do then? Well, there are plenty of Japanese restaurants that offer variety as well. The tricky bit is in finding the really good ones—as with any restaurant, executing each item well tends to be more challenging as the menu gets larger. Exactly why we want to let you in on a new spot that balances options with excellent execution: Yugen. This new Japanese restaurant in the Ortigas area has the range and the quality.

Also read:
The SPOT.ph Guide to Japanese Food

Check out Japanese Restaurant Yugen in Ortigas:

It may take a while to find Yugen as it's located at the back of Ortigas' Crescent Building. Being a relatively new establishment, their sign isn't up yet on the building's post. Once you get past the driveway though, you'll be treated to this hidden gem's visuals. Clean, minimalist, chic—those are the three words we would use to describe Yugen's interiors. Think sleek mahogany chairs, solid wood tables, and ambient yellow lighting. Heck, even the bathrooms are gorgeous. Everything about Yugen's interior design screams simple but classy Japanese design. 

Stoked about all the low-key eye candy we just saw, our tummies were grumbling and ready to dig into Japanese eats, and boy, were our expectations high. To say that the menu at Yugen is extensive is an understatement. It is huge. It has everything from appetizers to rolls, rice meals to noodles, yakitori to soups, and desserts. We got to try a bunch of the available items at Yugen, and suffice to say, we liked them all—even the ones we don't usually crave. 

Our favorites from the menu start with the Seared Salmon (P450). Served in threes, this quick bite has shredded crabstick and crispy tempura bits mixed in spicy mayo wrapped in thinly sliced salmon, topped with wasabi mayo, and garnished with tobiko. The play on textures between the torched soft salmon, the chewy crabsticks, the beady tobiko, and the crispy tempura bits make a party in your mouth. You'll find yourself wanting more of this bite as it is addictive but you have to hold out because there's more to try, and trust us, you'll need all the tummy space you've got.

Another quick bite on our list of favorites is the Yugen Roll (P720), a mat-rolled inside-out sushi with crispy prawn tempura,  crabstick, ripe mango, Japanese cucumber, kampyo covered with sliced avocado, unagi, and cream cheese. There are so many components to this roll, but you'd be surprised you could still taste each and every one of them. This plate is like your typical California Maki on steroids. Don't skip this if you love a good, loaded sushi roll.

Moving on to noodle dishes, two standout plates served to us were the Shifudo Udon (P550) and the Yokozuna Ramen (P630). Don't be mistaken; they're both noodle dishes, but the Shifudo Udon isn't soup-based like the ramen. Instead, the Shifudo Udon is like a Japanese carbonara—think udon noodles sauteed with garlic and cream and topped with a medley of seafood, including pan-fried scallops, salmon, and prawns. It's also garnished with shredded kani and kizuri nori. Believe us when we say they did not skimp on the seafood; You could share this plate with another person and still get a decent portion of seafood in every bite. Yugen's take on the Japanese carbonara is a creamy, garlicky, briny delight that you'll have to taste to best appreciate. 

For a soupy noodle dish, among their ramen offerings, our favorite by far is the creamy tonkotsu-based Yokozuna Ramen. This bowl of noods comes with the usual toppings, fermented bamboo shoots, chasu, shredded cloud ear mushrooms, braised baby corn, shimeji, fried tofu, nori, and an unexpected but defintely welcome massive pair of braised pork ribs. Yup, this bowl of ramen is just rich porky goodness. It's teeming with umami courtesy of the creamy tonkotsu broth and charred smokey flavors from the braised ribs. Again, the serving size is good for about two people, but we wouldn't fault you if you decide not to share this.

If you're like us and just can't pass up tempura, you're in luck because Yugen serves a mean order of the classic Ebi Tempura (P595). Their take on this classic is one of the best we've tried. It's very lightly battered but still crisp on the outside while staying moist and succulent inside. Yugen's Ebi Tempura lets the prawn shine by not hiding it in a deep coating of breading. 

One of the more unusual finds we saw on the menu is the Gyutan Steak (P550), a plate of pan-seared beef tongue marinated in a tangy ponzu sauce served with greens. According to Yugen's chef, using the less fibrous middle part of the beef tongue is key to making the dish tender, more like the usual steak (rather than like the Spanish lengua). Eating this dish is like digging into a plate of lean steak. It's meaty and gamey but perfectly seasoned and charred. Pro tip, order a side of fried rice when you get this dish as they go well together.

As you may have noticed by now, eating at Yugen alone would be a challenge, what with their generous serving sizes. However, if you eat here as a group of three or more, you should get an order of their Kushiyaki Moriawase (P850). This plate for sharing is an assortment of Japanese skewers such as boneless chicken thigh, arabiki or Japanese sausage, chicken meatballs, tebasaki,  chicken gizzard, salmon fillet, butabara, uzura bacon, and leeks. It's a great way to taste a little bit of everything on their grilled menu. Plus, it goes great with alcoholic drinks, which, you guessed it, are also part of Yugen's menu. 

Rounding out our list of Yugen favorites are their homemade ice creams. The restaurant serves Azuki, a.k.a. red bean (P165), Kurogama or black Sesame (P165), and Matcha Special (P165) Ice cream. While all of them are creamy and refreshing in their own right, a must-try is the Matcha Special which is green tea ice cream with mochi balls and green tea jelly topped with azuki beans. The green tea flavor here is strong and earthy. It's basically like licking raw matcha powder—which is great if you're a fan of earthy tea flavors.

These are just some of our top picks from Yugen's wide selection of Japanese fare. Of course, there's a lot more to try, and it'd be easy to get overwhelmed, but it's also hard to go wrong with anything on Yugen's menu. So trust us, the next time you're craving Japanese food, you might want to consider dropping by the Ortigas area and giving this new food haunt a try. 

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