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COCONUTS HOT SPOT — It is no doubt Japanese. The name, Hajime, is a dead giveaway.
But this newly opened restaurant in Rockwell doesn’t serve your usual Japan food as it redefines and presents the cuisine in its own way.
Hajime takes quality ingredients from Japan and transforms them into refined dishes that have taken inspiration from the techniques and flavors of other cuisines.
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The Japanese awabi or abalone, for example, has been braised to a fork-tender bite then set on creamy mushroom risotto.
The Tengoku Salad has been studded with ingredients like foie gras that is borrowed from Europe, then complemented with an umami dressing that brings us back to the flavors of Asia.
It’s this wonderful play combining the east and the west that makes Hajime different from many other traditional Japanese restaurants, offering people a refreshing taste of something new and inspired.
The restaurant is currently on soft opening and only offers a six-course degustation (PHP3,500++) that starts with a Molten Lava Egg (black caviar and truffe oil) as amuse-bouche, the Tengoku Salad (foie gras, goat cheese, umami dressing) and a carrot and pumpkin soup.
Serious fun begins with three kind of aburi (maguro, shake, A5 wagyu) followed by an entrée of braised dried Japanese abalone and A5 Matsuzaka Wagyu steak.
Dessert is macaron and ice cream.
Hajime is at Edades Tower (Amorsolo Drive, Rockwell, Makati); www.facebook.com/hajimedining, +63 2 6258824, +63 927 8892511. Daily 11am-3pm, 6pm-11pm. Photos: Angelo Comsti (except for topmost, from Hajime Crossover Cuisine’s Facebook Page).
WHAT WE ATE
Molten lava egg with black caviar and truffle oil
Carrot and pumpkin soup with nori crackers
Tengoku salad with foie gras and goat cheese
Braised abalone with risotto
A5 Matsuzaka Wagyu steak
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