Ta Ke Ho Me: Satisfy Your Japanese Food Craving Without Breaking the Bank!
If you’re like me, you also suffer from frequent Japanese food cravings. Frankly, who doesn’t? And to be even more frank, the truth is that most of want to eat Japanese food more often but our wallets aren’t exactly getting in with the program. The truth is, fresh, high quality Japanese food is expensive.
We save up for that special date or birthday to be able to go to our favorite high end places. Unfortunately, many of the casual dining Japanese joints have started to get fairly expensive as well. More affordable sushis joint are around but you unfortunately get what you pay for. Basically, you get kani sticks rolled with mangoes and rice. There’s some veggie rolls but you can keep dreaming if you’re looking for some raw tuna or salmon.
Thankfully, the gap between high-end Japanese restaurants and low quality sushi joints has been bridged by TA KE HO ME.
Let me commend the clever play of words there. The classic Filipino term for “takeaway” has been broken up to be read like a Japanese phrase. Take Home=Ta Ke Ho Me. Nice.
Two things caught my attention when I entered the store along Sgt. Esguerra right across ABS-CBN. First, the prices were insane! As you can see from the menu board below, you can have 8 pieces of maki for only Php99! Your Php300 pesos can buy you 24 pcs while a party package of 40 pcs costs only Php499!
The second thing that caught my attention is the display cabinet for drinks. OMG! They have my favorite STRONG Kirin Beer! I drink this literally every night when I’m in Japan so I was totally stoked to find it in Manila! Many of their other drinks, like the Melon Milk, were also big hits.
Okay, before I end up telling you about how I drank a 9% alcohol beer at 11 in the morning, let me tell you about the maki rolls here. They have five basic variants which you can see in the photos below:
- MIGORI (Torches Salmon, Miso Mayo, Nori): Yes! you read that right! Effin’ torched salmon!!! Damn I didn not expect that from a takeout sushi joint! Granted the salmon pieces were small and so was the maki roll itself. However, just having torched salmon in there really set the standard here!
2. SPICY TUNA (Tuna, Deep-fried Panko breadcrumbs): The spicy tuna roll is a common sight in most sushi establishments but I didn’t expect them to take the extra step of deep-frying the panko coated roll in a humble establishment like Ta Ke Ho Me. Frankly, they make a bigger effort than some casual dining establishments!
3. CALI MAKI (Kani, Mango, Ebiko): This is always the safest option. their version here is nothing really special but I understand the need to put this classic maki variety.
4. DRAGON BALL (Spicy Smoked Salmon, Mango, 7 Spice): This is another nice use of salmon. This time it’s smoked and spicy. A great option if you’re looking for something new.
5. TKHM ROLL (Salmon, Cream Cheese, Bonito): This one is reminiscent of the classic Philadelphia Roll. Again, that’s common i casual dining and even high-end restaurants but to find this here is a real treat. The pleasant twist is that they added lots of bonito flakes on top!
You can get just one order as pictured, with 8 pcs of the same variety. However, if you opt for more, you can choose an assortment of your favorites.
Aside from the maki rolls, they offer the North American sensation called “Sushiritto” here as well. There’s also a selection of vegetarian or seafood filled rice balls:
The Saikoro Steak cubes were also a big hit in our group. They sell it here for only Php99 for a skewer of 4 cubes. That’s nearly half the price that you would get it for in many establishments.
Overall, this place gives you great value for money. It’s really a nice way to satisfy your craving for Japanese food near the “Dia de Peligro.” I will likely be ordering here for takeout when I need a quick dinner or something for potluck.
One downside when I was there, was the terrible heat. The aircon wasn’t working so it was torture to stay inside while waiting for orders. Luckily, they position themselves obviously as a take out place. Nevertheless, they should get the aircon fixed since they are in a car wash complex. customers waiting for their cars to get washed would want a nice, cool place to have a snack.
Read the rest of my reviews for this and other restaurants on Zomato:
Location: 52 Sgt. Esguerra Avenue, South Triangle, Tomas Morato, Quezon City