Love at first bite at shibui
It all started with a serving of lipsmacking tori karaage and heaven just opened up for more sumptuous treats at Shibui, a food stall on the second level of Central Park on Maginhawa Street in Quezon City.
It was love at first bite, second bite, until I finished the tori karaage, all eight pieces of Japanese fried chicken, in one sitting, in less than two minutes. I popped it in my mouth one after the other — no mercy. The selective white-meat eater in me was in a trance as I wolfed down the juicy, tasty and crunchy deep-fried dish that I dipped in spicy Japanese mayo. (When all was gone in my little bowl, I ended up nibbling on the wooden chopsticks if only to savor further the taste of what I had just devoured.)
It was just the start of my seeming love affair with Shibui, a yummy partnership among college friends, all 24 years old: Dan Velez (in charge of operations and accounting), Mike Atilano (social media and procurement) and Dell Tan (marketing and human resources). They opened their food venture last February.
Next thing I knew, my hungry heart was stolen by gyudon, a steaming-hot beef bowl. The sukiyaki beef was tender, the shiitake mushroom was salted just right, and the red pickled ginger lent a welcome tang to the overall taste of the dish. Heaven!
Ditto with the katsu curry — breaded pork curry never tasted this good.
Then shoyu ramen made an entrance to the table, appetizing in aroma as the soy-based soup ramen was sprinkled with scallions and fresh-from-the-farm pechay. The chashu pork was mouthwatering. The hand-pulled noodles, despite being soaked in invigorating broth, were not soggy at all. The broth, according to Shibui cook Moy Garbo Ligao (who has been with the family of Dan for the longest time), was a labor of love and he was taciturn about revealing the stock’s secret ingredient. There’s something quite enticing and intriguing about the stock. (The same was the gustatory experience with tanmen, a delectable bowl of meat and vegetable ramen in shio, or salt-based broth.)
“Our secret ingredient is love,” said Dell with hearty laughter.
“It’s the same secret we use in our sauces: love,” added Dan, his eyes squinting. It was his brainchild to put up Shibui “because I am forever in love with Japanese cuisine.” Back in Bukidnon, his family owns a six-year-old Japanese restaurant called Tadakuma.
“And we survive because of love,” Mike quipped with a wink.
Laughter ensued. In front of me were joyful, family-oriented and enterprising millennials with big dreams of venturing into a full-scale restaurant. With the quality of food they serve, they must be ready for their next endeavor.
Shibui — Japanese for simple, classy beauty, according to Dan’s very helpful brother Ramon — is a small stall (95 sqm.) that serves fine-dining-quality food at very affordable prices. (The chahan/
yakimeshi rice, for all its yumminess down to the last morsel, is pegged at P80. The
tensindon or kani omelet — order this and you might forget your name — is P150. The “most expensive” item on the menu is the large serving of gyudon, at P240.)
Going back to love at Shibui, I took them seriously about their pronouncement. Well, it was friendship that brought the three of them together. In the prime of their youth they met in Ateneo — all promdis. Dan is from Bukidnon; Mike, from Zamboanga City; and Dell, from Cebu City. Left to their own devices, so to speak, they managed homesickness by sticking together. Even if Dan transferred to UP Diliman to finish Home Economics, he maintained his friendship with his Blue Eagle friends Dell (Interdisciplinary Studies) and Mike (Political Science).
But it was still love that landed in front of me when katsudon and gyoza were served and I was transported back to my bingeing in Otaru and Osaka. The food at the stall was the real thing — faithful to the Japanese taste. That much I can say about every dish in Shibui.
My sweet ending at Shibui was not a dessert in a coquettish little glass. It was another serving of the tori karaage. How I began my love affair with Shibui was how I ended it. And I will never break up with this food stall. Indeed, it’s all about love at first bite.
Shibui is located at Central Park, 96 Maginhawa St., Teachers Village East, Diliman, Quezon City. For reservations, call 0917-6888171. It’s also on FB: shibuibowls and IG @shibui_bowls.