Oishinbo Japanese Restaurant in Little Tokyo, Makati City, Philippines

Little Tokyo is a place in Makati City, Philippines where you'll find a number of Japanese restaurants and stores. The Japanese community also frequently goes to Little Tokyo for get-togethers or simply to just relax. With the number of choices, we've always chosen, so far, to dine at Oishinbo. Oishinbo means the gourmet as my sister told me.

It's easy to locate in Little Tokyo since the area isn't that big. Now what makes it different from other restaurants? What made us choose to eat at Oishinbo instead of the others? First of all, their presentation is good. Not all visitors are Japanese and they explain their menu well (the other restaurants did a good job too but we understood the people at Oishinbo better). Most of the waitresses and cooks understand basic Japanese and they will greet you welcome by saying "Irrashaimase!" which literally means welcome.

They have an excellent selection of Japanese cuisine from sushi, sashimi, ramen and bento (meals). I've tasted some of them and they are really good. I even got to use chopsticks even though I really don't know how to. As long as the food sticks, that's ok. The food is that good. For those of you who like to drink, they have authentic Japanese wines and of course, local beverages as well.

One thing that we have noticed is that the restaurant is small. As you can see in the picture, they adopted a bar-like style. We sat on a table that is good for 4 persons and there are only 4 of those kinds of tables therefore seating is very limited. Just take a look at the pictures I took. Well, yeah, that's it. Just add 3 tables to the right and that's the entire dining area.

The ambiance is great though. It feels like you're really in Japan. There is ample lighting and it's comfortable. The only problem is that they allow smoking inside the restaurant. I find it, irresponsible since from what I know; Philippine Law and even city ordinances prohibit smoking in enclosed public spaces. We already requested that they warn the person since I can't breathe and my mom and sister are non-smokers. To no avail, he did not stop.

As with most restaurants in Little Tokyo, they open in the morning until around 2 pm and then open again from 5 pm till late at night. It's like they open during lunch break and will open again from dinner onwards.

If you're wondering about the price, well it's a bit expensive compared to the usual restaurants and Japanese fast food chains. But it's a fair price. The taste fully justifies the cost and you'll most likely be satisfied with whatever you order.

Oishinbo is a nice restaurant with good food but again, the lack of space is a bit unappealing. That's fine I guess and we'll definitely eat there again when we get another chance to visit Little Tokyo.