John and Yoko.

John and Yoko in the still to be fully opened Greenbelt 5 is my favorite restaurant at the moment. I like it because service is fast and efficient. Most of all, menu prices are reasonable (average of P250 to P500 per head), considering the hip cosmopolitan ambiance. I just hope they stay this way even when the crowds come pouring in, as we think it would….

John and Yoko is the latest restaurant venture of movie actor Marvin Agustin who also owns Sumo Sam, Cafe Ten Titas in Gateway and Smairu at the Food Choices of TriNoMa. Met him somewhere before and I’d really like to interview him one of these days for the simple reason that no one among the young showbiz personalities has invaded mainstream dining in Manila as he did.

Regular customers of Sumo Sam will surely find a lot of similarity with the menu of John and Yoko. “Purists” of Japanese cuisine might frown, but John and Yoko is fusion Japanese food I suppose. It appears that the dishes are a product of kitchen creativity and experimentation, such as this tofu steak I love - thin beef slices with green peas, carrots, tofu and some soy sauce reduction ( P218).

Tofu Steak.

The Japaella (P328) is your Japanese paella dish served in the usual paellera with slices of chicken teriyaki, prawns wrapped in seaweed or nori and pieces of chorizo. The rice was baked in olive oil, with a hint of Kikkoman. Serves two to three.

Japaella.

The menu has a number of interesting pizzas and we chose this thin-crust one with shrimps, enoki mushrooms, pineapple bits and cheese (P268). Great when topped with chili powder and tonkatsu sauce.

Shrimp & Enoki Pizza.

Dessert time! There were three of us having dinner and we had a grand time sharing the hidden joys of the in-house banana split (P138), so called because the bananas were fried in tempura batter to give it a Japanese twist.

Tempura Banana Split.

As a I said before, the staff are trained to be uber-accommodating. We asked for the house tea and they gave us my favorite Lipton raspberry fruit tea contained in some beautiful stoneware. Another time, Jamie ribbed the waitress for some freebie dessert to go with the yummy Big Star Salad she just enjoyed and they gave her this decadent turtle cake a la mode….

Turtle Cake a la mode.

Notice the hair. The waitstaff (here pouring some cucumber-flavored water) were required to wear black and have some highlights on the hair for added appeal, ahem…

DSC00315.

I heart John and Yoko!
Second Floor, Greenbelt 5
Ayala Center, Makati City
Telephone No. 729 86 98

John and Yoko interiors.

Posted in Munchin' |