A taste of Japan

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A food crawl through Mitsukoshi Mall

By Joseph L. Garcia, Senior Reporter

THE PROMISE for future residents of The Seasons Residences is “own a piece of Japan with The Seasons Residences in BGC” (from the Federal Land website). One of those pieces happens to be access to the Mitsukoshi Mall.

On Sept. 30, guests were taken around the mall’s many food spots (with access granted from the complex’s first tower, Haru — “Spring” — completed earlier this year). “What I wanted in this initiative is to reflect that when we promised that they can own a piece of Japan before, it’s not just the theme of the project that’s in just the architecture, but you can live it every day,” said Federal Land Marketing Head Jorel Bringas.

Our first stop was the Itadaki food court at the mall’s basement. That could have been the last stop by itself, for the vendors in the food court brought out their very best. Saboten Express’ offers alone could have tided us over for the rest of the day: there was lightly cooked Agedashi Tofu, and Chicken Karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken), but we were bowled over by the Tuna Katsu, still pink inside, and the perfect crispness contrasted with the fresh tenderness of the fish. An honorable mention was Lam Mein, which brought out a roast duck, perfect for dunking into their Beef Wonton Noodle Soup.

Close by was Ajisho Kaisendon, offering fresh sushi, sashimi, and the same delights presented in bowls. With most of their offerings flown in from Japan, the result was exquisite: the sea urchin was sweet and still bore a briny, oceanic flavor, and a surprise contender was the salmon roe, which popped repeatedly inside our mouth, bringing burst after burst of flavor.

In the same basement is the Iwada Ichigo Cafe, the first strawberry cafe in the country — Beni Hoppe strawberries are frozen and flown in from Japan, then crushed to be served in a variety of ways. Mixed with milk (no water in the equation, to further emphasize the strawberry flavor) and blended, they’re served as a smoothie. Crushed and served in a bowl, they make for a nice dessert. That day, we were served their seasonal frozen white strawberries in a bowl, resulting in a very creamy taste with little acidity.

Upstairs at Prologue D’Fined, a more upscale version of the Prologue chain, they served us their pasta lunch set, which included a Salsiccia (sausage) Arrabiata and a mild Black Truffle Carbonara served with buckwheat pasta. The taste was mild and the truffles were a mere hint, but what a great texture.

THE HIGHLIGHT
Those were only openers for what we thought was the food crawl’s highlight: Bijin Nabe by Tsukada Nojo. Jidori chickens from the Miyazaki prefecture (so perfectly bred they’re sometimes served raw) are cooked down for several hours into a white semi-solid teeming with collagen. That’s Bijin Nabe’s promise: the collagen in their Japanese Collagen Beauty Hotpot is supposed to help you become beautiful.

Never mind that: the broth itself is beautiful. In a pot, the pudding is melted until it becomes a rich soup. The trip could have ended here: the rich broth was revitalizing, and felt like it erased all my sins. As a plus, my companions during the trip noted that my cheeks regained a glow (so much so that we asked for a second bowl). No promises, but with a baseline price of P700 a pot for two people (the rest of the hotpot ingredients like vegetables and meat come with separate prices), one should give it a shot.

After the joys of Bijin Nabe, we thought we’d be let down by Spice and Soy’s Pork Belly Muy Chai (a braised pork dish), and El Born’s roast chicken. Not at all. In fact, El Born’s Burnt Basque Cheesecake gave us another reason to visit the Mitsukoshi Mall. The cheesecake has been making the rounds of social media, and for good reason: pushing down a fork on the cake brings out creamy and delicious feeling.

After a stop for coffee at Key Coffee Kissaten, we were taken down to the basement again, this time for the mall’s home court offering at Mitsukoshi Fresh, their supermarket brand.

There’s a Filipino contender there: Tayabas Bay Oysters, grown there for that specific area’s lack of history of red tide. Founded earlier this year, it’s the country’s first commercial hatchery-grown oysters. Still live, they were shucked in front of us and served fresh, and had a clear, clean taste.

Meanwhile, Mitsukoshi Fresh served up its Japanese-flown offerings, and we got to taste wagyu sushi for the first time (rich and refined; the beefy flavor was merely a hint).

THE JAPANESE TOUCH
Mr. Bringas explained that the tripartite collaboration between Federal Land, Inc., Japan’s Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. is what makes the complex (the mall and the residences) unique. “Everyone… has brought something authentic here, versus other developers,” he said.

According to him, while other developments may have Japanese investors and branding, they are not involved with how things are run. “Here, the Japanese, as you’ve seen it, are very much included in the day-to-day operations, the envisioning, the planning of things.”

The rest of the Seasons Residences towers are set to be completed by 2027. Prices for the units start at about P23 million for a 51.5-sq.m. one-bedroom unit.