Kenji Tei Ramen House at Greenbelt 5

Going with the Christmas rush two weeks ago, the family went to the Makati area to scout for some presents. There were a lot of people doing some Christmas shopping– no doubt about that as the malls were packed! As the afternoon passed, it was soon dinner time and we need to look for a place to eat. Here it goes again… the problem of making a decision.

I recall seeing a new restaurant in Greenbelt 5 the last time we went so I suggested we go there. It was fairly easy to find as I remember it being on the 3^rd floor – the name escaped me at that time though so we just strolled around until we found something not familiar to us. Lo and behold, the name of the place was Kenji Tei Ramen House. Apparently, it was serving Japanese cuisine.

restaurant front

We were seated at the back portion of the restaurant where the couches are located. The view is also nice as there are glass panels behind that showcase the Greenbelt landscape.

view of the glass panels

The menu was really simple – just a large board with all the dishes listed there. We ordered several items to sample each section of the menu.

menu

First off is the appetizer, Yaki Gyoza.

Yaki Gyoza - 188 PHP

These dumplings were quite heavy as they were really stuffed with filling. The dumplings were nice – although I would want them to have less green onions in it as I don’t like those (but for those who like the taste of green onions, it will be a sure hit!). As for the texture, the wrapper was soft and easy to bite into. Although a little crunch (without frying) would add some excitement to this dish in my opinion.

For the ramen, we ordered Wakame Ramen. It is a soy-based ramen dish topped with a lot of wakame or seaweed.

Wakame Ramen (Large) - 348 PHP

The noodles are fresh tasting and easy to chew. You can taste a slight soy flavour from the broth but I guess most of the flavor was absorbed by the wakame so it did not leave that much of a lasting impression on me. Perhaps adding some other unique flavors to this ramen dish will make it more special. We also ordered additional chashu pieces to accompany this one. The chashu pieces tasted as expected but did not go beyond that. I can consider this ramen dish to be on the simple side.

As for main dishes, we got Crispy Chicken Teriyaki and Oyster Fry.

Crispy Chicken Teriyaki - 228 PHP

I like how the chicken is really crispy and you can hear the crunch with every bite. The teriyaki sauce complements the chicken pieces very well too with a mix of sweet and salty flavors. Although kind of simple, this has to be my favorite dish out of all the items we ordered. You can never seem to get tired of it even after munching on so many!

Oyster Fry - 318 PHP

On the other hand, the oysters had a very rich and creamy taste to them. These were nicely prepared and presented as well. The only downside for me to this dish is that it had too much breading – kind of downplays the taste of the oysters. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this item as I like eating oysters cooked in any way.

This restaurant serves hot or cold tea by the way without extra charge. For those tea lovers out there, this is a sure plus!

Hot Tea 

Generally, the atmosphere at Kenji Tei is good for get-togethers with family or friends. The staff were well mannered and provided good customer service as well. Maybe next time we’ll try the other dishes that this restaurant has to offer. 

view from our seat