Osaka’s rice bowl staple eyes growth in Manila
Almost 40 years since it opened its first branch in Osaka, Japan, the Don Don Tei restaurant chain has set its sights on expanding its reach overseas, with branches in California in the United States and Causeway Bay in Hong Kong. The chain’s specialty is rice bowls with assorted toppings, but mainly katsu (pork cutlet) or prawn tempura with vegetables arranged vertically.
In Japan, many of the restaurants focus on a specific menu item, going on to perfect it since the staff prepares the same dish day in and day out. At its over 300 branches in Japan, Don Don Tei serves these rice bowls to locals who don’t even have to scan the menu before ordering; they already know what they’re going to get.
When Don Don Tei opened in the Philippines last year, the menu was expanded to include other dishes like sushi and sukiyaki, gyoza and chicken karaage. Andrea Velasco of Oishi Gourmet Foods Inc. told Lifestyle that they wanted to reach a wider market, hence the decision to offer more items on the menu.
“The Don Don Tei team was intent on expanding and wanted to navigate the local market. This is why we asked them to come up with other dishes we felt Filipinos would be attracted to,” Velasco said.
Two branches
The chain now has two branches at Greenhills Mall and Robinsons Galleria that can accommodate around 60 people each at a time. It’s vastly different from the first-ever branch in Abeno, Osaka, which could only seat 14 at the bar in a space that measured 26 square meters.
“We wanted to attract families who live near and around Greenhills, and the office workers in Ortigas. So far, we’ve been successful in doing that at both our branches,” Velasco said.
During a recent visit to the Galleria branch, we saw how it filled up at noon with hungry diners who tucked into their bowls of katsu and ebi before clearing out an hour later, presumably to return to their work desks nearby.
The signature dish, the Special Ebi Tendon, is worth the hype: crispy prawn tempura and sliced veg with a flavorful sauce served over rice. The sukiyaki was too sweet, although one can imagine it being a way for parents to get their kids to eat their vegetables. We also tried the spicy salmon sushi and the cold soba served with a dipping sauce.
Velasco said there are plans to open additional branches further south, maybe Makati or BGC, this year.
If you’re hankering for ebi tendon, Don Don Tei’s version just might hit the spot.
