Beniya Honpo – A treat before shopping for pets!

You kind of wonder how a restaurant like this emerged in Cartimar, Manila’s pet center. I think the more fitting statement would be, why is it only now that a restaurant like this emerged in Cartimar considering the many authentic Japanese and Korean groceries surrounding this area? This place started out with delicious Bento meals with the characteristic Japanese salted plum and black sesame seeds on top of the rice. Yes they use Japanese rice. And yes, the owner is Japanese.

The old man who owns this place is pretty hands on, he’s here daily watching over his stall. He has a big open kitchen, that spans even bigger than the dining area. They also sell frozen homemade gyoza, which is their specialty. The gyoza is pretty good, I’ve eaten it a couple of times before…and I just realized now, after a year of going to this place to snack while I’m shopping for pet stuff…guess I’ll write about this!

Although I would recommend trying their bento meals, there’s something pretty surprising with their new items…finally, they’ve expanded their menu to donburi and ramen.

Ramen is silky, it’s not your out of the foil-pack ramen which is dry and usually very very soft…this one is silky, fresh and firm. Silky, not from the oil, but from the ingredients of which it was made. The picture showed a perfect looking ramen egg…so I pounced at the chance to try a ramen egg made here in the Philippines…to my dismay, the ramen egg was just a hard boiled egg..but atleast it was a fresh egg. The broth was tasty, with a little soy sauce. The ramen bowl contains pickled bamboo shoots, a slice of pork and their funny looking fish ball. Not bad for a snack.

The Oyako don is perfectly cooked. The chicken is tender. Slightly soyed with a tiny hint of sweetness. The egg creates a wonderful texture with the chicken and the rice. The onions brought out an amazing sweetness, not the sugary kind.

Pretty decent place to eat considering your other option is the very warm and sticky stalls outside. Food here is honest & freshly cooked and the place is cold. Nice combination for a place as warm and congested as Cartimar.