Europe’s 1st Michelin-starred Japanese resto is also in Manila

There’s a gem of a restaurant inside Hotel Okura Manila, one that lets you savor a taste of Japan without having to leave the country. Its name is Yamazato, and it’s marvelous.

Yamazato first opened in Hotel Okura Tokyo in 1962. The first international location followed in 1971 in Amsterdam, and it would go on to make history as Europe’s first Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant. Today, you can find Yamazato in select Hotel Okura locations—Shanghai, Macau, Bangkok, Taipei, and, happily for us, Manila.

Walking into Yamazato is like walking into multiple Japanese fine dining restaurants. At the main dining room, you can order a la carte menu or kaiseki, multicourse meals that are considered Japan’s haute cuisine. Executive chef Keiichiro Fujino is the man behind Yamazato’s kaiseki offerings. Fujino, who was a chef in Japan for over four decades, has worked in many kitchens, including Hotel Okura Tokyo.

There’s also a sushi counter with sushi chef Ikuma Sato at the helm, private teppanyaki dining rooms where teppanyaki chef Katsuji Kato shows his mastery of the grill, and a shabu-shabu area.

Whichever you choose, Yamazato promises to “highlight the flavors of seasonal ingredients in all its dishes, using only fresh produce and seafood at its prime.”

Teppanyaki

I had my first taste of Yamazato inside one of their private teppanyaki rooms. The meal began with special appetizers—a trio of pretty little plates that packed a lot of flavor: nanban cod, duck with tofu skin, plus an assortment of small bites including nishiki tamago, ayu fish wrapped in kombu, apricot and black beans. As we dug in, chef Kato started preparing his grill, adding water to a mountain of salt and then cooking our asparagus in it.

That was our next dish—sautéed seasonal Japanese white asparagus—and it was lovely.

Next came three kinds of seasonal sushi—shrimp, anago and hamachi, each one beautifully prepared.

We watched Kato as he expertly cooked the Japanese F1 tenderloin steak to our desired doneness. The oh-so-tender and perfectly seasoned steaks were served with wasabi, garlic chips, and salt on the side. I had to stop myself from gobbling it all up because the chef was preparing our garlic rice on the grill. This is not your mom’s garlic rice. Kato uses special shoyu and garlic that’s been fermented for six months—and man, is it good (and goes so well with the tenderloin). That was also when the miso soup was served, a hot cup of umami.

Another thing that’s impressive about Yamazato is their service and hospitality, something that reminded us of great dining experiences in Japan. The server asked if we wanted to move to the couch so we could be more comfortable as we enjoyed our dessert, vanilla ice cream with frozen margarita-style strawberry.

I returned to Yamazato a couple of weeks later, this time to try the sushi counter. There’s something really special about enjoying sushi right at the counter, where you get front-row seats to the action and the chef hands you his creations himself. At Yamazato, there are only six seats, making the experience feel even more special.

We had the pleasure of watching Sato work his magic. His culinary journey has taken him from Japan, where his passion for Edomae-style sushi started, to Switzerland, Hong Kong, and now, the Philippines.

Parade of nigiri

He began by presenting us with the assorted appetizers—little cups of mostly seafood goodness. One taste of the Japan squid, uni and special soy sauce had us closing our eyes with pleasure. The sweet shrimps with Japanese cucumber, which the chef instructed us to drink, were fresh and bright. “Everything’s from Japan,” the chef said as he motioned to the next cup, which was filled with whitefish and bluefin tuna and topped with spring onions. In a tiny blue dish was a little egg yolk swimming in soy sauce waiting to be added to the fish. We were just getting started and already, my mouth started tasting like the ocean.

Next came a plate of sashimi: salmon, mantis shrimp topped with caviar, chu-toro, ebi, and sea bream—bite after bite of freshness.

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The parade of nigiri began, with Sato making and serving them to us one by one: chu-toro, shima-aji, salmon, ebi. “Mmm,” we said again and again, eyes wide and mouths full.

“Oishi,” we kept telling the chef.

We dug into cups of chawan mushi. The warmth of the Japanese egg custard was a nice little break before the sushi parade continued with otoro, Japanese scallops with uni, a beautiful tuna temaki with crisp seaweed and overflowing ikura, and aburi unagi nigiri. At this point, we were stuffed but there was one more: tekka maki.

It was time for dessert—ice cream and fresh fruits, a sweet ending to such a fine meal.

Yamazato, with its delicious food, great service, and beautiful interiors, will transport you to Japan—all that’s missing is a midnight trip to Donki.