I often see a big sign that says 'Sambokojin' in between the Ortigas and Santolan stations of the MRT, it says smokeless grill so I figured it's just Yakimix with a different name. I was never curious enough to try the place since it was really out of the way and I thought that I already had my fair share of smokeless grills. Good thing the boyfriend knows better and he asked me out on a date to this particular Japanese buffet. What's better is we found out that a branch opened up near my place! So one Saturday morning, the boyfriend had me claim the date he promised and he reserved us a lunch at Sambokojin West Ave branch.
The moment we stepped into the place I was glad that we had reservations - there were a lot of people waiting to be seated. I know waiting can be a pain in the tushy but I noticed that most people waiting are comfortable, there was a huge air-conditioned waiting area just outside the main restaurant. Note that they are really organized and had a system on getting their guests seated.
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| Filipino-inspired waiting area |
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| Their very spacious waiting area after lunch hours |
I found it sexy when the boyfriend approached the girl in-charge and said "Reservation for Miguel Blanco" hihi I saw envious stares from people who were seated in the waiting area while we were walking towards the main door leading to the restaurant, so a tip to anybody who plans to visit - Get a reservation!
We were seated at our table and the waiter assigned to us introduced himself and prepared our grill. I then walked over the 'to-grill' buffet and saw an array of meat, seafood and vegetable that we can cook.
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| veggies rolled in various bacon sliced meat |
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| marinated beef, chicken and pork |
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| mushrooms, skewers, quail eggs, salmon, tuna, prawns, crab sticks and more! |
And then we grilled..
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| asparagus wrap(my love's favorite) and various meats |
and grilled..
and grilled..
to our heart's content!
The diversity of their marinade is limited as compared to that of Yakimix but I can say that their meat is more flavorful than any meat Yakimix has to offer. Quality vs. Quantity. Aside from the to-be-grilled food, there are also cooked food that you can enjoy - the best one for me is the beef stew, the subtle korean flavor infused in slow cooked beef. Yum. ooh and of course given the fact that I am a tempura addict, I got to eat as many tempuras as I wanted.
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| my tempura and katsudon |
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| my baby had me try various noodles - yum! |
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| the cooked food buffet |
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| a must try! I had to muster extreme self control to NOT eat this with rice |
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| Another section of their cooked food buffet |
I swear that my self-control was challenged when I started tasting their food. The food took me from Japan to Korea without leaving Manila! Since I am on a low carb diet I had to eat all of these without rice - the agony! Protein overload. On the other hand, Miguel ate rice with caution - he wouldn't want to be full before we tried everything else in the buffet table. There was one particular rice that he tried, it looked to me as if it was sticky rice but I just could not remember what it was called, but judging from his ear to ear grin, I would say it was yummy!
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| The rice came in a cute steamer |
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| my love's sticky rice |
As with Yakimix, the dessert table was boasting with cakes, cream puffs, ice creams in different flavors, fruits and chocolate fondue. This is a Japanese Grill Buffet so don't expect much when it comes to the desserts or you'll be disappointed.
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| Assorted pastries |
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| Generic Cake 1 |
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| Generic Cake 2 |
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| fresh watermelons |
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| high-blood buster -- pineapples |
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| chocolate covered apples and marshmallows |
Your best bet for a yummy dessert is ice cream and fruits as for the rest of them I could not care any less. Eating a pineapple or an apple is a good way to reset your taste buds, it'll help you transition from one grilled meat to another. You'll appreciate the flavors of the meat by doing so.
For people who have been to Yakimix or RobotoSan, I don't know if you got the same ulam-like odor in your hair once you are done with all the grilling - I did, but with Sambokojin I noticed that you can leave the place with the same scent as you came in. Another remarkable thing about the place is the service, everybody was friendly and each table is assigned a waiter who actually helps you in the grilling in case you get tired of doing it yourself. The grill was also replaced in the middle of the meal - less carcinogens for the customers. Apart from everythaing that I have mentioned.the place also has a salad bar and a sushi bar. Kumpleto!
Each table comes with a set of oils and condiments that you can add to your meat while it's cooking. They also gave me Japanese vinegar when I requested for one -- talk about customer service! :)
All throughout our two and a half hour stay at Sambokojin, I was telling Miguel how I like the interior of the place. I haven't been to their other branches but if it's as clean and as sosyalan as the West Ave branch then they are on right track to dominating the smokeless grill scene.
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| my date, my love - wearing our matching glasses :) |
For less than Php500.00 you get to enjoy their lunch buffet from 11am to 2pm. I ate too much meat in a span of an two hours that I felt like a carnivore! Trust me, just an hour of staying at that place would give you your money's worth.
For reservations call 372-8846 or 921-2873
