Ramenologist: Eating where you normally wouldn't: ATSU-ATSU: "Natsu" good for a Japanese resto

Saturday, July 23, 2011

ATSU-ATSU: "Natsu" good for a Japanese resto

It was Ensogo, the online discount site, that brought me to Atsu-Atsu. A P250 coupon for a set meal worth P500 sounded like a great deal, plus the fact that I love ramen that if I was in Japan, I'd marry me a bowl.

When we got to Atsu-Atsu, the cozy Japanese feel started to sink in. I remembered our chicken karaage boat-sake experience in a local Japanese pub January last year, the wooden walls, the little Japanese warrior figurines, the paper lamps, and the paintings and writings on the wall. Nostalgic. =D

And then I saw Atsu-Atsu's dirty kitchen, my bubble popped.

Everyone coming in had a coupon, that one from Ensogo. Atsu-Atsu might have been too aggressive in selling vouchers, at least 30 people were crowding the small Atsu place on a weekday dinner. We were approached by a waitress with very little knowledge about their menu. They were not arrogant, the place was just too homey for their very casual service.

A set meal includes a large bowl of noodles, shrimp tempura/chicken teriyaki, iced tea, california maki and coffee jelly. First came the bottomless iced tea, followed by the california maki. As you can see in the picture below, it looked like a 2-piece maki split in half to make four little ones. It wasn't that good either.

Then came the shrimp tempura, how can you go wrong with that? A normal order serves six shrimps, the voucher serves only four.

Then came the Tokyo ramen (shoyu-based ramen topped with simmered pork, green onions, hard boiled egg, bamboo shoots and fishcake) served in a large bowl. The noodles were al-"dented", the soup was okay, and the pork tasted a day old. There was nothing special about this bestseller.

This was followed by the Tonkotsu ramen (pork bone soup topped with simmered pork, fishcake, vegetables and hard-biled egg). It was easy to tell the two ramens apart when you look at them, but I was pretty sure they tasted alike.

The chicken teriyaki was just as bad. You could tell that the chicken was sitting out in humid air for too long, you could taste it. A normal order includes a side salad, the voucher teriyaki doesn't have one.

The coffee jelly was definitely the worst. We got a glass with black jelly mass. Remember when we were younger, and we'd mix black coffee with our gelatin mix? No? Atsu Atsu will help you remember. Tsss. P80 for this crap.