on first dates: Teriyaki Boy

Gus, my best/boyfriend, asked me out yesterday. I know we've been going out for quite some time but he hasn't REALLY asked me out in a while. Yes, we'd go out. Have a beer or two, or maybe a cup of coffee somewhere but it's been a while since he really, formally, asked me the question.

He let me pick which restaurant I'd like to have dinner in but due to unforeseen and unexpected circumstances, I couldn't decide. I had a bit of a tummy trouble earlier and it made it difficult for me to decide or even think about what type of food, or at least, cuisine, I'd like for the night. We began our search in Eastwood, checking out this Korean restaurant on the 2nd floor. They seem to have good food priced reasonably but if I were to eat Korean that day, I'd like to eat authentic Korean food. We weren't sure if they served authentic Korean dishes and I didn't want to waste any time or resource figuring out if they did. We (or maybe it was more of, I) considered McDonald's (because I was really craving for their ice-cold coke) and thought about having burgers but I originally had not considered having any unhealthy meal because of my upset stomach. The smell of the grilled meat was just so enticing, we left before I couldn't resist.

We looked at the menu of CCA on the way down. I had a certain craving for their Devil's Food Cake at that time too. I felt uncomfortable and had too many tastes that day, we both didn't know where to eat. We eventually decided to go elsewhere, looking at the different restaurants located in the Cubao area (Ali Mall, SM, Araneta Center, Shopwise, and Gateway.) Still no restaurant to satisfy our hunger.

We decided to head home and pick a restaurant somewhere there since it was getting a bit late too, and the rush hour had already started. We ended up in SM North (as always) and Gus brought me to two different Japanese restaurants so I could check their menu to see if they had anything I liked.The first one was Tokyo Cafe but the first thing I saw was their fried dishes (karaage, tonkatsu) and I immediately said no. I really didn't feel like eating anything fried yesterday. He brought me to Kimono Ken next but I didn't find anything interesting in their menu except for their kani salad, which I thought was too overpriced. I remembered another Japanese resto in the other end of the building and asked him if we could check that one out. Sakae Sushi, located on the ground floor of the annex building, is a sushi conveyor type of Japanese resto. It was interesting at first but when I looked at their menu, they didn't have any kani salad, which was what I really wanted. In the end, we decided to go to a more familiar place: Teriyaki Boy.

I ordered my kani salad, which had a generous topping of Japanese mayo, and a cup of yakimeshi rice, which I called kamameshi, thinking about a totally different Japanese resto. Gus ordered a pork dish, sauteed in a ginger-base sauce because the Asupara Bacon Maki was unavailable at that time.

My kani salad

(look at the generous topping of japmayo!)

"Kamameshi"

(the name I always use to refer to yakimeshi, I don't know why)

Pork Shogayaki

(pork stir-fried in a ginger-based sauce)

Excited little girl

Gus also availed of Teriyaki Boy's rice + drink promo, which included two cups of rice and bottomless iced tea. I love their hot house tea but I also got bottomless coke, just in case I crave for something sweet after. Good thing they housed Coca-Cola products. I'm really picky when it comes to cola drinks.

Gus' plus P49

(two cups of rice + bottomless iced tea)

Excited little boy

The whole enchilada!

It was a great dinner. And even if we just tried out the shogayaki that night (because of the asparagus maki's unavailability), it was a good bet. We both didn't like sweet sauces and even if this was ginger-based, which Gus doesn't really like, it turned out to be a good substitute. The sauce was good, far from sweet, just a little salty, but flavorful from the ginger. Of course, Gus didn't eat the ginger pieces that were used to saute the dish, but he liked how the dish tasted overall. As you can see from the next picture, we really did enjoy the meal. Plus, the service was GREAT! The guy who attended to us was very patient and very polite. He got all our orders and gladly waited for us when we couldn't decide what dish to get when our first choice was unavailable. He was also very attentive and was quick to respond to our needs, like drink refills. We really felt bad that we didn't have smaller bills to give to him as a tip. :(

Look, ma. No leftovers!

I know we were hungry that night, but the satisfaction we got went beyond that of our hunger. Good food plus good service always result to a great dining experience. Kudos to Teriyaki Boy, SM Annex. Keep it up!

Next stop? Seoul Garden. ;)

The happy couple! ^@^

Price Range: P300/person

5 out of 5 for Teriyaki Boy

Teriyaki Boy

SM City North EDSA - Annex
3rd Level, SM City North EDSA - Annex, SM City North EDSA
North Avenue corner EDSA
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone Number: (63 2) 332-7603


Contact details courtesy of http://food.clickthecity.com/b/Wm26ba2