We just got back from Sumo Sam located at the Powerplant Mall, Rockwell. This was an interesting Japanese food adventure.
We were craving for Japanese food and couldn’t decide whether to venture into Greenbelt 5 to check out John and Yoko or Sumo Sam which we heard had the same owners. Anyway, we opted to go to Rockwell to try out Sumo Sam simply because of the perception that Sumo Sam would be cheaper.
I’ve heard a lot about Sumo Sam – great steaks, excellent Japanese food, and many more.
The place was cozy and nice with a wide selection of food in the menu – cool layout, a bit heavy to hold on to, but still nice. It had a lot of interesting items that we wanted to try but somehow, we were swayed away from our normal ordering habits. Usually when I eat at a Japanese restaurant I would order a rice topping like Katsudon just because I use this as a benchmark for Japanese restaurants – a good gauge because of the richness of the flavors in this dish. I would also normally go for Japanese rice and a vegetable dish. But today, we ordered differently.
First on the list, Happy Birthday Noodles! Around Php250 and the serving was relatively generous.
As you can see, its like a Japanese twist to your typical Pancit Canton. And the name says it all (Happy Birthday Noodles) – its a fun dish. Sausages with some marinated pork, mushrooms and a generous amount of vegetables. I thought to myself, sweet deal. Now, the photograph is not the most creative shot but as you can see – the bowl does not give justice to the price. I call this our safety dish for the night. Safety, because if the other dishes did not meet our expectations, at least we had fun with this one.
Next came the Crunchy Kani Roll. 6 pieces topped with some crunchy dried squidy taste strips. It was good but not great.
It took a good 10 minutes before this was served. As you can see, I was already grabbing one before a decent shot was even taken.
Finally, the Beef Yakiniku. Why did we order Beef Yakiniku? Ask the food Gods – probably because of the photo on the menu.
If you’re thinking – Lousy shot or was the dish prepared like it was just dumped into a bowl of rice? The answer is yes to both. Lousy shot because what we got was uninspiring. And in terms of taste, we got what we saw. Wasted piece of meat. (Sayang, parang inapi yun beef).
Let me start by saying this – I’ve had my share of good Japanese food from restaurants like Shokuji. As far as I know, they treat meat with respect and it always comes out good and tasty. I hate doing this, but I need to describe the taste. I hope you guys don’t jump the gun on this one, they probably have a few other items in their menu that they can be proud of. Here we go:
- Have you ever tasted a week old beef left on the freezer – not properly packed? I have – and this dish tastes exactly how I remember it.
- Do you know what lansa means? Look it up, and tell me the english word for it.
- How about seasoning to taste? it might improve – you will never know
- Last, I was telling Biscotti Monster that probably the chef was heart broken. This dish was so uninspired.
Anyway, the place was nice and cozy. We had fun with the noodles.
To the patrons of Sumo Sam, we would like to hear your thoughts and recommendations. I would love to think that it was an off night and we ordered the wrong dishes. To Sumo Sam – c’mon man! SUMO!
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You are not qualified to make these judgments…Feeling gourmand/foodie ka lang whose exposure is limited to Teriyaki Boy, Kitaro, Tokyo2 and Sushi-Ya.
Sorry if you feel that way lovejap – I assume you are a glorified fan of sumo sam. Forgive me, I’m just speaking my mind. And I never said I was an expert nor did I mention any type of qualification. Just keeping it real pare/mare. And these are not “judgements” – I’m simply sharing my experience in my blog.
Anyway, thanks for the comment
you should have tried the house’s carbonara it’s one of the best. honestly, i really don’t like the taste’s of what you have ordered. next time you visit try another set of dishes
thanks lerdianne – i’ll keep that in mind.
yeah, maybe next time we should order the big plate for sharing … para there’s more variety in the food… nways, for good authentic japanese food, i like the ones frequented by the japanese guys… like the restos along pasong tamo (kikofuji, shinjuko) near MCS. good stuff and not so pricey. but for special occassions, sugi sounds good too
Sumosam is the best restaurant in Rockwell! Superior concept and flavor! Nothing quite like it! Sumosam just launched Japanese Wagyu Burgers and they’re awesome!
I have to agree… the beef yakiniku is horrible! I don’t think it was an off day for them with that dish. It really does taste like old beef. I’ve also tried the beef curry. I think all their beef dishes taste weird. Anyway, if you decide to give the restaurant another shot, try their curry tonkatsu… it’s pretty tasty. Especially try the SPICY CRUNCHY TUNA!! ah… my boyfriend and I are obsessed with it. We go to Sumo Sams like 2-3x a week just for that dish. haha.
Thanks Jeno! Mukhang masarap nga yun spicy crunchy tuna ah.
Bad idea to go to Japanese restos along pasong tamo. Malansa and since they have few customers, items are either out of stock or old. I ate at Sugi and the food was Teriyaki boy level while the price was hotel label. Masarap sa Sumosam and the stafs is very friendly. Order the ff: Squid teriyaki, uzuyaki beef roll, new york fried maki, roboto fry, victory float, arena, the new burgers, tuna salad, sumo prawn salad, omeet fried rice, tonkatsu curry, tofu chop chop, etc… For the dessert, temura banana split or mango jubilee. I’m a regular so trust me on this…
thanks for the tips. susubukan kong itry lahat ng mga good eats sa sumo sam… btw, san ang pinaka masarap na ramen?
helloo!!
)
i’m a big fan of sumo fan and it’s sad to hear that some of their dishes aren’t very nice. the photos on their menu all look quite fantastic don’t they?
i haven’t tried the first or third dishes you had – they aren’t really my type but i would recommend:
- california maki (! it’s the best here among all japanese restaurants i’ve ever been to)
- spicy tuna roll
- spider roll (…you can tell i’m a sushi fan
- cali maki salad
- tempura
Sumo San- poor service,we waited one hour for sizzling salmon and fish tempura,it’s like everyone was done eating,poor mom and pregnant sister( considering only a few people on that day),lots of langaw and the most disappointment i had was we paid in cash (php6,000) and we tried to take advantage of my mother senior citizen card and the guy said since we submitted it late they could not revised the reciept.I’ve been to different places ,and this one —the worst.By the way-location: Solenad (besides Nuvali)-Sta.Rosa Laguna-across Crown Asia.
I’m a huge fan of SumoSam since I love Japanese. They have a really great service in the TriNoma branch and their California Maki, Katsudon and Chicken Teriyaki is great- probably the best among all the Jap. restaurants I’ve ever been to!