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Kami Nabe @ Nonki

Kami Nabe 【紙鍋】 — I had this interesting and totemo oishii Japanese dish for the first time at Izakaya Nonki. (My old friend, Ichido, invited me for a long-overdue bonding session, and I was very happy that he chose this restaurant.) “Kami” means paper, and “nabe” is Japanese for cooking pot or pan.

As you can see in the pictures, the cooking pot is made of one whole sheet of paper. It won’t burn because the ingredients effectively raise the flash point (burning temperature) of the paper.

Cooking on Paper

And it’s quite thick so it won’t turn soggy from the food — after it’s cooked, the vegetables produce soup, you see. Yes, this order is served raw so you can watch it cook. Fascinating, really.

The Kami Nabe at Nonki has shrimp, mushrooms, lettuce, leeks, squid, marlin, and — surprise! surprise! — salmon. It cooked in about 10 minutes, and it was utterly delicious!! Love is a dish that makes you happy!

All the ingredients brought together a delectable taste that’s unforgettable. The salmon was fresh and added a twist that was entirely enjoyable. The shrimp gave the soup a flavorful finish, which went oh so well with the other ingredients. I all but drank the soup from the paper pot after the meal…

This is served with a dip that’s similar in taste to the dip served with tenpura. One order serves one.

Kurokirishima Shochu

Aside from the usual sashimi platters, Ichido and I also had Ume Chazuke 【梅茶漬け】 and Tanuki Udon 【狸うどん】 to cap off the evening meal. And during the whole time, we were enjoying a bottle of Kurokirishima Shochu 【黒霧島焼酎】, which is similar to sake but is made of potatoes. This drink is quite smooth. We had it “mizu-ari” — meaning, mixed with water and ice.

Ochazuke (literally, soaked in tea) is to a Japanese like bulalo or balbacua is to a Filipino. In other words, it’s one of the dishes they look for after a drinking spree. But it’s also a kind of breakfast food, so I’m told. My order, the Ume Chazuke, is served with preserved plum on top of Japanese rice, which is soaked in tea and nori and other seasonings. Yummy!

Ichido let me have a small bowl of his Tanuki Udon. I don’t know why it’s called that, because “tanuki” means raccoon… Anyway, it was very good. I loved the bits of tenkasu, which lent a creamy, buttery taste to the soup. “Tenkasu” is what they call the scraps of tenpura batter after cooking.

It really pays to have a Japanese friend when eating at a Japanese restaurant. They know the best and most fascinating food to order!

Izakaya 【居酒屋】 /n/ tavern, pub; traditional Japanese bar.
Nonki 【呑ん気】 /adj/ carefree, optimistic; happy-go-lucky.

I don’t know exactly why the owners decided on the “Nonki” name, but one of the Japanese characters for it does carry the meaning for drinking, so… At any rate, I’m glad that we now have a branch of Nonki Japanese Restaurant in Davao, because their offerings are pretty good. The main restaurant is in Mandaue City, and two more branches are in the cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu.

I’ve only been there once (today, in fact, with a couple of high school friends), so I won’t say anything final yet. I’ll have to go back and try their other dishes. Some friends who’ve been there a lot, though, have told me that they do enjoy the food (and the ample parking) at Nonki. Plus, I saw quite a few Japanese diners, which is always a good sign.

The Gyoza (₱120) left something to be desired, but it wasn’t bad at all. I guess maybe it was the sauce that was lacking in taste. On the other hand, the other appetizer we had, the Nonki Maki Special (₱215), was a delight. It’s a dish of shrimp and asparagus rolls, sprinkled with black sesame seeds. I wonder, maybe it would’ve been a much better dish if the shrimp were fresh (I mean, not cooked)…?

Izakaya Nonki offers the full range of Japanese cuisine — dishes that you’re familiar with, and some that might surprise you. And they have a good selection of spirits, too, as well as sake. (They sell Asahi Beer in cans for ₱120.) They actually have a huge selection of Japanese food, so what I suggest is to order one of their lunch specials. I had the Nabeyaki Udon and Spicy Tuna Tekka Maki Set (₱310), which I couldn’t finish because the portions were so big! The udon was just the way I like it: supple, firm and tasty.

Another set, which Kit ordered, the Sashimi and Beef Teppan Set (₱290) looks interesting too. I think maybe I’ll try that next time. The sashimi platter has squid, octopus, salmon and gindara (I think, but I’m not totally sure if it was gindara). These lunch specials come with dessert: ice cream or fresh fruits.

They also have bento boxes. Silvia’s lunch was the Beef Teriyaki Bento (₱270), which was a good mix of beef teriyaki (good, but tasted too much of onion), a few pieces of shrimp and vegetable tempura, a couple of California maki, and heavenly rice.

Nonki looks and feels like an honest-to-goodness izakaya — complete with hollering waitstaff (“Irasshaimase!!!”) — and the service is prompt and efficient. The restaurant is in its own building, in that strip-mall type of place on F. Torres street in downtown Davao, right beside the Davao Trade & Convention Center.

They’re open daily, from 11:30am to 2:00pm, and then from 5:30pm to 11:00pm. For inquiries and reservations, call 226-3058 or text (922)894-8254.

I am all for Japanese cuisine, but I also love spicy food. I speak Nihongo and I have immersed myself in the Japanese culture since I was a kid, but when it comes to food, I sometimes cross the Sea of Japan to Korea. See, aside from wasabi there’s not much else that’s spicy in the usual Japanese fare…

But when it comes to Korean cuisine, hot spices reign supreme!

It had been a long time since the last time I had kimchi, so it was a very welcome treat when I had dinner for the first time at Sigol Bap Sang with some bloggers.

At Sigol Bap Sang, they serve Banchan, or a set of appetizers to get your taste buds going. It’s free, and you can even ask for refills. I especially liked the fermented beans and the potato strips. Surprisingly, I also quite enjoyed the shallots; I am not a fan of onion at all, but that night, I ate so much of the stuff! And their kimchi — it made me ecstatic! I’m not an expert on Korean cuisine, but I can daresay that Sigol Bap Sang’s food is authentic (because Koreans run the place) and worthy of any food critic’s praise.

There’s a new item on my favorites list now, and it’s a spicy red noodle soup with beef and various vegetables, called Yukejang (₱250). Its distinctively Korean taste really livened up the entire dining experience at Sigol Bap Sang. I loved the way the ingredients were fresh and cooked to perfection (no soggy veggies and what not). I just wish they made it even more spicy… One serving is good for 3 to 4 people.

The rice dish that we had, Bibimbap (₱200), was something new for me too. One of the restaurant owners came by after it was served and did the honors for us. He expertly folded the eggs and vegetables into the rice and mixed in the red bean paste that gave it that zing. He also poured in a little sesame oil, which, Brendel told us, Koreans use a lot in their cooking. One order of this savory dish serves 2 to 3.

One of the dishes we ordered that I didn’t really enjoy (but which Brendel really liked) was the Dok Bokki (₱600). It’s a dish of rice cakes and vegetables. I don’t know, but the taste somehow reminded me of instant noodles… Maybe if it were spicy, then I might’ve gotten to like it. It’s a huge serving, hence the price.

The only recognizable dish for me — aside from kimchi — was the Bulgogi (₱300), which Sigol Bap Sang really knows how to prepare. The beef was tender and tangy, just a tad sweet but really tasty. It wasn’t spicy, though. The owner said they have another beef dish that’s really spicy, and that’s what I’m going to have the next time I dine at Sigol Bap Sang.

The restaurant is located in a small arcade across the highway from the Grand Regal Hotel (you’ll see a Merco bakeshop and a Korean grocer in that arcade). It’s in Lanang, approaching the intersection of J.P. Laurel Ave. and R. Castillo St. The place is not very big, with about 9 booths and a long table on one side of the restaurant. Service is prompt and the waitstaff seem to be well-informed of their food offerings.

They’re open daily, from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Their landline number is 300-8989.