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Food, Restaurants, Sana Nasa South
Suzukin - Found: Japanese treasure in a hole in the wall
Yet another installment of Nick’s Sushi Chronicles…
So, ok, it’s not really a hole in a wall; it’s actually a corner restaurant in a nondescript building along Kamagong in Makati. It’s in that part of Makati that’s got “the Manila sickness”: in early stages of urban decay, ignored by the get-go cosmopolitan drive that is the CBD.
I’ve mentioned this before: I love Japanese food, and I’m always on the lookout for a cheap deal. Sushi has to be the best thing the Japs invented, next to the Playstation line of consoles. I crave that burning sensation that strikes your sinus from dipping your maki into too much wasabe; I imagine myself telling my doctor the reason for me getting a stroke: “It was the sauce, doc.”
On the way to SaGuijo bar, where I do regular gigs, Betty and I always spy on Suzukin, the restaurant at the corner of Kamagong and Sampaloc (near the Caltex station); being a huge fan of Saisaki (I used to go there a lot when I was a kid), I always imagined Japanese restaurants to be big and tacky, while being antiseptically clean, bordering on the obsessive compulsive. Suzukin is just the opposite: no garish sign, no splashy ’80s Asian architecture, horrible parking, with the smell of your grandmother’s house in Sta. Mesa, and, for the ladies, a veritable death trap of a washroom. The only saving grace? The food.
Ah, but I didn’t go there to talk architecture with the likes of Sir Norman Foster. The food is the point. Everything, from the Miso to the California Maki, deserves a try, and for all of you fancy pants who just can’t get away from the malls for your weekly Japanese cuisine quota, well, you’re not only missing out on something great, you’re also chicken. The prices are terrific: nothing above P150 (except for the understandably expensive Tenderloin Steak and Shrimp Teppanyaki, both P180), and the food is just heaven. I’ve been there many times, and have tried their Tekka Maki, the California Maki (maki prices range from P120 to P150), the Miso Soup, the Tonkatsu, an Udon, the Sashimi (sorry, forgot to get detailed prices, we’ll add them in a while) and many others, and I’m still waiting to be disappointed. I hope I never will be. Oh, as for the wasabe, it packs a wallop!!! Have your doctor’s number handy, just in case.
One thing, though: you can’t keep on using SaGuijo as an excuse to go there. It’s a little out of the way, so if you have a little extra money and gas, and are bent on impressing your date with your bohemian sensibility, then go, I implore you, you won’t make a mistake. But they are franchising, so cross your fingers: Suzukin might find its way near you place. I just hope they don’t go commercial and sell out. I’d rather they sell more.
Suzukin
Kamagong corner Sampaloc, Makati
890-4393, (0920) 914-2430
Open for franchising
Read about their branch in BF: A Suzukin of Our Own
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19 comments for “Suzukin - Found: Japanese treasure in a hole in the wall”
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i love suzukin…:)
our family has been eating there for as long as i can remember.
:)
Yeah, they’ve got such a huge following na siguro. I first learned about this from my brother, who has been eating there since he was much younger.
I wonder where their franchises will end up? Sana may mag lagay sa BF, hehe. :)
We used to live a block away from there :) And similar to Erika we’ve going there since my dad discovered it in 1988.
http://kikay.exchange.ph/index.php/2007/07/17/southboundph/
:)
You should try their SUKIYAKI! To die for!
jm,
ang saya naman nun, living a short walk away… no need to bother with (very difficult!) parking!
jillsabs and john knight,
thanks for the writeups! :)
john,
the last time we were there, we ordered the sukiyaki. it took some time for them to prepare it, and we began to suspect that there was something amiss. finally, they served it, but without the egg… the waitress said, “sandali lang po yung egg.” we waited a while, but the soup was getting cold, so we started eating already, all the while speculating that they probably didn’t have eggs and someone must’ve run out to buy some. well, we were right! a few minutes later another waitress walked in with a whole plastic bag full of eggs! the soup was still hot enough to kinda soft boil the egg… and we overlooked the fact that it was late, seeing as they had gone out of their way to get the eggs! :)
Betty,
Now that’s going the extra mile (or extra meter) for the customer!
Better late than never, eh? :)
My philipino friend, Mang Tony first took me to this place.
I used to spend a lot more for same quality and it’s a history now.
I’ve never seen my country fellow here. Very well localized!
They say it’s cheap but I would say it is the least expensive.
Cheap sounds low quality but Suzukin is NOT!
Salamat po!
Betty, you posted this under Sana Nasa South. I say sana nasa North hahaha! I must stop there next time I go to Saguijo. Begatsafonik launch sa Sabado! Tara! Hehehe.
junichi,
thank you for your comment! i think the best endorsement suzukin can possibly get is from a fellow countryman like yourself. :)
jb,
yeah, sana may magbukas na, mapasouth or north man! :)
hi, is the suzukin you are talking about had a branch in Mile Long Bldg and closed for several years ago? I’ve been lookin for it for so long. we used to eat there since i was a kid., Can you please tell me the way starts from ayala avenue?
hi franz,
i’m not sure if they had a branch in mile long, but do check it out… it could be your long lost resto!
directions from ayala avenue:
from ayala ave (heading away from edsa), cross buendia
take the slight left turn when you see toyota / pldt / and meralco and then the slight right turn in front of meralco (you won’t be able to go straight because this road, kamagong, is one way)
turn left onto metropolitan avenue
go straight, crossing the stoplight at shopwise onto vito cruz extension (the road will veer slightly to the left, and the tall building–kingswood–should be to your right)
go straight, then turn left at the gas station onto sampaloc road
suzukin is at the corner of the next intersection, to your left, across the gas station
you’ll have to park on the street, but they have a really good watch your car boy who assists you with parking.
enjoy!
hi everyone!!!
SUZUKIN VALLEY FAIR, TAYTAY AND BF, PARANAQUE WILL BE OPENING SOON!!
pls watch out for it!
and spread the delightful word…
=)=)=)
thanks for ur support guys and gurls! We’ll see you there! ;)
wow looking forward to it!!! :D
hi, I’ve been waiting forever to dine at suzukin. But they’re always closed when I pass by Kamagong. Would you happen to know their store hours in Makati? thanks!
Now a Days Suzu Kin Become a popular Japanese Resto.. please stay foot and locked your sealtbelt bcause your tumy will exploide … hehehe thanks see you there and every where in suzukin now 6 branches
hi everyone. The store hours in Suzukin Kamagong Makati is 10:30am to 2:00pm and 5:30pm to 10:00pm. Grabe almost 3 decades na eto. Since 1981 pa un Suzukin. Busog at sulit pa ang bayad nio.
Wow got branch ortigas tycoon center soon to open .. suzu kin..
At last meron na FAN PAGE un suzukin sa facebook!!! :-)