It's been very busy and quite stressful these couple of weeks (or is it months?), and there are times when I just want to drive off to somewhere and catch some fresh air. When I have these attacks, my default go-to place is Tagaytay.
Ugh. I want to go! I mean, just look at this view:
I bet that view would look better now at night time.
I took that photo when I was invited to try out this new Japanese place in Tagaytay, Aozora (It means "Blue Sky" in Japanese), and it's about time that I share this place with you.
I am from that area in Laguna just below Tagaytay and I know of many Japanese restaurants around that area. However, I think Aozora is the first Japanese restaurant I've heard of that's actually located in Tagaytay with a view and all. I had ti check it out, because sushi + great view + heaven. <3
I got there ahead of the others because I live nearby, so I got to check out the place. They have a super nice space outside where you can lounge around and just bask in the wonderful Taal Volcano view. :)
Comfy seats outside.
I found out later on that this was a common area for the building wherein Aozora is located. However, this area may also be reserved for Aozora for events.
Seats and Aozora from the outside.
The place also has dining tables located outside.
They have beautiful glass walls that lets you somehow enjoy the view from inside.
See?
I love how this place is decorated. The inside space is quite small (although we were told that the whole space including outside can accommodate 80-100 people), but it still feels spacious. It has modern and also traditional Japanese themes.
The place is softly lit with modern Japanese lanterns. Yes, I just made that name up. :)) The owner says they had these light fixtures specially made.
They have a bar for forever alone solo guests. :D
Every inch of this place is thoughtful decorated. :)
I don't even know what this is but it looks Japanese and I think it's awesome. :D
Sushi guide.
Our group sat at the booth.
I like how their very courteous waitresses are dressed in kimonos. You can also see their chef. The owner says that Aozora's head chef is legit Japanese. He's in the restaurant every Thursdays and Fridays. The other chef, the one in the photo below, is a Filipino who served as a chef in Japan for over 20 years.
During this time, the place was still on soft opening, so their menu was still not final. However, I noticed that they have a fairly wide selection.
The food in this place is more on the pricey side.
However, the owner says that they do not compromise on the quality of their ingredients. In fact, most of their ingredients are imported fresh from Japan every week. The rest, they source from local suppliers in Tagaytay. Also, they only use organic pork and vegetables.
We started with a small portion of their Chuka Wakame Salad (full serving is Php195). It's seaweed with sesame seeds and a kind of sweet and sour sauce. This little salad really built up my appetite. To be perfectly honest, I wanted more of it.
We were also served with a glass of Aozora Iced Tea (Php130), which is tea with cucumber and panda and mint (Fun fact: they grow their own mint! They have mint plants outside!). This is more of an acquired taste kind of drink. You have to experience it for ourself to find out if you like it.
BONUS! They gave us their special welcome drink. They call it Kalamancello (not yet on the menu during that time but I hope they include it), and it's kalamansi with vodka. This drink tasted yummy and it gave me a happy buzz. :)
Up next to warm our bellies was the Aozora Ramen (Php295), which is a fusion of ramen and bulalo. This is a very promising dish, although it's not quite there yet for me, as it lacked the lovely flavors of ramen I so dearly crave for. However, the ingredients really were of high quality. I suppose a little tweak on their soup recipe would make this dish great.
And of course, sushi! <3 (By now you should have realized that I love the stuff). We tried Aozora's Rainbow Maki (Php395)
It has salmon, tuna, cucumber and mango outside, and cabbage with mayonnaise inside. Very tasty. It took all my strength to not eat everything. I was required to share it with the other bloggers. :|
When eating maki, I always watch out for the taste and texture of the sushi rice and the seaweed paper. Aozora's were very good. Rice was squishy and firm and had the right balance of sweet and sour. Seaweed paper had that fresh taste and had that chewy texture I like. Their Wasabi was pretty good too.
We also had Pork Belly which was served with a side salad (Php295). The pork was tender and juicy and flavorful. It was made more flavorful by a generous helping of teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds. The side salad was tasty too, and helped get rid of that umay feeling I get when eating pork.
We also had veggies. We had Yasai Itame (not on the menu) which is basically just mixed veggies.
We also got to try their Yakisoba (Php320). It was served hot and with fish flakes on top that moved and made me go "ooooh" in my head. This is a pretty decent Yakisoba. The vegetables were crisp and flavourful, and the beef was tender and tasty. The noodles were firm tasty.
Fun fact: according to the chef, authentic ramen noodles do not change texture even when left soaked in soup for a long time. Oooooh.
One thing I like about eating Japanese food is that even when it makes me full, it doesn't give me that bloated feeling I get when I eat say, burgers or Italian food. I guess it's because the food is not as greasy. Anyway, this is also why even after I've had my fill of Japanese food, I almost always have room for dessert. :D
We had the Mango Tempura (Php180). It's deep fried mango in tempura batter served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup.
The mango was sweet and I love love loved their vanilla ice cream, but I found that their tempura batter lacked the flavor it needed to compliment the dish.
I decided to have my dessert with Aozora's "KEY" Sukiyaki Coffee (Php120). This is a pretty strong coffee and I loved it. It's a must-try for coffee lovers.
They serve this coffee with milk and sugar. The sugar looks pretty but it's hard to dissolve in the coffee. :|
Some hits and some misses for the food, but all in all, very promising. I look forward to trying out their other items.
Co-owner Ms. Christine Arriola-Villongco telling us more about Aozora. Yes, she's also the one who invited us to try out
Galli earlier this year. :)
Ms. Christine is so sweet, she gave each of us a precious gift box. <3
I still have this GC! Who wants to go with me? Ms. Christine says I can use it even beyond that date. :D
The other girls checking out the view.
One last look.
I have high hopes for Aozora. The place is just beautiful, and the view up there is breathtaking. The food is here and there, but since they were still on soft opening when I visited, I'm sure there will be improvements. The selection is good too. All in all, dining at this place is a good experience.
Hmmm. Well, at least writing this post made me feel a little bit better about this hump day. One of these days, Imma drive off and go back to this little piece of heaven. :D
Be happy!
<3 Missy
