Watami Opens at SM Mall of Asia

I was invited last week by Bistro Group (through Spanky Enriquez) to try the newest restaurant under their belt, Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant at the SM Mall of Asia. 

Watami is an international restaurant chain with over 700 locations all over the world, and the SM Mall of Asia branch is the first location here in the Philippines.

inside Watami

The place has a modern Japanese vibe, and the restaurant was quite spacious. Seats are also available at the alfresco area if you want a better view of the Manila Bay. 

Watami offers both traditional and modern Japanese dishes and is a Japanese food fanatic, I was really excited to try what they have to offer.

Salads

To start our meal, we were served their salads: Caesar Salad with Hot Spring Egg (Php 320 for full, Php 200 for half) and Watami Salad (Php 350 for full, Php 220 for half).

Caesar Salad with Hot Spring Egg

Watami Salad

Caesar Salad has lettuce, bacon, croutons with a hot spring egg to add some kick to this yummy salad. The 

Watami Salad is almost a feast with lettuce, broccoli, corn, cherry tomatoes and shrimp. What's nice about Watami is that they also offer salads in half servings. 

Salmon & Sashimi

We were also served Assorted Sashimi (Php 425) and Salmon & Vegetable in Rice Paper (Php 185).

Assorted Sashimi

Salmon & Vegetable in Rice Paper

Assorted Sashimi has 5 kinds of seafood: tuna, salmon, fatty salmon, scallops, and amaebi, which can also be ordered ala carte. The Salmon & Vegetable in Rice Paper is also good and easy to pop in your mouth. It's another healthy choice too. 

Chicken

Another comfort food on the menu is the Crispy Chicken Wings (Php 195).

Crispy Chicken Wings

The Crispy Chicken Wings is served with sweet sauce. It's one of the items you shouldn't ignore. 

Meat

Watami serves delicious meat dishes like the Pepper Beef Rice in Stone Pot (Php 190) and the Self-Grilled Short Ribs (Php 295).

Pepper Beef Rice in Stone Pot

Pepper Beef Rice is served in a very heavy stone pot and should be mixed immediately for the rice not to get burnt. It was really tender and I could really taste the pepper without overwhelming the whole dish. I love this dish!

Self-Grilled Short Ribs

The Self-Grilled Short Ribs is one item that caught my attention immediately as I browse the menu. The meat is grilled right at your table with butter, potatoes, and steak sauce. The aroma was already inviting that it was gone for seconds. This is really a must-try. 

Skewers

Another dish that I enjoyed was the Assorted Skewers (Php 295).

Assorted Skewers

Assorted Skewer is a sampler of the 5 skewer dishes that they offer: the Beef & Spring Onion Roll, Pork with Enoki Mushroom, Chicken Thigh, Chicken Breast, and the Chicken Wing. It was simply flavorful and tender. 

Teppan

We were also served Tonpeiyaki (Php 275), which is a Japanese omelet with pork, cheese, and cabbage.

Tonpeiyaki

It was sweet and crunchy, something the kids would also enjoy. I'd love to have this dish again. 

Pizza

We got to try their Bolognese Pizza (Php 315), which has sausages, cheese, and hot spring egg in the center.

Bolognese Pizza

The pizza has a thin chewy dough that you can easily roll it. It was simple yet delicious.

Rice

A  Japanese dish that left us in awe was the Gomoku Pot Rice (Php 345).

Gomoku Pot Rice

It was served while being cooked and should only be eaten after the fire runs out. It's a rice mix with lots of toppings, and something we really liked. You'll be intrigued and excited about this dish.

Ramen

This place isn't a Japanese resto if they don't have ramen, and we got to try their Ramen in Spicy Miso Soup (Php 380).

Ramen in Spicy Miso Soup

It is a humongous bowl of ramen with pork, egg, and bean sprouts with the right kick of spiciness. A serving is good to share, but a really hungry guy can finish the whole thing.

Drinks

Watami offers a variety of alcoholic drinks like sake, wine, beers, and shochu. During our meal, we were able to taste some of their non-alcoholic drinks.

My fellow food bloggers tried their Fruit Squash drinks like the Apple Berry Soda (Php 195), Fresh Kiwi Squash (Php 150), Mango Snow Mountain (Php 165), Milky Green Tea (Php 165) and Lychee Grapefruit Soda (Php 150).

We also tried Healthy Drinks like Green Tea Yakult (Php 150) and Mango Yakult (Php 150).

Apple Berry Soda, Fresh Kiwi Squash

Mango Snow Mountain, Lychee Grapefruit Soda

Green Tea Yakult, Milky Green Tea, Mango Yakult

Watami also serves Big Drinks or Green Citrus Drinks like Green Citrus Green Tea (Php 145), Green Citrus Tea (Php 145), and Green Citrus Cola (Php 145).

Green Citrus Green Tea, Green Citrus Tea, Green Citrus Cola

Desserts

To cap our Japanese feast, we were also served desserts. We had Chocolate Fondant Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream (Php 200) and the parfaits: Chocolate (Php 195) and Mango (Php 225). 

Chocolate Fondant Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

Chocolate Parfait

Mango Parfait

I love chocolate desserts! The Mango Parfait was also good if the mango is a little sweeter. 

Watami also offers ice cream at Php 75 per scoop. Available flavors are Chocolate, Vanilla, and Maccha. 

Maccha Ice Cream

Like the other Bistro Group resto I visited like TGI Friday's and Fish & Co, Watami has excellent service and delicious food. The dishes were also good for sharing that it would be recommended that you visit in groups. 

I find the Bistro Group restos quite pricey, but Watami is a contrast with its reasonable prices. I'd definitely visit Watami again with my friends soon.

Thanks to Bistro Group for having us. 

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Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant

2nd level

Veranda Bayside, Entertainment Mall

SM Mall of Asia

Pasay City

Contact Nos. 8367141, 09275641815, 0915720-6577

www.facebook.com/WatamiPhilippines

Twitter: @WatamiPH