I was taking a Grab on my way back home, and for some strange reason, the rotunda near the the cemetery was unusually jammed. So I asked the driver to drop me off by the corner of Arya, and I proceeded to walk home. At that point, I was already hungry (more like hangry, and extremely irritable), so I figured it'd be best to eat something at Fukudaya.
So far, I've had good experiences eating there... and for the purposes of this blog, I thought I'd create a post just for this visit!
I sat by the wall, close to the numerous bottles of sake lined up by the glass where the kitchen was. I've never really seen any (Japanese) people drink here at Fukudaya. But perhaps it's just all timing. I peeped slightly higher to see the progress of my order. It wasn't a very good angle, and I couldn't see anything really! lol
I ordered an assortment of 5 types of sashimi - the Shu Moriawase (Php 700). It came in this really nice traditional ceramic dish... and I systematically ate my dish by color (from lightest to darkest).
The squid was meticulously scored to give it a less chewy texture, and once you apply the soy sauce over it, it really enhanced the flavor tremendously. The horse mackerel particular stood out for me... well, because I love mackerel so much. And also because it had that mildly salty kick that I've grown to love.
Oh, of particular note was also the salmon sashimi. Besides the awesome texture, I was under the impression that the chef may have lightly lightly brushed some soy sauce on it. It just had this pronounced flavor... I mean, it was salmon sashimi, but enhanced! I took my sweet time eating this dish, and I loved it immensely.
But as with all sashimi dishes I've had, sometimes it just doesn't feel enough!
So I called the waitress and ordered a seafood / Kaisen Kakiage (Php 300). In my mind, I was expecting several pieces of seafood / fish, covered in tempura batter. I didn't expect it to be served as a cluster of tempura. But y'know, I usually like surprises. So what the heck~
The tempura dipping sauce had a side of finely chopped / fresh grated daikon with grated ginger on top. I picked it up with my chopsticks and blended it with my sauce.
From a cross-section standpoint, it looks a lot like how takoyaki would look like if you bit into it. It had chunks of fish / seafood at various parts, and it had a semi-soft, goo-ey texture in the middle. In some cases, you could still see some mayonnaise-resembling batter in the middle.
The verdict on this dish~ externally the texture was on point. But taste wise, I was missing that umami factor. Somehow, I felt it needed a little, little salt to bring out its flavor. Occasionally, I would "dump" the kakiage quarter into my tempura dipping saucer just to smother it with some flavor, but it just wasn't enough. I suppose blending a little soy sauce wouldn't done the trick... but I only thought of it after I ate everything. Oh well, so much for that!
Overall, Fukudaya is still a great place. It's a bit pricey but I didn't feel it was entirely expensive because the quality of the food I got was really top notch (I think we've all encountered situations we paid so much, and likewise expected a lot... but expectations weren't met). Fortunately, though a lot of restaurants have come and gone at Arya, Fukudaya has managed to weather several storms. I hope they continue to stay!
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